Portillo, “Narrow Valley”

Guest Starring Harry Potter and a 35 year-old

Man, it’s been too long. I’m sincerely sorry for the lack of blog updates…it’s been seriously lame. I guess I’ll just have to make up for it in the last months I have here in Chile.

Anyway, for those of you that don’t already know, this week I am at Portillo Ski Resort with my father and Schuyler. I have been looking forward to this week for quite a long time, and so far it has lived up to and far surpassed my self-imposed high expectations. It is mine and my father’s third time here in Portillo, and Schuyler’s first; needless to say it’s just as good the third time as the first, maybe even better. And though I can think of a number of Spanish words to accurately describe the Portillo experience, there is only one English word that I find fitting: magical. But this is probably because adjectives in Spanish sound a million times better.

Speaking of magical, my father and I have been blessed with the company of Harry Potter on this ski trip. Or at least that’s what four Argentines said upon meeting the man himself, also known as Schuyler Fabian. Apparently the Sky as Harry Potter craze is not just limited to North America! More fittingly, I think, they also mentioned the old standbys of Toby McGuire and Elijah Wood. Very sharp Argentines.

Let’s back up to the beginning of the trip real quick. I arrived in Santiago on Friday morning after getting a 6am flight from Antofagasta, and had a room at the airport Holiday Inn for the day and night. Yet this was no typical Holiday Inn! After checking in, I was treated to one of the most delectable hotel buffet breakfasts I have ever had. After a glorious little nap in the most comfortable bed I have slept in for months, I swam a few laps in the pool and went for a nice jog in the gym. I felt like I was in the twilight zone: pool, gym, real breakfast…this isn’t Taltal, I must be dreaming. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was dreaming, just in reality.

But after a few hours of forced relaxation and airport seclusion, I started to get restless and bored. I wanted to get to Portillo already! Also, the airport had no runway observation deck, a big deal breaker for SCL (Santiago Airport) as far as I’m concerned. My focus turned to the morning, when I would be meeting Dad and Sky.

Somehow the hours passed, and before I knew it I saw them walk through the international arrivals exit. Euphoria. We were on our way to the central Chilean Andes within minutes, passing through beautiful grape and avocado fields and gradually rising in altitude. Somehow my previous two trips here haven’t eliminated the element of excitement and surprise at seeing it all anew; coming to Portillo is like Christmas morning when I was eight. It is truly my happy place; the image or series of images that I conjure up when I’m experiencing the most dire of circumstances or moods.
We were in our room by 12pm on Saturday, clearly energized by the excitement of being here but also dead tired. Sky and I went to sample the first five-star lunch of many to be had here while my Dad slept, then got onto the slopes for a few late afternoon runs. Sky looks like he’s been skiing ten days a year for the last five years, and clearly hasn’t missed a beat. He was out there carving up the slopes right away. My Dad looked similarly well prepared, and I didn’t feel a single bit of “rust” in my first turns despite not having skied in almost a full year. It’s just like riding a bike…the movement and balance comes back so naturally after years of repetition. And despite the high altitude, I don’t feel too fatigued after the first four days of skiing, though I’ve spent just about every post-lunch afternoon relaxing far more than skiing. It’s quite hard not to when lunch is a three-course masterpiece, and renders the body comatose for the following three hours!

Much more to come on the week and the food, oh the food - an especially luxurious aspect of the Portillo experience. But for now, a few good shots!