October 30, 1994

Dear Mom:

...Well, those three weeks in Costa Rica flew by, and now I am already in Santiago, Chile, after a grueling flight. You might recall that I am a courier, which means that I am responsible for carrying packages from the States to Santiago and back. As such, I forfeit the ability to check my own luggage. Instead, I am restricted to two carry-ons – quite a packing challenge considering I will be in South America for seven weeks!

When I met the man from the courier company at the airport, he was holding a copy of my passport in his hand. He gave me my ticket, and then pointed to a bunch of big wrapped packages on a conveyor belt. ‘See those?’ he said. ‘That’s the cargo that you are carrying over’. Naturally I asked about their contents. His response: ‘we don’t ask, so you don’t ask.’ Hmmm. I have hope, though, that they are on the up-and-up. When I finally arrived in Santiago, I had to do nothing more than step off the plane and walk freely. They did not ask me to carry this cargo to any special person or location. Not a bad deal, considering I got the ticket for a cost far under market value!

At the airport, I met some Americans who are living and teaching English in Santiago. They said I can crash at their place – using it as a home base from which to do all of my travels in Chile and Argentina. I am SO grateful. Carrying this huge backpack to all of my destinations is not an appealing thought. They are a funky group of folk and seem pre-occupied with parties, parties, parties. Not a bad life, at least temporarily.

Tomorrow I head south down this very long, skinny country. I’m not on any timetable, except to meet up with Christine (from Portland, OR) in Buenos Aires by December 4. So, I imagine I’ll make lots of stopoffs in Chile until I get to northern Patagonia, at which point I’ll start to cross the Andes into Argentina. But things can change, so I’ll keep you posted. It’s a very safe country, by the way…far safer than Chicago!...

Love, Anne