School and more in Santiago

Some general thoughts....

Two days of language school (mornings from 9:30 until 1:00) and I´m happy I made the decision to do this.  My class of 8 others includes two native English speakers - a guy from Washington D.C. whose wife works for the State Dept. and they are here now but have lived in many places and a guy from Australia who met his Chilean wife in Australia where she was a tourist (so she stayed there for 6 months to learn English and now he is learning Spanish here - he said they used Google Translate to communicate for months!  A girl in my class from Holland speaks 7 languages already and will travel for 9 months now between high school and college.  In January she will go to Indonesia for 6 months to live with her father´s family and to study the native language.

In my class are also folks from Holland, Germany, China, and Japan.  Many people in the school are from Brazil and work in tourism.  It´s an interesting place with activities and good people.  They offer a free Salsa class on Wednesday afternoon and I´m going.  Me encanta salsa y la musica.

I´m living at Claudia´s for these next two weeks and it is very comfortable.  To get to school from her house I can walk to the metro station or take the bus to get there, then take the metro (subway) for about 20 minutes. Easy!  She has a husband who is always making jokes (in Spanish) and is very pleasant and she has renters.  I met the young man from Mexico today - he is working here for one year with his company and speaks English well.

On Friday the metro had electrical problems and 4 of 5 metro lines were down.  Traffic was a mess and most people could not get to work and I´m glad I did not have classes yet.  The chief of the metro was fired.  The metro is easy and clean and I´m very comfortable on it now. I also walk a lot and yesterday I went for a run, which felt so good!  It´s pretty hot in the afternoons and I was red as a beet afterwards.

Every outdoor park has workout machines installed and people use them.  They look like a standard bench press or stairmaster but all use your own body weight for resistance - no weight stacks.  There are gyms everywhere, runners, bicyclists, and generally people who move a lot. People have tattoos and piercings and wear all the same clothing we do so I fit in quite well.  It´s not cheap here though.  Their economy is doing well and there´s tons of bars, restaurants, dance culbs, coffee shops, etc.  It´s comfortable here.

I am posting this without photos because it's time for a post.  I'm suddenly very busy with school, homework, and friends!  I talked with Claudia and her Patricio a lot today, and to Eduardo and Francesca who both rent from Claudia.  I never turn down a chance to practice listening and speaking Spanish... so another night and I have not uploaded photos.  Having friends is so good! 

Hoping to post photos tomorrow.  

Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, and other tourist spots

The weekend was fabulous again because I got to see more places on the must-see list!  I went with Patricio to Valparaiso and on the drive to the coast from Santiago went over the coastal range, saw many vineyards and grapes growing, and beautiful mountain scenery.  On Saturday some of his friends came there too and we had so much fun even though none of them spoke English.  Valparaiso is very large and is all hills - you just can´t believe how people build on the hillsides.  There are shacks and skyscrapers and it´s the main shipping port for Chile so is quite working class but with many tourists.

Things to do there:  You can walk along the coast but it is a shipping coast so no beaches.  We took a boat ride in the harbor to see the city from the water and hear about the churches, various historic buildings, museums, and the city´s long history.  There are many funiculars (a small car that goes up and down very steep hills) that are used regularly, many plazas and paseos.  The paseos are because the city is on hills so these are walkways that look out over the hillside and get you from one area to another.  And there are billions of stairs to climb or descend.  Graffiti is also abundant and accepted and much of the artwork is really good.

I bought a sweater in Valparaiso made from alpaca wool.  The nights are chilly and the sweater is really warm.  It will be great for Patagonia!  I also bought a hat here because my baseball cap makes me stand out.  But I am not buying much because I have to get everything into my backpack.

We also went to Vina del Mar which is adjacent to Valparaiso but is a bit higher class and is not a port.  There are tall apartment buildings and a casino and a lovely walkway along the coast with some beach areas but mostly huge rocks with crashing waves.  The weekend traffic was bad because so many people go to the coast for the weekend, but it gets much worse in the summer.  School will be out for students in less than 3 weeks!

Did I mention Salsa dancing from midnight until 3:30 for the two nights in Valparaiso.  Dinner at 9:30 or 10:00 followed by dancing is common.  We went to a happening place called La Piedra Feliz - Happy Stone, which has 5 different rooms for music.  The two live bands were great and the room with salsa, merengue and bachata music was where we spent the most time.  I´m getting the hang of salsa and very much enjoyed watching the great dancers on the dance floor and trying to learn to move my hips like that while keeping my shoulders level.  It is not easy.

Travel is ups and downs and I´ve had many ups and met so many good people.  Claudia says that Chileans like everything western and will go out of their way to help westerners - that they will be more helpful to me than they might be to another Chileno.  I don´t know if it´s true but I can´t even recount how many times I´ve asked for something and someone has walked me to a subway stop or asked people on the street until someone knows what I want (it took forever to find this tiny street that the school is on but enough people helped that I got here!).  Of course there are people everywhere eho will rake advantage if possible.   But so far it´s been a fantastic experience with kind, fun, and helpful people.

I know it´s getting close to Thanksgiving there and you are all making plans for meals, friends, and family.  No Thanksgiving here.  I´m sending a big hug to all.

Back in Santiago

It is Thursday and I found a Starbucks in Santiago at a metro stop and huge intersection and I'm enjoying a delicious latte and using their wifi.  
There is Christmas music playing here in Starbucks and it is in the high 80's today.  Dry air and burning sun like Colorado in the summer.  Better than your cold, right?  

I got here yesterday and my plan is to go to a language school here in the morning for 1 or 2 weeks, until I go to Patagonia on the 29th.

This afternoon I am going to meet with Claudia.   She said she still has a room open and I suggested I could rent it while I go to the language achool here.  That would be so great so we will see if it works out.  

After this I am going to the language school to talk to them and I will hope to start Monday.  I've just been frustrated with my limited Spanish so I think this is a good idea even tho I won't see as much of Chile.

Tomorrow morning Patricio and I are going to a large,  historic city on the coast, Valparaiso.   It is touristy but also their most important port.  I'm so luvky to have a tour guide!

Thanks to everyone for emails.  They always make me happy! 

  

Sent from Samsung tablet

Cajon del Maipo, beautiful canyon.

Last week I visited the canyon of Maipo with Patricio - it was home to one of the native people of Chile, the Mapuche.  It was so much like driving up one of our canyons in Colorado. People have second homes there (small by our standards).

There are lots of little towns on the way up. The top is a mountain covered by a glacier (Glacial Morado).  Just before the glacier is a tiny town up the steep dirt hill called Baños Morales which has a few houses, a tiny cafe, and the thermal springs in the picture below (lots of minerals in the water).  That is the end of the road.

We stopped at an amazing place for lunch built out of cyprus for lunch.  Three rivers converge in this canyonThis is a favorite weekend getaway for people from Santiago and the traffic is terrible on the return to Santiago on a Sunday afternoon but we went on a weekday. In the canyon there are lots of activities you can do like rafting, zip lining, horseback riding, and hiking. Very much like where I live!
Chaltumay (thank you) in Mapuche

Casa de Pablo Neruda and warm sunshine today!

Today was a perfect day with lots of sunshine and many hours of warmth. I saw the sunset this evening and it was so beautiful.   It sets really fast and there is not much twilight time.

I visited the house of Pablo Neruda, a very famous poet from Chile who eventually had 3 houses in Chile.  He was a collector and loved the sea and the house was full of cool things. Very interesting with incredible ocean views from every room!   First 3 photos below.

I spent many hours walking along the beach, through the tiny town, to the plaza, and ate a good and cheap local meal of chicken, rice, and lettuce salad.   I walked back to Cantalau to see the stone faces and the sea from that hilltop.  Last 3 photos. 

This coastline is so beautiful.  

The hostel workaway and Isla Negra

There is much about this work exchange experience at the hostel that I have not enjoyed, but some people and things I have. I am only staying in Isla Negra for one week and will leave here Wednesday afternoon.

I have not minded the work, which is mostly cleaning and making beds, and have enjoyed cooking lunch in the afternoon and sometimes with another volunteer, Alberto who is from Argentina. 

The ocean is amazing wild and so beautiful but it is mostly very cold and windy here now. Also, this hostel is dirty and comes with 5 large dogs and dog hair everywhere. It has some positives but I can't get beyond the poor sanitation.   It's just not a good fit for me. It's like camping because it's dirty and cold most of the time.  Literally I have worn the same jeans, socks, 2 shirts, 2 jackets and my scarf every day for 5 days so far. I am NOT taking anything off until I get somewhere warm.

One of the great things about being here is that I met a wonderful volunteer who was only here two days but is still in Isla Negra. Liselotte is from Chile and is going to travel to India and Europe, beginning on Dec. 5th and speaks English and corrects my Spanish. It's been great to get to know her and walk places with her because she knows so many people here. 

Front hostel entryway with 2 of the 5 dogs.  They are cute and friendly but smelly...former street dogs.  So many stray dogs here....

On my walk along the beach and up to Pablo Neruda's former land called Cantalau.  Many streers are paved. Spring flowers are awesome! 

remember there's a fabulous coast here! 

Lis painting a wooden fish at an artist community. 

Last photo is the place outside where we wash dishes and the cats drink out of the rinse water bowls.  

Coastal towns including Isla Nègra

The coast near Santiago inis a popular place for locals to go for weein Algorrobends or vacations and the towns were busy but not packed like they will be in summer,  starting in December.   Some towns had huge resorts and many cabins for rent.  Others were more working class and offered small cabins and camping.  Very interesting visit to several nearby towns on Saturday.

These albatross are on the roof of the fish market but it

was closed.  

 

These are the towns I visited with Patricio.  Great because he has a truck and drove us. 

This is Algarrobo.  Many of these towns have big beautiful beaches.  

Pedestrian walkway connects a huge beach with a large beach in 

Cartegena. 

 

Mosaic steps near the sea in Cartegena.  

Below, the spring parade in Algorrobo.  Carbineros (police) are a common site inthe streets in all towns.  The floats and costumes were very fancy.