Ah...made it to the ship...and we're about to leave the port!

The flight from DFW was not bad, considering Chris upgraded us to Business Class, so we had fully reclining seats which made the overnight flight much better. I also watched "Footloose" on their new Samsung individual players with Bose headsets...nice. I could have done without the meals...too much and too late...but managed a bit of steak and the ice cream sundae before turning in. Santiago airport was well-organized thanks to the Holland America Reps stationed at critical places. It took us an hour to get through all the formalities but then we were on the bus headed to Valparaiso...the port about 1 1/2 hours away. It only took us 30 minutes to get processed and finally get on board...and find our very nice cabin. First stop, the library where we each picked up a book, had a light lunch in the Lido, then returned to unpack and relax. We checked out the gym which has enough equipment for us to continue our regime...Chris already signed up for a spinning class tomorrow morning. I'll probably just go and do the usual. It's a sea day, so not too much we need to be concerned about. We know this ship well, so don't need to do much else. Probably dinner in our cabin (they have an outstanding steak sandwich with grilled onions) and then turn in early. Valparaiso is large, built on many hills, and today...is overcast and blah. I'm sure on a sunny day it's more inviting. Temp today is pleasant...shirtsleeves are fine on our verandah.