Saturday - Finally a day without any orientation meetings, lectures, etc. To celebrate, Tilly, Katy, and I journeyed outside the confines of Santiago to hike in Cajon de Maipu, a region in the foothills of the Andes.
Didn't go as planned. After arriving in the largest pueblo and briefly exploring the local market, we asked the tourism office the best place to find a trail. We followed their advice, only to discover that the alleged trail on the outskirts of town didn't exist. We did, however, enjoy some seeing that beautiful mountain views, horse pastures, and soccer fields dotting the way to the alleged path.
So, we decided to ask a local bus driver to drop us off at a local trailhead. Once again, there must have been some kind of miscommunication becuase he drops us off on a barren stretch of road and tells us to follow the old train path. Seemed like a good plan until we realized that the train path went into an old mine. As it was pitch black inside and we didn't have any flashlights, we decided to pass and started trekking back up the road towards San Alfonso.
Along the way, we stumbled upon Vina de los Nietos. Intrigued, we wandered inside only to meet the owner of the vineyard. She was INSANE...in a loveable way. She insisted that we try some wine (ironically, the first "bad"wine that I've consumed in Chile) and refused to let us leave without taking a picture.
A little further down the road, we decided to hail a bus to Santiago. It was getting late and hiking didn't seem very likely. We picked the perfect driver. By the time I had one foot onboard, he had already slammed the pedal to the metal although the door was wide open. He blatantly ignored speed limits; the center line clearly didn't exist for him, and we got some major airtime whenever we hit a bump. Moreover, the bus was crowded with Chileans, so we had to stand for much of the wild ride. It honestly made Thunder Mountain at Disney World seem like a peaceful drive through the countryside. Such a great adventure, although we will still need to go back to the Cajon de Maipu someday in order to go for a hike.
Upon returning to Santiago, we discovered why Santiago seems so quiet on Saturdays...everyone is it the mall. It was insanely crowded. I can't even imagine how crazy it is at Christmas.
By now, the sun had set so we returned home for dinner. My family and I went to a nearby Chinese restaurant. Much to my surprise, the food differed significantly from the Chinese food in the US. Way less greasy. Nice.
In true Chilean style, my night didn't end when dinner concluded around 10:00. I mt some friends from Tufts and we ventured to a popular salsa club to try out our dance moves. Let's just say I need A LOT more practice. Hopefully, the Chileans I danced with thought my salsa struggles were endearing. If your ever in Santiago, definately try salsa. While the other nightlife is certainly a good time, that was one of the most enjoyable nights I have had in the city.
Some pictures -
La Moneda (Way late) - http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/LaMoneda#
Cajon de Maipu - http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/UnaCaminataCajonDeMaipu#
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