And...relax...

Hokay, I´m now at Portillo. Got a message from Sylv that she missed her connection, so she´ll be here tomorrow. Also got totally fleeced at the airport. I eventually hooked up with a Canadian chap called James, for a car share to Portillo. We got ´portered´. Annoying. Y´know, when you´re at a foreign airport and somebody generously carries your bags for you, even though you´re more than capable of carrying them yourself, then demands a tip. Gah! Totally overtipped, too - I have a feeling he´ll be taking the rest of the week off. Still, I´m on holiday now, so time to relax.

I´ve been up the mountain, and it´s not the largest resort in the world. I´ve also got first-run wobbles. If you´ve ever skied or boarded, you´ll know that you always, after a holiday and a break, have a very high opinion of yourself. After five years I am still completely shocked to discover I feel completely unstable on my first day. I´ve been sticking with James for now, to avoid being labelled as a ´Billy no-mates´. He has two mates already here, who are very much of the ´woah, sick man´school of snowboarding - even though one is on skis. I´m in a four-bunk room, with one very tall, and rather perplexed argentinian. If he´s miffed at finding he´s now sharing the room to himself, he´s not showing it. He´s a bit younger, so I think I´ve intimidated him. If he starts misbehaving, I´ll just say ´General Belgrano´to him, and see what happens.

I may be rambling a bit as - I think - I´ve had about five hours of sleep in roughly two days. I´m beginning to halucinate. I shall be dining alone tonight (well, with a bunch of random strangers), so that should add a mezanine and tool shed to my character. One thing is true, though: It´s amazing how many people one meets when one travels on one´s own.