January 17- back to Santiago

Woke up early in Valparaiso, packed up the bikes for our final ride on them, and drove the 130kms back to Santiago.  We are meeting the guy who is buying the bikes (one of Christobal's friends) at noon, and we arrive a half hour early, so does he.  We exchange greetings, and once again, a really nice guy. We cram all 3 motorcycles in the back of his truck and head off to find a notary.

Once at the notary, out comes our whack of paperwork and an agreement of sale letter is created. We sign and fingerprint the letter and then head back to the hotel, where we finalize the transaction with the exchange of money.

 We sold the bikes quite cheaply, but it was to our advantage to not have to waste time trying to sell them.  In the end, if you consider it a rental, the bikes cost $1000 for 3 weeks. Most of the guys we met on the road that had rented paid $185 per day, plus insurance. So, although we had to settle on smaller bikes, we saved about $2500 over renting.  As the truck pulled away with my little friend in the back, I was saddened to see her go. My final odometer reading was 4861.4, so we had spent a lot of time together.

  At 3pm I wander around for a bit, but Providencia, the area of Santiago we are in, isn't the best place for souvenirs.  After a complete waste of 3 hours (although I did go to a Starbucks for a normal coffee), I decide to do my shopping tomorrow, when I can search out a little more authentic Chilean wares.  Al has the same luck as me, while Chris looks for a accommodation since he has one extra night before heading home. 

   I am now eating a Chilean dish called Churrasco Chorrillana, which is basically fries on the bottom, mixed. With onions and peppers, sliced beef on top of that, and the  an egg on top.  In Chile, the egg is often on the top of things.