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Flight v. pleasant -- cloudy most of way, but I did get views of mts w glaciers, [[?]], colls & tarns in green & gray. Near P. Montt was cultivated land in islands & peninsulas - lovely. And on to Santiago.

Saw ITT [[??]] in airport & told him Radtke still coming. Said goodbye to Janice & Richard--en route to Miami via Eastern. Tan Chile bus (?) to Monte Carlo, where we, in essence collapsed. Never left room even tho we arrived before 8 P.M. Ate 2 1/2 crackers for "supper" & watched El Greco movie - To bed ~ 10:00.

[[underlined]] Sunday - March 24 [[/underlined]] 
Awoke in Room 24, Hotel Montecarlo to a beautiful clear, sunny day. Desayunio [[??]]. What to do on a Sunday? Grab a taxi to Viñho del Mar? or the Andes? I read a leaflet from downstairs that described daily tours to the mountain July to Sept. Tom decided to look into it and, a few minutes later, came upstairs saying we would leave immediately. The woman downstairs called the touring company and a car was on the way with an English-speaking guide! We grabbed cameras, glasses & sweaters & were set to go. Presently, a big, comfortable car drove up & a very engaging young Chilean came in to greet us - good English - very pleasant. 

We drove north, leaving about 9:30. Very bad

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smog over city and countryside. Day getting hot. Wondered if we would see Andes at all. Stopped at Chacrabuta Monument to independence. drove thru Los Andes, a pleasant little town in valley. Had views of Aconcagua en route. Turned east on highway over Andes to Mendoza. Finally climbed & climbed and switched back. Stopped here & there for pictures & birds. Photog. very deep gorge where soldiers allegedly escaped army by leaping over on horses. (No way). Sky & air very clear in mts. beautiful day. Followed transandean R.R. passed thru several avalanche guards. Many stones on road making highway one-way in places. Signs out but no road clearance as yet. Was it from earthquake? Saw considerable damage in parts of Santiago, Los Andes, & other villages. 

At top of pass was Hotel Portillo, a grand yellow building surrounded by snowy peaks and facing, on its far side, a glacial lake - Inca Lake. One of most stunning settings I've ever seen. We went in for lunch -- it is open all year but the season is winter -- for skiing, hang gliding, etc. Just before eating we examined back area above swimming pool, [[strikethrough]] of [[/strikethrough]] and found a [[underlined]] big  [[/underlined]] humming bird inside glass walls. We were the only 2 guests for lunch -- had prize seat looking at lake. Veg. soup. avocado stuffed w tuna, vanilla ice cream. At 10,000 feet we took it easy & had no wine.

After lunch, we birded on the sunny slopes of lake. After a long time identified bird as Andean hillstar. Also saw a yellow & black bird,

Transcription Notes:
Chacrabuta a misspelling of Chacabuco