I saw a short Chilean guy holding up a sign with my name — McKrakin. I double-checked it was me, and we took the approximate hour drive to the hotel where I am staying – Atton Vitacura. It is a very nice place about 15 min walk from city center.  I unpacked and then Jamie (Managing Director of Chile Global Ventures) picked me up with his two young daughters, Natialia (9) and Daniella (6), and we headed over to Teleferica which is like OberGatlinburg with a cablecar which goes up to the statue of the Virgin Mary and overlooks the city.  We couldn’t find parking so we ended up at Costanera Tower – the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. It was an incredible view.  I couldn’t believe how expansive Santiago was They tell me that 7.2 million people live in Santiago, and 17 milllion live in the whole country. It is literally a bowl within the Andes mountains. Jamie had to pick his wife up from the airport so we grabbed a quick bite near my hotel where they sell empanadas.  He talked me into a meat, onion, olive, and tomato one.  I ate about a 1/4 of it, and had to stop. Chilean food is not spicy but it is just a mixture of a lot of things, and the taste is very distinct… even for a meat and potatoes guy like me..I had another one with just cheese and then Jamie and the girls dropped me off at the hotel.

I took a long nap (much needed) and then took a walk around Vitacura & Las Condes, the area where I was staying.  It is very safe here, and the country I am told doesn’t have corrupt cops.  After my stroll, I came back and worked on my Marketing case, and Negotiations conflict style study.  I can’t wait to finish my MBA in the Spring. Afterwards I watched some tv and turned in.

Monday 11/5

I had breakfast in the hotel and the car picking me up was late.  I met Pablo who was the bellman like guy for the hotel.  Great guy and used to work in CA.  He told me that the reason Chile has the 4th best Red Wine in world is due to the active volcanoes that melt the snow on the mountains which turns to water and contains many minerals.  Car showed up and off to theh office I went.  It is a gated compound like its own community across from a private school. Very well monitored and controlled access.   I met with Jamie briefly and then had a series of meeting throughout the day.  I now have dinner plans on Thursday and cocktails on Wednesday evening.  I also did the rehearsal for my podcast I am doing on Friday. Took the car back to the office.  I walked to the local market and got some drinks (no Mt Dew to be found here yet). I ordered room service dinner and then turned in for the evening.

Tuesday 11/6

I had breakfast in the hotel and the car picked me up to take me to Jamie’s office, Fundacion de Chile. I had meetings all morning, and then had a nice lunch outdoor in the tent with a few of Jamie’s team members (Felipe, Manuel and others).  Had meetings in the afternoon and wrapped up a bit early.  Went back to hotel and was talking to ladies at front desk and Papa Johns delivery guy came in. Guess what I had for dinner.  Chilean Papa Johns!. I then worked on my SaaS presentation and MBA coursework and turned in.

Wednesday 11/7

Crazy morning and was almost late to office.  Hundreds of tourists and several tour buses were blocking the hotel street and nobody could get in or out.  Also had a power outage, which I thought was a blackout like in Nicaragua.  Turns out a banner fell on a power line and fried the electric box for the area. Had a great day at the office and then went to the Tanaka bar with Luis to the Endeavor event. Lotos of entrpreneurs. Met a nice girl Grace from Oregon who has been in Chile for 4 years now. Ran into Andres at Noisegrasp who is CEO of company I recently did a Skype call with. He couldnt believe I was in Chile. He took a selfie with me and called his VC in the Bay area.

Thursday 11/8

I had a very early start today, so all those whiskey sours last night are going to cause me troubles. I had a SaaS presentation to a large group at 7:30, and then had meetings all day. I actually did the intro to my presentation all in Spanish. I was quite nervous, but got positive feedback and all was good.  When I got back to hotel, I was going to walk down to local steakhouse. Jamie ended up meeting me at Carnal and we had a great dinner and debriefing for the week. Then we headed over to Noi hotel and the rooftop bar and pool and had drinks well past midnight. The sleep I thought I was going to get did not happen.  No sleep again tonight and early meetinsg again tomorrow.

Friday 11/9

Friday – Meetings all day.  Had lunch with my group again and had a memorable moment from the trip. Augustina was showing me the menu for the Mestizo, and was scrolling though pictures of like lamb, veal, pork, and she was saying “animals, more animals, more animals”. I fell off my chair laughing. Felipe then gave me a cool tour of the whole office of FCH.  Pretty amazing compound. Was worn out from past 2 nights so I stayed in, ordered room service and went to bed early.  

Saturday 11/10

Meeting in the morning and then headed out for the day. Walked back to Costanera Tower to have lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and then spent the afternoon at Parque Bicentennial (video).  Came home, watched some football through my SlingPlayer, then packed up a bit and then turned in.

Sunday 11/11

I had a small breakfast and then headed to the airport for a day of travel. No Mt Dew in the country of Chile!!!