Finally the day for the trip to start! I spent most of my last night in Chicago packing and re-packing trying to narrow down the gear to the bare minimum. Truthfully, this should have all been done weeks ago but that would go against the severe P in my INTP Myers-Briggs rating. Instead I’ve spent the time between my last day of work and my departure for South America visiting family in Ohio and Florida and sneaking in a quick snowboard trip to Colorado. Seeing family was far more important to me. Any gear I’ve forgotten at this point I’ll buy in Mendoza.

Before departing I made a quick trip to Moosejaw for a compression sack and said good-bye to the staff there who I’ve gotten to know so well in the past months as I’ve prepared (Thanks Chris, Clay, Sara and Marissa!). Anne dropped me off at the El and the adventure really began.

My CTA card did not work but the attendant took pity on a scruffy looking guy with three huge bags and let me pass when I told him I was going to be out of the country for three months. Upon arriving at ORD the doors on the El car stuck and after unsuccessfully attracting the attention of anyone outside I had to pull the emergency handle and sound the alarm to exit. Once at the AA check-in kiosk the machine promptly rebooted after swiping my passport (Gotta love MS Windows). I moved on to check in with an international gate agent without issue and finally to security for the baggage scan by the TSA. I knew fuel canisters for camp stoves were not allowed but evidently anything which has ever come into contact with gas vapor is now prohibito. I guess someone in the TSA has just acquired a MSR Whisperlite camp stove and I’ll be buying a stove in Mendoza.

After a layover in Miami I was jolted awake from a fitful sleep at the back of the plane to Santiago, Chile by the woman in the row in front of me screaming. The gentleman directly in front of me had started choking in his sleep and couldn’t breathe. All of the flight attendant staff gathered around and after 45 seconds of watching and not hearing a verbal response I stood up in preparation to administer the Heimlich when thankfully he recovered and the blue hue left his face.

LAN Airlines was a pleasure to fly. The service was impeccable, the meals were tasty, served with proper metal cutlery and the accouterment rivaled what I’ve received in business class to Europe. The US airlines should take note.

I saw the silhouette of Aconcagua out the plane window as we were on final approach and I arrived in Santiago, Chile just before sunrise. After dealing with a minor luggage mishap and working through some customs misinformation I wished I could rewind time and spend more time using the Rosetta Stone software I purchased to learn Spanish.

I am now in Mendoza, Argentina which is like an oasis in the middle of the desert. An assistant guide from Aventuras Patagonicas met me at the airport and I had dinner with three of my expedition mates last night. We experienced a true Argentinean dinner and feasted on a massive steak, fried cheese and fries washed down with a bottle of Malbec for about $10 USD.

I will do a gear check this afternoon with the head guide and after the rest of the team arrives this evening the expedition will kick off officially.