Valparaíso Baby!!

So...after 26 hours of travelling, I arrived at my chilean family´s house. And might I say that the flights and airports here were quite the adventure. I got to Ft. Lauderdale with ease, but then ran into some complications. 3 people told me i didn´t have to get my bags and recheck them so i head on my merry way to the next terminal to go to Bogotá. However, i hear my name soon and they tell me I do in fact need to recheck my bags...shoot. I had left my nalgene in the first terminal, lamented its loss, and then went on to do what i had to. Sitting on the table is my nalgene..YAY!! i don´t have to buy plastic water bottles for the next 5 months. So i get on the plane having spent my 3 hour layover chasing water bottles and baggage, and realize that i´m seated in K 23. K. The seats went ABC DEK...wtf? I was already surrounded by beautiful latino men and women, and mullets, and got really excited that I knew the Lord was already taking care of so many things and distracting me with things like seat K and the best hair-do...business in the front, BIG CURLY party in the back. The men in the row next to me were playing some strange card game and between the 3 of them and a 4 hour plane ride had about 16 beers. Shnikes!
I finally get to Bogotá and was checked by security 2 times...once getting off the plane and then next getting back onto the same concourse that I just came off of. Wow. Colombia was interesting. Lots of duty free crap to buy in the airport and about 15 security gaurds wearing 4 or 5 different kinds of uniforms. The time passes quickly there because i had found a book in the seatback in front of me called More Sand in my Bra...hilarious stories. The first one about 2 women with big calves who can´t find boots that fit them...cheers to you Alex..they finally bought Pirate boots with big silver buckles.
I get on the plane and have a window seat, yay again, which allowed me to BE PART of the sunset. I was in it. It was bright orange and the clouds whipping by the ends of the wings were tinted pink and from 36,ooo feet the ocean was a deep musky red. SO incredible. The moon shone bright the entire time, I had my whole row to stretch out and sleep with my awesome travel hoody. By the time I had bent down to get my journal to write about the sunset, i look up and the colors are almost gone. I look to the west across the men playing cards, and see bright orange hues painting everything in the cabin. Aaron Strumpel´s song For Joy came on my ipod and I remembered how quickly the beauty of the Lord changes...I began to sing quietly the words of the song...May God be gracious to us and make His face shine down, On our hopes so bright...Let´s sing Let´s sing...La dum...For jo-oy... ¡Que Lindo! I look out the window again, look down and there is the first lighted town in South America. It´s -54 degrees outside the plane...I´m HERE!
Oh yeah, and as my complimentary drink I had a big glass of red wine...what a perfect way to start off.
I get to Santiago, the stares begin as my light skin and eyes stand out, i get hustled by a few taxi drivers, and head on my jolly way to Valparaiso...it all came back to me.
I get to Valpo and a nice cab driver offers to take me to my destination with the little money i have. I see Patricio and Mamá once again, we have coffee and bread, I shower, and the spent the whole day wandering around viña del mar and Valpo with Amalie and Hitomi. I made it!
I go out with some old friends who buy beers all night, we left the bars ´early´at 4:00 am, and I sleeeep soundly for 11 hours, recovering from my travels and my 3 beers.
Tonight I have a birthday party. I´m remembering how kind chileans are...they truly care about their friends and their friends friends...I love being back.
And I already smell like cigarette smoke. Ha.