Chile day 1 - some r&r

Arrived in Santiago this morning at 10 am, after a comfortable flight with LAN from Madrid. Most of the judging team were travelling together, and the seven of us had a jolly time in the business class lounge at Madrid where there was a range of wines in a tasting cabinet to keep us entertained.

We got off the plane to encounter temperatures in the late 20s and a blazing sun set in an azure sky. The hotel, the Grand Hyatt, is stunning and luxurious (the view from where I'm sitting in the lobby is pictured above; the reason I'm in the lobby is because this is the only place that has wireless internet in the entire hotel). There was time for a swim in the pool, and then we headed off to the Santiago fish market, which is quite wonderful. We lunched at a fish restaurant there, where I had some enormous barnacles that only a few were prepared to try - they looked pretty gross but tasted nice.

An afternoon swim was followed by a quick shopping trip, and soon it will be time for some tea - we're going to a local restaurant where we'll meet some wines of Chile people. Tomorrow promises to be fun - a helicopter trip over the Andes is included in the agenda!