“I had better run,” she said.
“Take the rest of the pizza with you.”
“You eat it. You still have five more hours to go,” she said and waved as she left.
He relived the conversation over in his head once more and finally decided it had gone about as well as it could have. She didn’t buy it but she didn’t make a fuss. It was probably the best he could hope for under the circumstances.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The flight to La Serena was in a puddle jumper that rose and fell with the currents. It was all Abby could do to keep from throwing up her meager breakfast. She was more than a little relieved when the captain announced they were getting ready to land.
The turbo prop twin engine de Havilland swung out over the bay and Abby could see the rugged looking mountains in the background. Landing had never been her favorite part of flying. To her it seemed nothing more than a controlled crash. Sometimes not so controlled.
The plane touched down smoothly and rolled to the end of the run way before turning onto a taxiway. The airport was certainly showing its age. The luggage was just sitting on the tarmac so she grabbed her bag and went inside the terminal.
She was happy to see a neatly dressed young man with a sign that had her name on it.
“Hi, I’m Doctor Montgomery. It is very nice of you to pick me up.”
“No problem,” he said without a trace of accent, “The vehicle is right out front.”
He reached over, relieved her of her suitcase, and walked her out to the car. It was an older Land Rover with large tires, a brush guard and a roof full of driving lights.
He saw her looking at them and said, “It is very dark where we are going.”
“To Cerro La Silla?”
“Yes. We will be coming back very late. You are booked into the Hotel Playa Campanario. We will stop there before we head up into the mountains so you can change.”
“Change?”
“It is very cold. You are going to need much more than what you have on now,” he told her.
“I didn’t bring anything very warm,” Abby told him.
“Then we must stop and pick up some additional gear or you will be most uncomfortable,” he explained.
He drove them to a hiking and bicycle shop that did a great deal of business with the ESO. She bought heavy hiking boots, thermal underwear, socks, and a heavy jacket with a zip out lining. He suggested warm gloves and a hat or earmuffs. She settled for the hat. At the last minute she threw in a wool scarf.
When they were finished shopping he took her to the hotel and she checked in. She quickly changed into her new clothes and in minutes they were headed toward the mountains. Within the hour she could start to feel the elevation change in her ears.
She learned the guide was Marco Listina, and he was from Nevada.
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. My parents left Chili and moved to the US. I was born in a little burg outside of Reno,” he told her.
“So how did you end up here?”
“Actually I came to Chili to visit my relatives. I happened to be at the right place at the right time I guess. The ESO was developing one of the sites we are going to right now. They were hiring. I applied and the rest is history as they say.”
“Wow. It is amazing how it all works out sometimes.”
“It is. I need to warn you. In about ten more kilometers the road is going to get steep and much rougher.”
“Oh heavens, I thought it was already bad.”
“We are on the good part now. Believe me it will get a lot more exciting. I won’t be talking much. It is very easy to make a mistake and if you do, it is a serious one,” he warned her.
He was right. The road became much steeper and the pavement, as poor as it was, gave way to gravel and dirt. The Land Rover strained to maintain the pace but Marco was obviously used to the route and a very good driver. Abby decided the best thing she could do was keep her mouth shut and eyes closed.
“Are you okay?” Marco said, touching her shoulder.
“What?” she said, jerking awake.
“I think you fell asleep.”
“I don’t believe it. I guess I was more tired than I realized.”
“Well I will say, you are the first visitor to ever go to sleep on the trip up,” he said.
When she got out she stopped and looked around in amazement. It was breathtaking. The sky was so clear it seemed more like a painting. She gazed out over the valley below and was staggered by the beauty. Now she wished she had stayed awake during the trip.
“Breathtaking isn’t it,” Marco said coming up beside her.
“Unbelievable.”
“It’s what makes the drive up here worth it. Doctor Achim will be here to give you a tour. Make sure you get to spend some extra time with the NNT telescope.”
“Absolutely. I’ve been dying to see it and how it operates. "
The next five hours was a mind numbing whirlwind tour of one of the most amazing telescopes she had ever seen. The acronyms associated with the telescope's capabilities were enough to fill a book. The time seemed to fly by and Abby would happily have forgone lunch to keep exploring the incredible piece of equipment.
"I know you would like to spend more time here but we must start down the mountain before the sun goes down. Once it sets the fog rolls in very quickly. We do not want to be in that situation in the dark," Marco told her.
"If I worked here I don't know if I would ever go down the mountain. I'd just pitch a tent," Abby joked.
"l was much the same way the first six months I worked here."
"I can certainly see why."
They drove back down the mountain in silence until they got to the faster pavement again. This time Abby didn't even try to sleep.
"Marco, I can't thank you enough. This was such an incredible experience."
"It was my pleasure. You will enjoy Cerro Pananal even more. You will have more time there as well. I will pick you up at 7:00 a.m. I know it is very early but there are only two flights a day and often the second flight is cancelled because of weather," he explained.
"No problem. That will just get me there faster. I'll be ready," she said.
He wished her a good evening and drove off.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
James wasn't sure that pushing on was such a great idea. More than once he thought he had seen a void area where he had seen stars before. He was starting to doubt his own abilities. Rather than make a note in the star chart log, he just scribbled out some notes in his note book.
Because his output was lower due to working alone, the math verification group had extra time on their hands and would often drop in on James before quitting for the day.
"Have you heard from Abby?" Lewis asked.
"Not a word. I hope she is all right," James replied.
"I doubt it is very easy to call from Chili," Brian said.
"”Maybe she met some gorgeous guy and they ran off together'" Andy offered.
"Oh gag me," Lewis replied.
"l would venture to say it is the telescope that has captured her attention," James said.
"You just say that because you two have become an item," Andy said.
"Yeah. I noticed that too," Brian razzed.
"Alright you dweebs. Don't you have some math to get done or something?" James asked.
"This is much more fun," Andy replied.
"You could spell me on the scope if you really want to be useful," James said.
"I didn't say anything about being useful. Did you say that Andy?"
“I didn't say anything like that," Andy answered.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t even help myself,” Brian offered.
"You guys are a real hoot."
“It’s just a small service we perform. We try to make the world a better place," Lewis said.