June 7, 2006 — I've arrived in Santiago.
I spent most of Monday in a monster
layover at the Miami International
Airport, appropriately named MIA. It's a
pretty dismal place to fly from and it was
rather like waiting for a plane in the
basement basement of a lecture hall. I've
determined that most tourists to Miami
are either graying men swaddling their pot
bellies in tragically bright Hawaiian shirts
or young women who've been tanning so
long they resemble wallets with eyes.
Santiago is a fascinating place—a huge and
bustling city filled with colonial
architecture. The considerable smog roles
in and out like a tide, but once the initial
burning in your lungs subsides, all is well.
We visited Castle Hidalgo right after
arriving and we toured the archeology
museum today, which was really well done.
The first evening here was spectacular.
There was a sunset reflected off the Andes,
creating a rainbow. It was a surreal vista.
Unfortunately I didn't get a photograph.
Chile "isn't known for it's cuisine," says
Eric, but everything here is made from
beef, cheese and/or fish, which is right up
my alley. I'm just now getting over my jet
lag after a good night's sleep. Between
packing my stuff into storage and going out
with friends to say goodbye to New York,
my last few days have been saturated with
alcohol, caffeine and sleep deprivation. I
have friends from college I suspect feel like
this all the time.
At any rate, I'm now well rested and after a
couple days of taking in downtown
Santiago, Eric and I are headed to Chiloe, a
green island to the south where Darwin
spent a lot of time. It's purported to
resemble Ireland and has a rich regional
mythology. Bruce Chatwin wrote
extensively about Chiloe's cult of Satan in
his book, In Patagonia. And sometime
after that we're off to chase a Pleisosaur in
Argentina for the benefit of Radio Lab.
This should be fun. I'll keep you posted.