Due to the distance between our dormitory and dining facilities and the telescopes, observers at CTIO are issued vehicles for their use while on the summit. Our venerable fleet of Volkswagen Beetles has recently been replaced by new cars with automatic transmissions (no more frantic searches for first gear on that uphill curve!).
Visiting investigators will need to bring a current driver's license, valid in their home country, to be permitted to drive on the mountain top private CTIO roads. CTIO vehicles may not be driven off the summit or to Cerro Pachon by observers.
Chilean law requires that foreign drivers also have an international driver's license if they are to use public roads. In the US, this can be obtained through local American Automobile Association offices for a modest fee.
Enrique Figueroa (efigueroa@noao.edu),
Luis Garvizo (lgarvizo@noao.edu)