Trip to the South of Chile: Day 1

So, on Saturday morning, the Benetton team was assembled: as in a true United Colors of Benetton commercial, our team was quite international: me, a Russian; Sarita, a Bolivian; Elsie, a Chilean; Lisa, a Paraguyan/US citizen; and Gustavo, a Paraguyan. Now, briefly about how the team came about: Elsie is Sarita's friend from church, Lisa is Elsie's friend, and Gustavo is Lisa's friend (and Im of course Sarita's friend). This is the team that traveled together for almost the entire week.

To back-up a bit: we were supposed to leave for the South really early, but Sarita and myself went out to eat the night before (night of my arrival) and talked till late at night, so we snoozed as long as we could in the morning, so when we got a phonecall from Elsie that they were close to our apartment, my mad packing skills kicked in....I left Sarita with an open mouth when I started throwing both of our things that I thought might be even remotely of use to us into my suitcase. The result was that in about 20 minutes we were packed, ready to go, and even had managed to have breakfast.

Upon meeting the rest of the Benetton team, we embarked on what turned out to be a 12-hour drive down to Pitrufquen, the home of Elsie's family. The reason this trip that usually takes 8 hours took this long was because it was a holiday weekend for Chile (Independence Day), and most inhabitants of Santiago leave the city for the picturesque South. Despite the numerous hours of traveling and several long traffic jams, we had fun listening to music, talking, getting to know each other, and bonding. We were rewarded by the sight of the snow-peaked volcanoes and mountains, and beautiful green lush fields with happy hereford cows peacefully grazing in the setting sun. Upon getting to Elsie's parents' house, we were greeted with a warm fireplace, delicious supper, and a welcoming family.