Chile!

Well we are currently sitting in Puerto Natales about to embark on our 4 day hike. We had quite an interesting day yesterday. It started when we arrived in Santiago, we tried to get money out and could not figure out the ATM. We tried to approach some airport personnel and ask "Hablas ingles" and we kept getting no for an answer. Andy went up to an old guy that appeared to be reading a book in English, he asked the guy "Hablas ingles" and the guy answered back in English - saying that he didn't know what Andy said, but that he spoke English. It was pretty funny, but at this point we were starting to panic because we really needed to take money out to take the minibus from the airport to our hostel in Puntas Arenas. Well we ended up finding some Americans that could help us (we really have seen only a handful or so the entire trip. It is very different than Europe), they also warned us about the flooding in the center of the city in Puntas Arenas. They said it was really bad and to be prepared. We really weren't sure what to expect, and we started to get a little worried. We arrived in Puntas Arenas around 8pm, the airport was really small. We asked a lady that we heard talking in both languages on the plane what the situation was like, she was from the area and said it was really bad. She tried to call our hostel and they didn't answer. She suggested we go talk to the information desk. Unfortunately, she left and the people at the desk spoke no English. The airport was clearing out quickly and we were running out of options. We found another young couple, both barely spoke English, but they were in the same situation and needed a place to stay. They called our hostel and were told it was surrounded by water but they could come get us in a boat! Needless to say, we found another hostel. We got a minibus ride to this other place, it was a nice family run establishment. We slept in a bed, away from the flood! 

Today, we took a morning bus up to Puerto Natales. We found another nice family run hostel, got hiking advice from Alejandro the owner, and wandered around the town. You should see all the dogs, living on scraps and just hanging out. All types, and they seem to be mostly friendly. We ate a good meal and are now ready for our hike. We are off for 4 nights to Torres del Paine National Park.

Cameras are packed for the hike, we will post pics later!