Busted! A trail mix of problems

Ever try to get something into another country illegally? Us neither..o.k so there was this one time but that's another story.

The date is January 18th. Nats n I are doing our final check to see if there is ANYTHING left to pack.
Enter Greta ( that's me ma ) " You should take all this dry fruit  n nuts with you, we won't eat it and you'll probably want a snack on the plane."
Natalie and I had been making a special homemade trail mix for xmas gifts and well, we didn't get to using all our supplies so there was..most of it left.
Had I turned Mom down I would have heard the suggestion a few more times, I'm sure, so I agree to keep things moving. There was simply too much to carry on (which was the point in retrospect) so I stuff er in the ol backiddy pack and awaaaaaay we go.

Fast forward to landing in Santiago. Flight attendant hands out landing cards to all the non residents to declare things..you know, firearms, explosives, farm animals, illegally obtained plutonium and of course fruits n nuts.
After flying for 17 hours all we could think about was getting off the damn bird n making our way to the nearest cerveza peddler so we proceeded to say no to all these ridiculous questions. Bah, as if I"m gonna bring my AK 47 or a bag of apples with me to Chile..much cheaper here!

Nearing the exit, I can see the light streaming through the doors, the warmth of the Chilean sun beckoning my winter white epidermis...but alas, what's this? One last wave of security so that if you managed to get any of these forbidden items this far you won't get any further. Tired and weary we toss our bags into the scanner machine without a thought.
"Sir, why are you not tell us you are having bring somethings into Chile?" I'm confused..." What? "
Anyway, long story long, we then spend the next 2 hours waiting with the other fruit and nut offenders ( no joke, there were a few of us ) to speak to our captors. Finally I am called into a small, hot, sticky room and asked very seriously to sit down in front of a man in army green fatigues and asked, " SO, why are you not tell us about the fruit and nuts? " His seriousness begs my upset, empty stomach to lurch upward toward my adams apple. I proceed to tell him how my mother worries I don't eat enough and made me pack them and how it totally slipped my mind. He looks mighty suspicious of my trembling words. " You know it is a minimum 500 dollar fine for this?"
For realz? What were planning to do? Sell them shits to street kids? ( I'm aware of the real reasons, don't get me wrong, but this is for dramatic effect..bare with me)
Just then a female guard enters as he asks my occupation..I tell him I make the cartoonies for the idiot box ( or rather idiot wall hanging to be current) He scrunches his nose not understanding what I'm on about but the female guard perks right up with a smile and begins to esplain to him with mucho enthusiasm. She then asks me which shows I work on. I got no bites with Barbie n the Nutcracker or Skunk FU but when I say the magic words, Kid Vs Kat she jumps all over it.
" My niece, she LOVES this show!"
I see my interrogator soften ever so slightly. He hands me my crime on some very important official looking papers and we are let off with a warning. " Don't do it again!" he warns..like I'm about to try the whole fiasco
over to see if I can dupe them next time. So, with a street value of maybe 15 bucks ( they were from Whole Foods hence the steep cost) Natalie and I have been forced to eek out a living playing fiddles and re enacting scenes from Zoolander to make ends meat. O.k not really, I watch as Nats performs..she's getting better!

Welcome to South America!

After 2 days in Santiago we stayed in Valparaiso..tell ya about that in the next one..super rad street art EVERYWHERE..see our flikr for the pics ( will post that link momentarily)

We are currently in southern Chile on the island of Chiloe, adjusting, relaxing, and finally getting a chance to write. . it's beautiful here. K, I'm hungry.
Ciao for niao

The Acworths