Sunday July 29th: ``In Transit`` Day

Early morning today. Our flight was leaving Easter Island at 7am or so, so we got up before 5am so that we could catch a ride to the airport at 5:15am

We got up, some showered, we got our stuff all packed and went to the front of the hostel...only to find out that the flight was delayed....by 8 hours!  So back to bed we went. Our flight was delayed until 3pm due to weather over the Pacific ocean, so we got to hang out on this beautiful island for another day and we were lucky to have another nice breakfast, then check into our flight at the nearby airport, grab a ``bag lunch`` from the airline and then be able to stay in the hostel yard for a few hours.  The weather was beautiful. not a rain drop in sight, t-shirt and shorts weather almost...which we had not experienced since getting here.

We caught our flight at 3pm with LAN airlines, a 4.5 hour flight to Santiago. Nice meal and wine on the plane and Amanda ended up charming the flight attendant so much that he somehow gave her a bottle of red to take with her...and we`re not talking baby bottles. Too funny. Michelle sat in the middle of two aisle seats and made use of wine carts coming down both aisles...I have to say: impressive wine talents, ladies. :) 

We had changed plans earlier with our Habitat team as we were supposed to get in at 2pm versus the 10pm that would now be our arrival time. So the 12 team members who were already there had their orientation and supper with the local Habitat staff and we would meet them at breakfast the next morning. All went fine and by the time we got the the hostel around 11pm, most had gone to bed. Chris and Billy, part of our team, were still up and welcomed us which was nice.  We grabbed our things and found our rooms and beds around midnight.  Staff seemed incredibly welcoming with the customary kiss on the cheek and big smiles when we arrived. Loving the hospitality so far!

Santiago is a large city of about 6 or 7 million people. It was dark when we got in and quite chilly, but the city looked busy and big. Our hostel had charm inside and out. Lots of colors. Most team members had triple rooms, some had doubles and Chelsea and I ended up with single rooms. They were tiny with little twin beds, but really cute with warm colors, and little TVs.  TVs are seldom turned on when available on Habitat trips, but with Olympics going on, it was nice to see the little screen. As it turned out, all channels were in Spanish and we are having trouble catching much Olympic coverage...but hoping to be lucky and maybe catch a volleyball game, some track or other fun events.

So the 19 of us were now under one roof and trying to get a good night`s sleep in preparation for our first build day.  Can`t wait!!!