Well, our trip is almost over. Clearly I{ve shifted from having fun blogging about the trip to having lots more fun experiencing the trip - smile. Will try to catch up when I return to Seattle tomorrow.
Last night we saw the lightshow (not really sure what to call it - visual light show?) at the president{s palace in Santiago, in honor of Chile{s bicentennial. Very modern and very fun. I wish my spanish was better, I wanted to understand more of the video they played before the special effects and fireworks. (Propaganda? True voices of the people? was it all future focused or was anyone critical? Although I suppose if it{s played at the president{s palace there is an inherent propaganda component ...)
Anyway, it was exciting to be in a crowd of thousands watching the same display. This morning a military band marched by our hotel, followed by an army contingent. We have about 5 more hours in Chile before heading to the airport, and are going to head out to see what we can see on this weekend of the bicentennial. I think I{ve got the cheer down - and Ryan is tired of my incessant chanting under my breath: Chiiiiiiile! Chi chi chi le le le! Viva Chile!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
hard living
just want to let folks know I{m still standing. It costs $$$ to use the internet here so will post more when we return to Santiago. Weather is beautiful, US Ski Team is fast (and beautiful!), there are many interesting people here and we are having a blast.
looking forward to celebrating Chile{s bicentennial independence day on Saturday the 18th!
Ciao
looking forward to celebrating Chile{s bicentennial independence day on Saturday the 18th!
Ciao
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fast Women
Ok, I{m going to try and catch up on the last few days. Sorry to not post more photos - downloading them is extremely slow and the meter is running! These shots are of Portillo. One of the lifts goes over the highway which is fun and scary. Truck drivers and bus passengers wave as we float overhead. There is just enough snow to keep us occupied during the day, but the snow level is very very low for this time of year.
Anyway, to catch up on the trip thus far - after we visited the pinguinos, we found a dive hotel in Papudo. We played ping pong with the staffs{ kids for about an hour. It was more about pelting our repsective siblings with the ball rather than actually playing the game.
Friday morning we drove inland, got on the Pan American highway (I-5) for some views of the verdant countryside. I drove for a while along the coast and yet we escaped unscathed. Ryan coached me through shifting, which was kind of sweet considering I taught (helped) him how to drive a long time ago. We ventured south of Valparaiso - beautiful coastline, like northern California except fewer people and more stray dogs. We stretched our legs at Laguna Verde - I hope to post some pictures of that soon. I know I keep going on about how pretty it is here, but it really is.
We returned our little 800cc engine car with a nearly full tank of gas! We paid more for the gas than to rent the car. Both of us just thought to fill it up out of habit, not thinking that not only was this not required, but that the engine was so tiny that we could have driven to Ecuador and back on a single tank. The rental place guy was very nice and gave us a deal on the car and then drove us to the bus station for our return to Santiago.
Back in Santiago we finally managed to find a hotel that wasn{t overrun by footballers. Had to share a bed (ew!) because I was too lazy to go ask for a room with dos camas. Hotel Paris is a labyrinth and if our room wasn{t on the 5th floor, I think we had to go up or down as many flights of stairs to reach it.
Saturday morning on the shuttle to Portillo we met another brother-sister ski team, John and Kate from Australia. We{ve been hanging out ever since. Many many pisco sours have passed our lips and it is only Monday. (Hey, I need the protein from the egg whites!)
Kate is maintaining her ski instructor skills on the rest of our lot. She is taking a break from her summer-long RV trans-North America trip with her dog - to go skiing with her recently retired brother. We seem to have a lot in common and I{m enjoying them very much.
We got just a bit of skiing in on Saturday before tea. They feed us 4 times a day here! Sunday was very foggy with poor visibility. Fortunately they groom many runs so seeing where you{re going isn{t really necessary. Today the sun shone upon us all day long. It was awesome.
And for truly awesome feats, we{ve been observing the US Women{s Ski Team practice here. Ryan shoots better photos of them than I do (keep missing them, they are too fast for me!) but hopefully we can share a few soon. It is very fun watching them fly down the hill. (I had to really think about what verb would best describe what they do - zoom sounds louder than they are, race doesn{t do it justice, and hey, sometimes they are airborne so fly it truly is.) It{s a great excuse to take a break and bask in the glory and excitment that Olympic and World champions radiate.
I have just been informed that it is pisco time, and my drink is getting cold. I{ll try and post a few more photos but won{t promise anything ;)
Cheers-
Anyway, to catch up on the trip thus far - after we visited the pinguinos, we found a dive hotel in Papudo. We played ping pong with the staffs{ kids for about an hour. It was more about pelting our repsective siblings with the ball rather than actually playing the game.
Friday morning we drove inland, got on the Pan American highway (I-5) for some views of the verdant countryside. I drove for a while along the coast and yet we escaped unscathed. Ryan coached me through shifting, which was kind of sweet considering I taught (helped) him how to drive a long time ago. We ventured south of Valparaiso - beautiful coastline, like northern California except fewer people and more stray dogs. We stretched our legs at Laguna Verde - I hope to post some pictures of that soon. I know I keep going on about how pretty it is here, but it really is.
We returned our little 800cc engine car with a nearly full tank of gas! We paid more for the gas than to rent the car. Both of us just thought to fill it up out of habit, not thinking that not only was this not required, but that the engine was so tiny that we could have driven to Ecuador and back on a single tank. The rental place guy was very nice and gave us a deal on the car and then drove us to the bus station for our return to Santiago.
Back in Santiago we finally managed to find a hotel that wasn{t overrun by footballers. Had to share a bed (ew!) because I was too lazy to go ask for a room with dos camas. Hotel Paris is a labyrinth and if our room wasn{t on the 5th floor, I think we had to go up or down as many flights of stairs to reach it.
Saturday morning on the shuttle to Portillo we met another brother-sister ski team, John and Kate from Australia. We{ve been hanging out ever since. Many many pisco sours have passed our lips and it is only Monday. (Hey, I need the protein from the egg whites!)
Kate is maintaining her ski instructor skills on the rest of our lot. She is taking a break from her summer-long RV trans-North America trip with her dog - to go skiing with her recently retired brother. We seem to have a lot in common and I{m enjoying them very much.
We got just a bit of skiing in on Saturday before tea. They feed us 4 times a day here! Sunday was very foggy with poor visibility. Fortunately they groom many runs so seeing where you{re going isn{t really necessary. Today the sun shone upon us all day long. It was awesome.
And for truly awesome feats, we{ve been observing the US Women{s Ski Team practice here. Ryan shoots better photos of them than I do (keep missing them, they are too fast for me!) but hopefully we can share a few soon. It is very fun watching them fly down the hill. (I had to really think about what verb would best describe what they do - zoom sounds louder than they are, race doesn{t do it justice, and hey, sometimes they are airborne so fly it truly is.) It{s a great excuse to take a break and bask in the glory and excitment that Olympic and World champions radiate.
I have just been informed that it is pisco time, and my drink is getting cold. I{ll try and post a few more photos but won{t promise anything ;)
Cheers-
Saturday, September 11, 2010
portillo is nice
arrived in portillo this afternoon, had lunch, rented equipment and got a few hours of skiing in. not much snow here but we'll make do.
more later - hopefully will be able to report sightings of the US Ski Team. Rumor has it that Lindsay Vonn is here!
Ciao-
more later - hopefully will be able to report sightings of the US Ski Team. Rumor has it that Lindsay Vonn is here!
Ciao-
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pinguinos
Yesterday we rented a car from Valparaiso and drove up the coast. We are back safe and sound despite the fact that I drove for a few hours. A lot of places are closed for the season but we discovered many beautiful beaches. I´ll post photos once we arrive in Portillo. I figure I´ll have a lot of time on my hands recovering from skiing and will need something to do while resting my weary legs. And...will post a photo documenting the first time I´ve eaten fish in 10 years. I just couldn´t take the crappy vegetarian fare anymore so ordered up a congira frita (anyone know what congira is? Eel?). It was delicious and I am happy as a clam to return to vegetarian fare for the next 10 years.
But the highlight of the trip so far was seeing penguins!!!! We traversed large rocks at low tide to get the closest possible view of la isla de pinguinos. We spotted many penguins waddling amidst other sea birds. Words cannot describe how incredibly cool it was to see these little cuties in their natural habitat, and not in the zoo. I could have stayed for hours (we didn´t quite stay that long) but needed to find a hotel for the night. We were able to get a closer-up look when a local offered to share his binoculars. So so awesome.
We drove all over the coast and a little bit inland too. - I5 runs all the way through Chile - the Pan American highway. This afternoon we happened upon La Verde Laguna, a beautiful beach nestled among verdant valleys. It´s very much like the Pacific Northwest here, except there are palm trees and penguins.
This evening we´ve had a small series of disappointments, back in Santiago. First, trekked out to the stadium thinking there was a futbol match this evening only to find dark stadium lights and a deserted stadium (I think maybe Suzanne Vega or even worse a Suzanne Vega cover band was playing?). Back to Santiago Centro for dinner, found a good place for sandwiches and pisco sours ... and then arrived back at the home of the best ice cream in the world just moments after they closed! The agony... The good news is Ryan and I were having a great time talking about the nature of our work - not actual work projects but big picture stuff.
We are off to Portillow tomorrow morning! Andes here we come.
But the highlight of the trip so far was seeing penguins!!!! We traversed large rocks at low tide to get the closest possible view of la isla de pinguinos. We spotted many penguins waddling amidst other sea birds. Words cannot describe how incredibly cool it was to see these little cuties in their natural habitat, and not in the zoo. I could have stayed for hours (we didn´t quite stay that long) but needed to find a hotel for the night. We were able to get a closer-up look when a local offered to share his binoculars. So so awesome.
We drove all over the coast and a little bit inland too. - I5 runs all the way through Chile - the Pan American highway. This afternoon we happened upon La Verde Laguna, a beautiful beach nestled among verdant valleys. It´s very much like the Pacific Northwest here, except there are palm trees and penguins.
This evening we´ve had a small series of disappointments, back in Santiago. First, trekked out to the stadium thinking there was a futbol match this evening only to find dark stadium lights and a deserted stadium (I think maybe Suzanne Vega or even worse a Suzanne Vega cover band was playing?). Back to Santiago Centro for dinner, found a good place for sandwiches and pisco sours ... and then arrived back at the home of the best ice cream in the world just moments after they closed! The agony... The good news is Ryan and I were having a great time talking about the nature of our work - not actual work projects but big picture stuff.
We are off to Portillow tomorrow morning! Andes here we come.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
alex the seal
Now I understand why people sigh and clasp hand to heart at the mention of Valparaiso. Streets awash in color, murals, graffiti and the occasional view of the harbor have kept me busy snapping photos in hopes of capturing some of the magic. I believe Pablo Neruda compared the streets to a woman´s wild hair - a great analogy for winding, curvy mishmash of streets, stairs and steep hills. I wonder what it would be like to bike through these streets!
A few nights ago we enjoyed an exceptional dinner. Finally! I've had enough microwaved bland tomato and cheese gut bombs to consider eating fish (just for a week or two...). Anyway, we ate handmade pasta, mine stuffed with spinach and nettles(¿) Ryan had gnocchi in tomato sauce. Dessert was 4 scoops of housemade ice cream: chocolate, plantains, melon and chirymoia, a chilean fruit. It was awesome, the purest combination of the main flavor, e.g., melon and just a bit of cream. As we left, I believe I managed to tell the host that this was the best food we´ve had since arriving in Chile. And all of the chilean wine in my system compelled me to also point out that I´ve been to Italy 3 times, so I know what I´m talking about!
After dinner we went to Club Mascara and caught the last 20 minutes of La Mujer Violencia´s live set. Kind of punk / rock influenced (not punk rock). We had a good time. It as about $5 for both of us to get in, and that included a beer for each of us. Yeah, we had a good time. After that show we ended up in a dance club filled with 20 year old who were taking a break from making out in the parks to make out on the dance floor. More cheap beer helped. A cute couple shared their table with us, and even shared their beer! Instant friends. When 'Smells like teen spirit' came on, we told them we were from Seattle, like Nirvana - and were met with blank stares. (Ryan later guessed that they were still in diapers when that song, and Nirvana were popular.) And since the DJ only played each song for the first 60 seconds, we were soon dancing to another song. We eventually extricated ourselves and after hugs and kisses from our new friends, stumbled back up the hill to our hotel.
I need to mention the little girl listening to Lady Gaga and Latin American pop on the bus ride to Valparaiso. She sang along most loudly to Gaga - Alejandro and Bad Romance. She and I share the singing method where one believes it important to focus on the music and melody rather than getting all (or any) of the words right...and making up those you don´t understand. I helped her out with the lyrics - where I could.
A few nights ago we enjoyed an exceptional dinner. Finally! I've had enough microwaved bland tomato and cheese gut bombs to consider eating fish (just for a week or two...). Anyway, we ate handmade pasta, mine stuffed with spinach and nettles(¿) Ryan had gnocchi in tomato sauce. Dessert was 4 scoops of housemade ice cream: chocolate, plantains, melon and chirymoia, a chilean fruit. It was awesome, the purest combination of the main flavor, e.g., melon and just a bit of cream. As we left, I believe I managed to tell the host that this was the best food we´ve had since arriving in Chile. And all of the chilean wine in my system compelled me to also point out that I´ve been to Italy 3 times, so I know what I´m talking about!
After dinner we went to Club Mascara and caught the last 20 minutes of La Mujer Violencia´s live set. Kind of punk / rock influenced (not punk rock). We had a good time. It as about $5 for both of us to get in, and that included a beer for each of us. Yeah, we had a good time. After that show we ended up in a dance club filled with 20 year old who were taking a break from making out in the parks to make out on the dance floor. More cheap beer helped. A cute couple shared their table with us, and even shared their beer! Instant friends. When 'Smells like teen spirit' came on, we told them we were from Seattle, like Nirvana - and were met with blank stares. (Ryan later guessed that they were still in diapers when that song, and Nirvana were popular.) And since the DJ only played each song for the first 60 seconds, we were soon dancing to another song. We eventually extricated ourselves and after hugs and kisses from our new friends, stumbled back up the hill to our hotel.
I need to mention the little girl listening to Lady Gaga and Latin American pop on the bus ride to Valparaiso. She sang along most loudly to Gaga - Alejandro and Bad Romance. She and I share the singing method where one believes it important to focus on the music and melody rather than getting all (or any) of the words right...and making up those you don´t understand. I helped her out with the lyrics - where I could.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
wake up and smell the pollution
We are heading out soon to navigate the bus system to Valparaiso, so I thought I{d get one more quick post in since I don{t know how the internet access will be over the next few days (and I don{t want my dear mother to worry too much about us).
Ryan got up this morning, opened the window and said 'wake up and smell the pollution.' Our throats are a little sore from the heavy smog. And the views are severely compromised! The Andes lurk behind city buildings but even though there are no clouds in the sky, constant haze veils the landscape. The streets are somewhat littered with garbage. I wouldn{t go so far as to say that we{re the only ones using the public wastebaskets, but litter on the streets is fairly common. Many stray dogs live here, and I'm surprised at how docile they are (no chihuahua sightings). I imagine life is pretty good here for a dog, with all the garbage to feed on - and the people seem very dog-friendly as we{ve seen many on leash for a walk at all hours of the day.
Santiago is a cross-between what I{ve seen of France, Italy and Spain - and the US. I was expecting to see CNN and BBC - but Fox and Clear Channel are here too. I{ve seen more American tv in the past 2 days than I have in the past 2 months. No plans to move yet, but I could live here - it{s been a comfortable trip so far.
Off to the next part of the trip. Will let you know how cold the Pacific is down here.
Ciao.
Ryan got up this morning, opened the window and said 'wake up and smell the pollution.' Our throats are a little sore from the heavy smog. And the views are severely compromised! The Andes lurk behind city buildings but even though there are no clouds in the sky, constant haze veils the landscape. The streets are somewhat littered with garbage. I wouldn{t go so far as to say that we{re the only ones using the public wastebaskets, but litter on the streets is fairly common. Many stray dogs live here, and I'm surprised at how docile they are (no chihuahua sightings). I imagine life is pretty good here for a dog, with all the garbage to feed on - and the people seem very dog-friendly as we{ve seen many on leash for a walk at all hours of the day.
Santiago is a cross-between what I{ve seen of France, Italy and Spain - and the US. I was expecting to see CNN and BBC - but Fox and Clear Channel are here too. I{ve seen more American tv in the past 2 days than I have in the past 2 months. No plans to move yet, but I could live here - it{s been a comfortable trip so far.
Off to the next part of the trip. Will let you know how cold the Pacific is down here.
Ciao.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Best ice cream ever
Donde esta la biblioteca? Aqui! National Library
Eating ice cream so good it deserves a big ol' GODDAMN! Best ice cream I have ever had. Ever. The mango flavor was great, but the chocolate orange - oh my. So dense and rich and creamy - and I'm trying to convince Ryan that this place is on the way to the bus station for tomorrow morning before we leave.
Empanadas were ok, but the noteworthy part was the juice - 100% peach juice! With little bits of peach floating in it! Why can't we get this in the states?
Eating ice cream so good it deserves a big ol' GODDAMN! Best ice cream I have ever had. Ever. The mango flavor was great, but the chocolate orange - oh my. So dense and rich and creamy - and I'm trying to convince Ryan that this place is on the way to the bus station for tomorrow morning before we leave.
Empanadas were ok, but the noteworthy part was the juice - 100% peach juice! With little bits of peach floating in it! Why can't we get this in the states?
I suppose I could have done a better job styling this photo, you know, so that maybe the juice name was facing the camera.
Random shots from today
working out at the park
What the _ is that juice called?
And there's a little dog in that snack mix...
The force is very strong here...
And there's a little dog in that snack mix... The force is very strong here...
Santiago Life
Ok this is my 4th or 5th try getting these photos posted. But I will perservere! My friends and family deserve to see the glory that is the 'Illegal - Wild for Love' fire breathing dragon (what is that thing?) I shouldn't make fun - I would have killed for a jacket that awesome when I was a teenager ...So we are enjoying the people-watching here. And people seem to enjoy watching us too (who can blame them, really?) We stand out with our light hair and blue eyes.
The best part about the people-watching are the jackets and shirts with writing on them. I've included a few gems here ... need to figure out how to crop photos before posting; those teenagers hanging at the park deserve the added attention they crave.
Best t-shirt sighting: I cut my own hair (worn by a teenage boy, natch)
Best metal shirt - oh yes there are enough to warrant a special category: 6 year old in a Slipknot shirt
The music we've heard is stuck in the mid-90s. (And why have I heard a Heart song every day for the past 5 days - before I left Seattle even? I know they have a new album coming out but really, WTF?) The fun part about the music time warp - I can sing along to some of the words to every song. The bad part - I really don't know all the words, I can{t sing worth a damn and Ryan has started walking 10 paces behind me.
Best metal shirt
More Santiago pics...
From the top of Cerro San Cristobal - mi hermano guapo
Smog robbed us of an amazing view, but it was still pretty cool...
it's springtime - blooms and fragrance to go with it!
Santiago pics
kids hangin in the park
morning fog as the plane lands - very pretty first impression
morning fog as the plane lands - very pretty first impressionRyan contemplates shitty coffee...
First night in Santiago; downtown is in the background and we are on a bridge over Rio Mapocho.
Our hotel is to the left, bars and nightclubs to the right. We went out late last night for dinner and drinks and ended up at a place listening to 80s and 90s pop songs: Jessie's Girl, Love Shack, Route 66, I Want Candy (does anyone know if Bo Diddley - or his record company - get royalties anytime someone rips off that tune?)
Chilean spanish is unintelligble but once folks hear me speak they switch to textbook spanish. We are managing just fine. Walked for many hours yesterday and both of us enjoy the siesta culture. (And we are both demonstrating our infamous propensity for prolonged sleep. It's awesome.)
Let's see if I can figure out how to post more photos...
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