Chapter 22

Everyone to Punta Arenas

"What is our schedule looking like?" Mike asked. "We're supposed to meet your friend Corky and his ocean-going tug on the 30th, right?"

"We're right on schedule for that. In fact, we're running ahead of ourselves; it's only a week into September. We don't want to get into Punta Arenas too early, unless you'd care to hunker down in a small hotel room with the wind howling around you for a week or more?" Steve answered.

"But something is nagging at me," he continued. "I don't know why, but I think we might want to push the schedule ahead a little. Maybe things are about to move faster than we think. I want to call Corky and see if he can get down to Punta Arenas sooner."

"We want to arrive at Siple Island even earlier?" Mike looked worried.

"Yeh, I think so. I admit that it increases the risk, but even by the original timetable, we would face early season weather problems. It's always dicey down there outside of the normal November-February working season. Anyway, I think I'll call Corky and see what his immediate situation is, and whether he's agreeable to sail earlier."

Mike, Steve and Marie were booked into a suite at the five-story Holiday Inn in the terminal cluster of the Santiago International Airport in Pudahuel, nine miles northwest of downtown Santiago. It was mid-week, September 7th. They'd claimed their luggage and the sealed crate of crystals. Steve's contact in the embassy compound provided new clearance papers for the crate to accompany their luggage from Santiago to Puerto Montt, and on to Punta Arenas. Traveling entirely in Chile for the South American trip simplified cross-border customs issues.

Ernesto left them at the Mexico City airport. They'd arrived in three days of hard running after their encounter with the bandits. They were saddened to leave Ernesto behind; he proved to be a competent guide and a delightful traveling companion.

"No, mis amigos y amiga, the far south continent and its frozen seas are not for Ernesto. I prefer this warmer climate. And I think perhaps your southern journey as Steve has described to me, may be even more hazardous, perhaps, than banditos in the Sonoran Desert, no? May the blessed Virgin be with you, and when you come back this way, we must spend a long evening together, applauding your stories and getting joyously drunk! Truly! It has been my pleasure. May we soon be together again!"

Steve emptied the money belts of their remaining Mexican pesos, dumped the bundled notes into a gym bag, and handed it to Ernesto, who in turn tossed across half a dozen bundles of U.S. currency in $100, $50, and $20 notes. Dollars were welcomed in Chile.

It was late afternoon; they'd gathered around a table in the airport's Travel Lodge restaurant to enjoy a local wine with an excellent seafood dinner.

"Have you traveled much in South America, Mike?" Steve asked.

"Yes, quite a bit. I've had a consulting job or two in Chile, and Colombia; and I've been to Punta Arenas as a jumping-off spot for an Antarctic mineral study," Mike replied.

"Then you're aware of the sticky-fingered thieves that will surround us in all the public places?"

"Oh, yes ... but we'd better give Marie the bad news," Mike answered.

"I've heard it said, by locals, that the number one occupation of the population in any town is thieving. It's my experience to agree. The common joke is that the only gringo tourists who haven't been robbed are the ones waiting to be robbed.

"So be careful. Keep your money in a money belt and keep it covered. Don't carry your purse from a strap; it's better to wear a belt pack with a strong belt strap, and wear the pouch in front, not behind. Slide the pouch along the strap so the buckle is in front, not to the side. Be especially careful around the airport. Avoid bus terminals, and be wary of getting surrounded in a crowd.

Mike smiled inwardly; Marie's disbelieving expression betrayed her unhappiness with his lecture.

"Marie, I've known people to lose their day packs and purses in respectable cafes. In a crowd, well-dressed young ladies will move in beside you and unzip your pack or purse to steal the contents—even while you're walking. Never set anything down beside you while seated. Wedge it between your feet; you might even keep a foot on the strap. Never leave anything valuable in the hotel room while you're away, even for a short visit to the hotel desk or dining room. Take it with you, or put it in the manager's safe. Be sure to get a receipt."

"Surely it cannot be as bad as all that!" Marie protested.

"Believe me, it is!" Steve added. "There are two reasons for that. It is hard to make a living in this region and thieving is seen as a profitable game. The foolish and careless are easy victims. No one has sympathy for fools. There isn't the same stigma against bribery or theft in this culture as there is in the United States. Even though thieves are punished if they're caught, people here feel that only the foolish or unlucky thieves get caught, and who should have sympathy for them?" Steve laughed.

"Please, be warned and be careful. It's an aggravation if one of us loses some money or valuables, but it would be a very serious thing to lose our identification papers or passports!"