We've Arrived

We dodged getting stuck in the Iowa snowstorm by leaving on the 5:00 am AA flt. out of Cedar Rapids Monday morning. That meant sitting at the Dallas airport all day, but we found a Capital One Lounge that was fairly comfortable and included a breakfast and a lunch buffet. I enjoyed the relaxation pod in a tiny private room. It was a chair that reclined with soft music playing and a shield that moved across the front to cocoon me in my relaxed little world for a few moments. 
The flight to Santiago had lots of empty seats so we had a seat between us to pile our junk on. I slept quite a bit. Marc, not so much.
Capital One shows up again this morning when they immediately flagged a $220 fraudulent charge made by our "taxi" driver! Long story, but in the end he settled for the $20 cash we handed him. Now we're down one credit card.  I feel the need to be more suspicious and to know more Spanish!
Our little BnB is an oasis in the city. We freshened up here and then walked around the Avenida Italia area of the city and found something to eat. 
We tried fish and empanada con queso y cameron (cheese and shrimp) and some refreshing lemonade and fruit drinks.
I'm sure Santiago has a lot to offer, but this is our only day here in the city. It's hot and just another big city! We enjoyed the brilliant blue skies, 85 degree weather and the view of the Andes (some snowcapped) mountains both the the east and west of Santiago.
Marc is fighting a cold and isn't feeling too peppy, so it's early to bed.
I found out my aunt Anna Brenneman died today. That makes me feel sad. Just 6 months ago she was at our family reunion in Kalona and I'm so glad I got to see her there. 
Our host has 2 pretty dogs. Very friendly.


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