Random thoughts

• If you buy new glasses and go to the trouble of ordering special sunglasses from the U.S. because they are the only ones that will fit, it's a good idea not to leave them in your desk at home. 
• Chileans don't eat Chilean sea bass. It's not on the menu anywhere. 
• Tourist Spanglish works great in tourist resorts and areas. Not so much in little out of the way villages.  
• But the Google Translate app is fantastic. 
• Santiago is the hot dog capital of the world. Not the good smokies or sausages, but the old fashioned Maple Leaf Weiner tube steak. There are at least 2 hot dog emporiums on every block.  One of them is ranked 49 out of 1,223 restaurants on Santiago by TripAdvisor. And it deserves the ranking. The toppings.…...
• If a sand dune has drifted across the highway and you have to hit it at speed to get through it, it's a good idea to have you your window closed. Trust me on this one. 
• There are no car washes in San Pedro de Atacama. See above.
• If you buy an apple in Chile, cross into Bolivia, and bring the same apple back into Chile, they will confiscate it at customs. Those customs people must love fruit. 
• If you're in a food court in a mall in Chile, and you just know your Spanglish isn't going to work, so you order a "numero dos" combo and point to the picture of what you want to make it easy, it will still take 10 minutes to get your point across. And all you wanted was a hot dog and fries with Diet Coke. Which they call Coca Cola Light and it tastes like Dr. Pepper.