Maritimes

This past weekend (April 29th - May 1st) Anna Bo-banna and I travelled to the other side of the country to the coast (all 2 hours away from Santiago). Viña del Mar and Valparaíso are two coast towns set right next to each other, practically one in the same. We also had our first experience with couchsurfing, a program where you can meet people in different cities and stay with them during your visit.

We arrived at the bus stop in Viña and our host, Eduardo and his friend, Carlos picked us up and brought us back to his house to put our stuff. Within the first 5 minutes in the house, his mom plopped 18 day old Maximiliano in my arms.

The whole house gave an impression that we were on a boat. He showed us our room and our bathroom, then we set out to see the town. The first item on the list was La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's houses located in Valparaíso. It was a lovely house, one I would aspire to have of my own one day, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so here are a few images from their website. On the top floor, Neruda's poem he had written about the house was displayed on his desk. You can read the poem here, and translate it here. 

We then went to El Museo del Cielo Abierto, The Museum of the Open Sky, which is a street tour of graffiti done by some of the most popular artists. 

After walking around the town the whole day, our host Eduardo informs us it's his birthday. Amazed by his hospitality, we wished him a happy birthday and headed back to his house for his celebration (Did I forget to mention he has a bar in his house?). We met some more Marines and passed the time with his friends and family. Eduardo has travelled to many countries across the world and has built up quite the worldly liquor collection. One of our favorites was the pistol shaped tequila bottle. 

We later headed in to town with Carlos and Eduardo to a live salsa club. 

The next day we were chauffeured around town once again. We made it to the dock, took an ascensor, and headed to the Marine Museum. 

There were two sets of these windows, the neatest stained glass I've ever seen

. 

The last attraction at the museum was the Fénix, the actual capsule used to rescue the miners this past year.

After that, we headed to the famous cemetery. The first grave I saw, I found a treasure inside. 

Some people really do live and die for soccer here.

Aaand after that, we headed to first lighthouse in Chile. Also, the first lighthouse I've ever been inside.

That night we stayed home and exchanged pictures and stories with the Donoso family.

Sunday, we woke up and decided to take our hosts out to their first sushi experience ever. (I think you can tell they liked it).

After hearing all about the Esmeralda, the boat the marines had taken on a training trip to 12 different countries 2 years prior, we got on board!

After our personal tour, we headed to the battleship, where we had coffee with the captain. 

Our visit to Viña and Valpo was great. We got incredibly lucky with our hosts and had an amazing Chilean experience, full of the benefits of being with Marines.

I'll be updating my photo link soon, as I know have a functioning camera again. 

Always at home with the sound of the sea,

Lauren Adele

Back Tracking

I've realized I forgot to update about one of my weekend adventures.

Saturday, April 16th, my friends and I revisited Cajon de Maipo (the place where we had previously celebrated the largest full moon in 18 years).


Melanie's mom, Patty, invited us to stay in a cabin in Cajon. As I arrived, Patty and her friend Christian had already started the grill and opened a bottle of Late Harvest wine.



We passed the time chatting and making new friends while the meat slowly cooked on an overcast day. After our meal, we moved inside, where I quickly got distracted by playing with the settings on Melanie's camera with my new knowledge from Photography class.

 One of the highlights of the night was a Reiki (read about it here) session I received from the newly certified Melanie. I relaxed and let go. Here are some results from my wandering mind.



When she moved her hands across my forehead from the center out, I had the image of her opening a book in my mind. The book then turned into a tree, and I was thinking of how a good book is a beautiful thing for a tree to turn into. The tree then took roots, and I felt planted here in Chile. I suddenly felt her pulling the roots out of the ground as if telling me I shouldn't be permanently planted anywhere, open to change. She then placed one hand on my left foot and one of my right hand. Then reversed. I took this as a time to center myself and my energy, to connect the left and right side of my body. More peaceful thoughts passed through my head as she finished the session. I got up feeling energized and ready for the night.

We passed the night with good company and good cheer, with some funny memories for all of us. The next day, we took our time getting out of bed, and relaxed while the grill was going again. Here's a picture of part of the group, and part of the feast we enjoyed.

Feeling grateful,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I've added a map of the places I've been to the links section on the right.

A Trip within a Trip

After discussing our prospective trip to Valle Elqui for what must have been over a month and almost backing out at the last minute, we finally did it! And let me tell you, it was well worth it.

Melanie, Anna, Chris and I set out Thursday morning "early," around 12:30 p.m. Less than an hour into our road trip, we pit stopped for roadside empanadas that were nothing short of delicious. 

After 8 hours of driving and a hectic grocery shopping trip in the last town before the valley, we arrived at our campsite in the dark. Starving and grumpy, our designated camping chef, Melanie, cooked up some choripan (chorizo suasage and bread, a staple in the Chilean diet) and we set up camp. Finally, we took a moment to look up, and saw the clearest sky full of the most vibrant stars I've ever witnessed. It was truly breathtaking. 

One chilly night in the tent later, we woke up to see our campsite in the full day light. We were pleasantly suprised with our surroundings. 

Alongside our wobbly tents we had set up in the dark...

After eating our leftover chorizo with scrambled eggs, we took on the small town of Pisco Elqui, a town on the far side of the valley. The valley is full of vineyards, but these grapes are not used for wine, they are used for the Chilean liquor, Pisco. It's a staple drink here of which, unfortunately, I'm not a fan. Of course, the first stand we ran into I bought the first necklace I saw. It is made with wood and has a citrine stone in the middle and I am quite pleased with it. The town was also full of murals, of which here are a few favorites.

We then headed back to the campsite to wait the arrival of two more friends, Renato and Peters, coming by bus. We helped them set up their tents then cooked a family meal and made a campfire. 

The next day we woke up hungry for an adventure in nature. We drove a bit outside of the town, picked a mountain on the side of the road and decided to climb it! Instead of describing the mountain and type of climbing we did, here's a picture of the mere first level we encountered. 

With more than a few breaks, we kept on and made it quite a ways up there. Along the way, nature rewarded our hard work with a small patch of grapes that we happily munched on. Near the top, we turned and soaked in the view from the top. Each of us found our own spots for some alone time, where I enjoyed my view, soaked in the energy from the mountain and let my thoughts flow freely through my mind for about 2 hours.

 The view

Renato's spot

We convened again and decided it was time to depart our mountain before the sun went down. This was arguably the best part, as we basically surfed and slid our way down the gravelly mountainside. 

Mel's dirty feet and the rocky slide

Before making our way back to camp, we set up the self-timer to take a team photo. 

Mel, Me, Peters, Anna, Renato, Chris

We made it back to camp, cooked and had a good night's rest before the ride home the next day.

The long awaited and poorly planned trip was a complete success and one for the memory books (as my dear mom would say). I left Valle Elqui with a sense of peace that I did not previously have.

Also, these photos are courtesy of Anna, Melanie and Chris. In additional news, according to the Canon store, I'll be back in business with my camera by Friday! 

Channeling the mountain,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I recommend clicking on the photos to enlarge them.

Panorama

I wanted to get lost in the dark as dawn broke around me, gradually revealing a landscape I'd never before seen.

Video and audio from Anna Pope.

Lauren Adele

La Vendimia

Saturday morning I woke up with 3 hours of sleep, packed up and headed out to the Chilean countryside. Mel's Chilean mother, Pati, had invited us to a Vendimia, wine festival, in San Fernando just about 2 hours south of Santiago. We arrived early and headed to her son's farm welcomed by what seemed like 20 dogs and an offer of a typical Chilean country drink of 'vino con pomelo,' or white wine with grapefruit. Before receiving this welcome drink, we searched out the only grapefruit tree in the midst of fields full of peach, almond and grape trees. We found 3 ripe grapefruits and headed back with our harvest to the house. We sipped our drink and got to know the dogs personally. One of the dogs, a basset hound, had recently given birth to 9 little pups. We took 4 of them with us to sell at the fair. After a squished ride, while holding the pups in my lap, we arrived at the vindemia. Running on an empty stomach at 3 p.m., I was ready for food and my eyes immediately landed on this feast of meat.

A little out of character, but starving, I split a plate of pure meat with friends and enjoyed every bite of it. Then on to the wine. Following the advice of Chilean friends, I started with white wine, then moved to the reds. I learned the signs of a good wine, such as the amount of legs, the color of the shadow, and the peak of the bottle. I definitely had some favorites, if only I had written down their names. Made some friends, including a Yoga instructor who taught me his theory of universality, Canadians who told Mel and I they thought were Chileans because of our Spanish (either they knew nothing of Chilean Spanish or they were just attempting to flirt), and many puppy inquirers.

Hours later, we left the Vendimia and headed back to the farm, this time with more friends. Here, I met several WWOOFers, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. This is the program I had planned on doing for the first two weeks of Chile, but unfortunately did not work out. The farm was owned by an American and co-run by a Texas Longhorn alum. They told us all about their farm in Southern Chile, and one that grew the same fruits in Washington. The fruit we heard the most about was the horned fruit. It is a cross between a cucumber and a citrus and is only grown on these two farms.

We tested their acclaimed horned fruit the next day for breakfast, and it was quite unique. It was very interesting to learn about this form the owners and the workers and I urge to you read more about it here on their website.

Back to the fiesta. I conversed in Spanish with Chileans, North Americans, and a German. Impossibly, we grilled more meat and I ate it with pleasure. By the end of the night, I tested out my dj-ing skills and watched my friends dance around the campfire. I ended the night cuddling with Mel on an air-mattress and woke up to eggs, bread, home-grown peach marmelade and good company.

The next, Pati and Mel were headed off the Vendimia for another round. I had a quiz to study for, so they dropped me off at the bus station. I closed my eyes as soon as I boarded, and opened them what felt like 2 minutes later in Santiago.

A little more of a wino,
Lauren Adele

Quédate, quédate luna.

To start off this post, please click this link and listen to the first song. (Double click then press play song on the left side).

Last night the full moon was the closest it's been to the Earth since 1993. Read more about it here.


We took this opportunity to travel outside of Santiago a little bit to a town called Cajon de Maipo. Anna, some Chilean friends and I set out for our adventure with word of live music and a celebration for the full moon. We knew little more than that, so as we arrived to Cajon we asked some locals about the festival. First ones hadn't heard of it but pointed us in the direction of the place where we thought it was. We arrived there and asked more people, at least they had heard of the festival, but apparently it was in the opposite direction. We headed back across town and drove in the outskirts. The road we took was absolutely gorgeous, lined on the side of a mountain, looking down at a valley with a river cutting through. The mountains were stunning, stripped with different layers of rocks wearing their geological age for everyone to see. It was as if these mountains had the wrinkles of an old man and were proud of them. We continued on a 30 minute drive appreciating the sun setting behind the majestic landscape. 


We had just about given up when we found a dirt parking lot full of cars. We got out and realized the party was on the other side of the valley, with the river between us. Hesitantly, we followed the dirt path towards the other side of the valley. To our pleasant surprise, we found a suspended bridge connecting us to the other side. We ran across, jumping and making the bridge go in directions it probably shouldn't have, pausing in the middle to feel the power of the river below and bask in the incredibly bright moonlight. 


We found the live music, plopped down on the large blanket and listened. The band consisted of about 6 or 7 members and included woodwind instruments such as the saxophone and clarinet. The band switched members and out came a woman playing a squeeze box, a young boy on a drum set definitely bigger than him, and various other instruments. After they finished, a man introduced the next arrangement and invited everyone to come forth and dance. Without hesitation most of the small crowd came forward, all howling at the moon. We watched for a bit but couldn't help but join in. This began our 45 minute dancing session in the middle of the mountains soaking in the rejuvenating energy of the full moon. And we danced until the music stopped.


After resting, we got on the road back to Santiago, of course stopping at the first empanada stand we saw. 


Las estrellas brillan y la luna se sienta en su silla,
Lauren Adele

Happenings

A few highlights from the past few weeks.

March 6, 2011
This is the day that I found those poems I posted last week. Melanie and I met up with the intention of going to an art gallery and climbing a hill. In a sense, we accomplished that, but a different art exhibit and a different hill than previously planned. We explored an alternative bookstore on the way to a park full of different art sculptures. The first one I saw was the one I posted along with the poem. That one was my favorite of the park. We enjoyed admiring the art, discussing the artists, and watching people meditate under the trees.
We then walked about ten minutes from the sculpture garden to Cerro San Cristobal. We had climbed it before, but decided to do it once again. We found a nice part of the hill and did some yoga together with a lovely view of the city.

Overall, the day was relaxing for the body and the mind.

March 8th, 2011
The night before Melanie's 21st birthday. Melanie's Chilean mother had made us reservations at a local bar/disco. We got there, ate some sushi and sipped on champagne. At the beginning of the night, the bar was almost empty. By 2 or 3 in the morning, it was almost impossible to move from one part to the other. Overall, I enjoyed some spanish conversation and people-watching as they danced to the loud reggaeton music. Best of all, Melanie enjoyed her 21st the way that was intended!

March 12, 2011
Yesterday, we went to another birthday party which we were invited to by Melanie's host sister, Josefina (middle of the picture below). This one was a asado, or grill, in the Santuario de la Naturaleza, or Nature's Sanctuary. It takes about 20 minutes of driving, 10 of which are winding up a hill, and we arrived to a beautiful spot with a river and green trees surrounded by mountains. The birthday girl and all of her friends were some of the friendliest people I've met! We ate, drank, conversed and enjoyed the scenery.

Later that night, Anna and our Chilean friend Chris went to a hill overlooking the city. I'd been to this spot once before but it truly is stunning! There's a sea of city lights sparkling accompanied with the noises of the city, barking dogs, honking horns and faint music.

[video coming soon]

Todavia explorando mi ciudad gigante,
Lauren Adele