I now have some time for a little longer update :). Thankfully, this first day or two is fairly slow going, as we are waiting for the C130 to arrive, and the operations center to be set up. First flight is planned for wednesday I think.
The flight into Chile yesterday morning was absolutely gorgeous - we flew over the ocean, along the snow capped Andes mountains for about 2-3 hrs. Then we spent 5 hrs at the airport in Santiago, after which we flew back up north, again along the Andes towards Arica. Arica is only about 12 miles or so from the border with Peru.
At the airport, we (two coworkers form UW) got a rental car, and drove to the hotel, which is about 25 minutes from the airport (so not too bad of a commute on flight days).
Last night, I was, suprisingly enough, not too tired, and stayed up pretty late, getting used to the time change too I'm sure. It is actually not too different - we are three hours ahead of Laramie. Chile just changed over to summer time yesterday, and when Laramie changes over to winter time, the difference will be four hours. Me and two coworkers from Laramie went out to find a restaurant in the area for dinner last night, and walked along the beach for a little bit. The ocean is nice - every now and then you can see a seal head pop up, and there are always lots and lots of fishing boats around (fishing for anchovis is big here), which are very fun to watch. The area though has nothing to really write home about - it is very very dry - it never rains here, so there is not even a single blob of grass on all the miles and miles of sand out here. Of course there are some trees and green around the hotel, which makes it pretty nice.
This morning, after sleeping in a little bit, I had breakfast at the hotel (included) - pretty fancy! Everything you could ever want, as much as you want: fruit, eggs, sausages, wafels, all sorts of breads and cereals, coffee cakes, milk, yoghurts, a bunch of juices, and coffee and tea. After that, my coworkers and I headed into town to find a grocery store for some shopping - and succeeded - it was almost like a walmart but then of course with a flair of south american chaos. I bought some plug in converters, a water cooker (although I'm not allowed to have one in my room I think :) ), an alarm clock, LOTS and LOTS of drinking water, and a whole pile of groceries, to keep my pregnant belly happy and healthy. Though the food in the hotel restaurant is good, sometimes it is just nice to be able to make your own lunch.
I also realized, that my Spanish is definately very horrible (just as horrible as everyone's English here, which makes for a problem). Trying to explain to the sales person that you really only want a water cooker, and not one in an *on sale* combo pack with an iron and a waffle maker is not so easy!! Luckily I have both hands and feet to help me out :)
I was hoping to take some pictures from the area for you guys, but I just heard that we are leaving for the airport in 30 minutes... apparently the C130 (with my 'boss' on board) has arrived, along with all the equipment. Even though I will be pretty useless in helping them unload (not lifting heavy stuff came in my contract :) ) it would be fun to go along.
Till next time!
The flight into Chile yesterday morning was absolutely gorgeous - we flew over the ocean, along the snow capped Andes mountains for about 2-3 hrs. Then we spent 5 hrs at the airport in Santiago, after which we flew back up north, again along the Andes towards Arica. Arica is only about 12 miles or so from the border with Peru.
At the airport, we (two coworkers form UW) got a rental car, and drove to the hotel, which is about 25 minutes from the airport (so not too bad of a commute on flight days).
Last night, I was, suprisingly enough, not too tired, and stayed up pretty late, getting used to the time change too I'm sure. It is actually not too different - we are three hours ahead of Laramie. Chile just changed over to summer time yesterday, and when Laramie changes over to winter time, the difference will be four hours. Me and two coworkers from Laramie went out to find a restaurant in the area for dinner last night, and walked along the beach for a little bit. The ocean is nice - every now and then you can see a seal head pop up, and there are always lots and lots of fishing boats around (fishing for anchovis is big here), which are very fun to watch. The area though has nothing to really write home about - it is very very dry - it never rains here, so there is not even a single blob of grass on all the miles and miles of sand out here. Of course there are some trees and green around the hotel, which makes it pretty nice.
This morning, after sleeping in a little bit, I had breakfast at the hotel (included) - pretty fancy! Everything you could ever want, as much as you want: fruit, eggs, sausages, wafels, all sorts of breads and cereals, coffee cakes, milk, yoghurts, a bunch of juices, and coffee and tea. After that, my coworkers and I headed into town to find a grocery store for some shopping - and succeeded - it was almost like a walmart but then of course with a flair of south american chaos. I bought some plug in converters, a water cooker (although I'm not allowed to have one in my room I think :) ), an alarm clock, LOTS and LOTS of drinking water, and a whole pile of groceries, to keep my pregnant belly happy and healthy. Though the food in the hotel restaurant is good, sometimes it is just nice to be able to make your own lunch.
I also realized, that my Spanish is definately very horrible (just as horrible as everyone's English here, which makes for a problem). Trying to explain to the sales person that you really only want a water cooker, and not one in an *on sale* combo pack with an iron and a waffle maker is not so easy!! Luckily I have both hands and feet to help me out :)
I was hoping to take some pictures from the area for you guys, but I just heard that we are leaving for the airport in 30 minutes... apparently the C130 (with my 'boss' on board) has arrived, along with all the equipment. Even though I will be pretty useless in helping them unload (not lifting heavy stuff came in my contract :) ) it would be fun to go along.
Till next time!
I do have one shot - the place I am blogging to you from: "lunch on the veranda"
More pictures to come tonight, I promise!
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