Sir, step away from the source!

This card-holding AARP is feeling a lot better now after a couple of days of G.I. squishiness which I thought I could blame on my AARP status, but more than likely is just paying the consequences of getting just a tad closer to “the source” than I needed to be. One step back for mankind, but the struggle must continue.

Traveling is indeed a curious life experience. It’s like a little drug that enhances many of the human emotions. But it does that to both the good ones and the bad ones. We often tell our friends that are considering marriage, that you can learn more about your partner and your likelihood to survive a long-term relationship, by traveling together for just a couple of weeks. If you wanted to test whether you can compromise on the type of food you’re having for your next meal, the time of the day that that meal should become available and at what price, then what better opportunity to test for that three times a day, for fourteen days in a row? Then there is the, “I want to go to a museum” and your partner prefers “shopping”. Or you are a nature freak and your partner is a city-dweller. Or how about you are an early riser and your partner loves sleeping in, specially on vacation. The opportunities to test your flexibility and ability to compromise are endless.

Like most things in life, it’s all about your expectations. And if you expect your few weekend days to be fun-filled and your partner decides to get a G.I. bug just as the weekend begins, well, that just adds to the test of your flexibility and compromising abilities. Chile has not being immune to that tension for us, but luckily having so much experience surviving these tense episodes in the past, we managed to readjust our expectations and did not end up ruining the rest of the trip. And the advice to others thinking about a long-term relationship is still valid: plan a vacation trip even before you invest in that engagement ring. It’ll be worth it either way.

Son and I are finding Santiago to be more like another city in an industrialized European country than what we expected as a capital city in South America. Santiago is so clean --less litter than on Emerald Isle trails-- and quiet –hardly any car horns are heard-- that you forget that this is not a national park but a city of 6 million. Pedestrians are respected to such a degree that you can almost jump blindly on to the streets without any fears; where else can you do that without ending in the E.R.? The public transportation is reliable, fast, safe and inexpensive. People are polite and courteous. Of course, is probably easier if you speak Spanish, but I’m sure they’d be the same to tourists from anywhere. And one of the best things, according to my son, is that we found a Taco Bell, in a mall nearby. We weren’t hungry when we found it, but I hope they do fish tacos otherwise my search for the fish source has come to a major halt starting today.

This collage shows some of the sights from Santiago. The LED sign with the 0452 indicates the number of parking spaces available in real time –what a concept?-