hasta la vista

We're off to Chile in a couple of hours. Very exciting. I've never been below the equator. We will fly from Santiago to Arica at the northern end of the country and visit San Pedro de Atacama and La Serena on the way back to Santiago and our flight out. 14 hour bus rides!
I'm a little nervous as Allison says noone in Chile speaks English, not like Europe. So I'll pretty much hear Spanish only for the next couple of weeks. Except for tour guides and maybe the French astronomy guy, and Al maybe too if I'm lucky.
The bags are packed (too full, it's winter there you know), batteries charged, passports in hand, housesitter and taxi on their way. It's our first non-event related trip (wedding, work, race, family, etc.) in years and we're on our own. I'm excited for the opportunity to step a little ways out of my routine.
Now I'm going to fill up on some American TV. Happy Independence Day.