Some years ago I was invited by Chile's Olympic shooting team to be their guest as they hosted me to a week of entertainment and shooting and all I had to pay for was the plane ticket. Normally before I go to some foreign land I open up a few books and do a little research. I was so excited about the thought of what at the time was to be my first trip to South America that I skipped any study time. Awwww, South America.... tropics, fruit drinks, dark tans and shooting. What more could a young travel ask for and it was those very same visions that helped me choose what to pack in my duffel bag for the whirlwind adventure. I packed nothing but two pair of sandals, a bunch of Bermuda shorts and several Haywain type shirts. Within a few weeks I found myself on connecting flights from Los Angeles to Miami and on to Santiago Chile in hopes of working on my tan.
It wasn't until we were about to exit the plane in Santiago that I began to wonder why everyone was staring at me but it didn't take long to figure out as soon as they opened the door to exit the plane. Within a few minutes my white legs and arms began to turn purple and riddled with goosebumps which seemed to nicely accent the bright white Bermuda Shorts and white Hawaiian short sleeve shirt I had on. The truth is as I took my first step out onto the loading ramp and saw what looked like ten foot of snow on the ground was, "HOLY CRAP, The damn plane must have been hijacked to the North Pole! Where in the hell are we?"
As it turns out, had I taken time to look up Santiago Chile in my atlas I would have realized by comparison, Santiago, Chile is to the Southern hemisphere what Anchorage Alaska is to the northern! That had to be the coldest week I ever spent anywhere in my life. Luckily enough my friends from Chile each donated a piece of clothing to help out what I considered a very worthy cause but by the time I got back to sunny California I was dressed like something out of God knows what. I had a baggy pair of purple stretch type sweat pants, a very dull burnt orange sweater complete with white spatterd paint and topped off with a pair of yellow loafers that were almost 4 full sizes to large.
Why am I writing about this? Well today over on THE SPORTING LIFE I learned that Chile made an announcement that it was willing to host the 2008 Dakar Rally! How cool is that? It will be interesting to see if something so grand that involves so much planning and logistics could possibly be pulled off. While I agree it would be no different than asking China to hold the La Carrera but in light of what has taken place I for one would truly enjoy seeing the effort become a reality. Click here to be taken to the link. My advice if they do manage to pull it off... Leave the Bermuda shorts and sandals at home.
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