Tonight's adventure was brought to you by the letters I,R,K,S.

See what I did there? I considered leaving out the commas, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that. And right now, I need to tolerate my own company more than ever!

Most (read:none) of you will be surprised to learn that tonight's adventure was in search of food. My current mission in Chile is to eat seafood until I'm sick of it, at which point I will move on to beef. Or, January, if Ruth comes to visit. Whichever time comes first will dictate my protein source.

And today's chilly weather dictated my fur jacket's first night out!
So tonight's sponsors, beginning in chronological order:
 Roberto was kind enough to recommend some seafood places for me. After much google-mapping and soul searching, I decided to head out (of my comfort zone and barrio) to Las Condes barrio for La Tasca Altamar. Popular opinion has it that it's just off the linea uno Manquehue stop. But I've never been a lemming when it comes to opinion (unless I'm on the train in Beijing, when your species, genus, etc., are forced upon you by the crowds. *Shudder*), so I stupidly decided to stay on the west side of the street, rather than the east. I saw a street on the other side whose sign I couldn't read, and hoped that wasn't the street I needed as I motored along.

Probably a good 20 minutes later, there are many intersections I cross in search of calle Noruego, but each fails to be it. I pass at least one other metro stop. Finally, my increasing anxiety kicks in & I stop a woman on the street to ask directions, which brings us to our second letter, K: the Kindness of strangers. Particularly Chilean strangers.

 Said samaritan (Susan, it turns out) doesn't really know where it is either, which I gather from her tone rather than the rapidfire Spanish she speaks. She takes out her phone, looks at it, says more to me in Spanish, and indicates we should walk.

It is around this point that I remember I have a new phone, which thus far has worked TREMENDOUSLY, a world away from the shitty phone I had in the US. I put the restaurant name into my       iPhone (sorry, I know, not as smooth a transition as the other 2 letters), and a little red arrow points to it on a map. I have no idea where it is in relation to me, but I can see that yes, it is indeed off of Apoquindo. I mean, at least it's not in Valparaiso!

We walk, then she suddenly switches to English, so we talk a little. She stops 2 guys to ask for directions; neither knows where it is, so we keep walking. I marvel that Roberto has ever successfully eaten at this restaurant, as all the other people I encounter on Apoquindo have never heard of Noruega.

Another 10 minutes have passed at least, and I know I must have passed it, particularly as google maps told me I'd only walk for about 7 minutes. (Of course, google maps also told me to keep walking down Merced calle to get to Cerro Santa Lucia, well beyond the giant wall that blocked my progress 35 minutes later, so I trust google maps now as much as I trust Italian monogamy.) Susan & I have come to a rather large restaurant, so Susan asks the guys standing there. There is much Spanish, heading shaking and finger-pointing in both directions, all of which somehow Susan understands to mean that yes, it is way back from where we've come, by the Manquehue exit as it happens, and at this point I should either take a taxi or the metro there. There's another metro stop not too far up, so that's where we head.

 Said next metro stop is Los Dominicos, the end of linea 1. I am amazed I have been this far in Santiago when it is only my third day. Susan continues to go WAY, WAYWAYWAY above and beyond any kindness I'd expect by getting on the train with me, to make sure I get off at the right stop.

 I bitterly think of how familiar the station is when I get there, and am dubious the second time will go any better. It is then that I look at my phone and see a little bouncy blue dot has joined this erroroneous expedition, and its placement on the map is not far from the red arrow. It takes a few seconds for me to realize that *I* am that bouncy blue dot. I can follow it to my destination! Could it really be that simple!?

 Blue dot that I am, I continue to (at least, according to my phone) bounce closer to the street I need. Actually, I have only crossed 3 streets when Apoquindo veers to the left, which happens to be NORUEGO! I am astonished, blue dotted with astonishment, particularly because, in contrast to well-lit Apoquindo, every part of this long-sought street is in total darkness, except for the giant vehicle a little up the road flashing blue & red lights. I think it would be just my luck if that was a fire truck in front of my destination.

 But my luck has changed; it's a truck dedicated to bringing the darkened street back to light. It is also the point at which my blue dot is past the red arrow I seek. All I see across the street is barely-discernible buildings, but walk toward them. I soon see a corner with a blackboard outside it. I figure this MUST be it, though I can't see any number. I can see some candles on tables, though, so I push the door open & ask, "Abierto?" Remarkably, they are, and this friendly old woman ushers me in, switches to English, and takes care of me the rest of the night, bringing me a glass of sauvignon blanc to go with my first congrio.

So all in all, while I continue to live my fear of getting lost, I also keep finding Chileans to be incredibly kind and helpful, even to furry, non-Spanish-speaking blue dots.