Um...

And start, the adventure did...

I sat on the plane, having almost gone to the wrong airport, thinking what an adventure it had already been, and just how I was going to write about the sinking feeling when I realised I was actually leaving from Heathrow, not Gatwick, and the German check-in assistant who thought she was going to charge me excess for my snowboard (in five years, this has never happened). What really annoyed me was when, having spoken to her supervisor, she told me it was all okay - as if she was telling me something I didn´t know, or doing me a favour. Anyway. it turns out that that was nothing compared to my current situation. Sylv, my travelling companion, hasn´t turned up. So, I´m sitting here in Santiago airport wondering what to do with myself.

Now, it appears to be her cock-up (if any) because the taxi driver´s here, waiting for her, and the hotel´s booked from today. Quite a panic, then. Plus, I´ve lost her cellphone number (that definitely is my fault), so I´ve had to fire off several mails, hoping they´ll make their way to her by bush telegraph. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I´ve managed to arrange a cab share, so I´m heading off to Portillo. Hopefully, Sylv will catch me up. I´m sure I´ll look back on this one and laugh....

Oh, quick mention for Patricio, a taxi supervisor who has been looking after me very well, doing all the negotiation and - I think - not trying to fleece an ignorant tourist. What a nice man...

Of course, if the driver pulls over on a deserted road and orders me out at gunpoint, I´ll have a pretty good idea why. Ciao.