Happiness is ... a space heater.

Our stop for the day was Atacama airport near the city of Bahia Ingles. I was flying, and happy to have another easy name to pronounce -- it makes  the radio work that much easier! Atacama airport was brand new and very fancy, and completed desolate. We waited there a bit for our ride. Lisa and I inadvertently entertained the bored airport employees with some yoga poses and hop scotch. 

Our room at the Rocas des Bahia had the added bonus of being equipped with a space heater. This was a thrilling discovery, as we have spent much of our vacation shivering in inadequate outerwear. It's cold!  We met Jaime at the hotel restaurant, where I finally got to sample the homemade wine given to us earlier in the day. Quite good! We then strolled down the street to El Pateou (?), a cute rustic little restaurant with a patio in front. People in goose down and assorted winter gear were actually dining out there - not for me!  Over dinner and drinks we listened to live "quaka" music, and waited for Mario to show up. Mario will be relieving Jaime as our pilot guide, since Jaime has another assignment. Mario showed up at 11pm...it was a long day for him, as he left Santiago at 7am! I was happy to see gray hair... it's always comforting to be flying with an "older" pilot.

We ended the evening at 12:30 pm, with plans to depart the hotel at 11:00 am. We were glad to have the heater ... the room was COLD!