Keep Me in Your Heart

Welp, the past five months have been a whirlwind of change for me my loved ones. The expected grief and heartache we have all suffered and the unanticipated trials and tribulations in our day to day lives have been enough to last us the next five years. Wanting to provide my sister with emotional support (and actual help taking care of the little one!) has been a plight i have been struggling with living abroad. The best i can do so far from home is email often and think of her daily. I thank all of you who do the same. Continue to keep her, my parents, little Charlotte, myself, the Hongs, and everyone else who was fortunate enough to know Ryan close to your heart.

Much like my family, i won't be celebrating Christmas in the traditional sense this year. No lights, no tree, no presents, no Christmas eve movie. I will be working instead. Kind of. I'm leaving to explore this year's WPER race route Christmas Day. I will return New Years Eve, spend four days at "home" preparing, and leave for another 10 days of explorations beginnning on my Sister's birthday. A unique experience indeed and a welcomed distraction from the holidays. I feel fortunate to be able to be part of such a tremendous undertaking.

A self proclaimed resolute and contemplative man, i have stayed true to my demeanor and spent serious time throughout my travels thinking of my friends, family, and focusing on all the positive going-ons in my life. Through these reflective periods, i have learned the majority of good in my life can be attributed to my family and friends. I am incredibly grateful for all of you. Your emails and messages on my blog can brighten even the darkest days. Thank you all so much. Give your family, friend, and loved ones a hug his holiday season. Let them know how you feel. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas is Coming

Welp, we (debatable - much more accurate in the collective sense of the word rather than the literal interpretation) made loads of holiday treats for our secret Santa party at the office today. I contributed by trying to make my Mothers peanut butter kiss cookies. They weren't a complete failure, but they just weren't the same as the one she makes... Good times nonetheless. Kudos to confectionist and WPER logistics expert Chelsea Ams for slaving over the oven all day and sacrificing a whole day of work to bake us delicious treats! If she had a blog i would link to it, but alas...

p.s. Bonus points to anyone who can name the band who inspired this posts title. Good luck and happy holidays!

p.p.s. There is a huge stray animal problem in Chile. We are working on resolving that problem one animal at a time. Current house demographics are as followed: Four women, three men, two bed rooms, one bathroom, one puppy, and a small backyard.

Bike

Welp, with the help of a Chileno amigo i found someone who rents mountain bikes! Not a shop or store. Just some guy and his garage. The way things work down here are kind of different. Not better or worse, just different.

Anyways, there's a guy down here who rents bikes out of his garage. He rents Trek 3900 series to be exact. Red ones, blue ones. Old ones and new ones. I myself rented a red and white not so old bicycle this past weekend and rode it all over the city. Good times, indeed.

Here is a photo of my Chileno amigo, Herald (on the right), and my French friend, William (on the left), on a ride to the forest reserve west of town. American friend and fellow cartographer Lee (not pictured) rented a bike too, but he caught a flat riding over broken glass or going over a curb or something dumb. Sorry, Lee. Better luck next time.

If you're interested, you can check out Lee's blog here. I don't know if his blog is working right now, but be patient and check back in a week or so. It should have lots of pretty pictures and stuff and things and more exploits of life down in beautiful Punta Arenas. Hope everybody had a good weekend!

Language Lesson of the Day: I have a bike. You can ride it if you like. It's got a basket, a bell that rings, and things that make it look good. I'd give it to you if i could, but i borrowed it. Say it with me now! Tengo una bicicleta. Puede andar si te gusta. Tiene un cesta, una campana que suena, ycosa que hacen bueno. Yo lo daré a ti si pudiera, perro lo pedí prestado.

Come Together

Welp, forgot to mention that some other WPER slav- er, um.... interns - broke free from the confines of the office and set out to hike a section of the W this past weekend as well. Here's a photo of the gang all together in Puerto Natales on our way back home. The collective stoke among us was high. To be traveling through Patagonia is a good thing. But to simply get out of Punta Arenas is a great thing.

Dreadful Wind & Rain

Welp, i returned from another successful trip to Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine last night. Accompanied by WPER cartographic and marketing experts as well as two Idahoan wayfarers, our party of five set out to trek a modified version of the famous W circuit - 88km in in five days! True to form, the Patagonian wild lands kept us on our toes with ever changing and challenging weather conditions. Driving rain, blinding snow, blistering sun, and tempestuous winds - we experienced it all. Such are the joys of camping.

Our trip began tuesday night by making the three hour bus ride from Puntas Arenas to Puerto Natales. Once we arrived in Natales, we checked into our hostel and headed out for a final "real" diner of churasco completos (Chileno steak burgers covered in cheese, tomatoes, gaucamole, and mayo!) and cervezas around 11:30 pm. After a fitful sleep in the hostel (the disco next door closes around 5 a.m. i think?) we had a standard Chileno breakfast (white bread, marmalade, and instant coffee) and caught our bus to Torres Del Paine!

We played it by ear deciding which side to begin the W. If the weather was nice and we were able to catch a glimpse of the towers, we would start from the Torres side. If the weather was less than optimal, we would start our hike from Glacier Grey. Given the overcast skies and gusting winds, we decided to hop on a boat and start our hike to Glacier Grey. Almost as soon as we stepped off the boat it began to drizzle and we set up camp in the rain. And so the tone was set for the first three days of the trip...

So the hike to the glacier was pretty- uneventful - but pretty. The terrain was rolling and fairly easy to trek. There were ups and there were downs. There were downed logs to crawl over. We saw icebergs in the lake and lots of clouds in the sky. The glacier was massive. It was so big in fact that it forms part of the Southern Patagonia ice field. It is currently retreating (science speak for shrinking) possibly due to global climate change. Who knows really? I can't really think of much more to say about it. We turned around and began the hike back to camp. That's when the rain and wind really started. Coincidently, this was the about the same time i realized my jacket is not as water proof as i thought it was. The rain came down at a pretty constant rate and nearly sideways for the last hour or so of our hike. I went to bed cold and wet that night, and not surprisingly woke up in a similar state. Such are the joys of camping.

So, it rained all night. When we woke, we packed our gear away wet, ate some oatmeal, and headed out for the Valle Frances. Now, i was very excited to see the Valle Frances as it is home to the Quernos de Paine (Paines Horns!). This was actually the portion of the hike of i was most excited to see. However, the weather did not cooperate. It was overcast all day, albeit less windy which was nice, with very low ceiling and limited visibility. We set up camp, took a nap, and waited for the skies to clear. Two hours later we decided we couldn't wait any longer and ascended into the cloudy abyss and climbed the trail up the mountain in hopes of getting above clouds and getting a clear view. Much to our surprise (bear in mind it's nearly summer time in South America) we found ourselves in a bit of a snow storm. We hunkered down in a grove of trees waiting for the weather to pass only to find about an inch and a half of snow on the ground ten minutes later. We called it a day and hiked back down to camp where we lightened our pack weights be consuming the liter of gin, three liters of tonic. and two limes we packed in. Such are the joys of camping.

Blame it on the gin or plain ol' good luck, but we all slept well that night! The wind died down and the snow stopped. Also worth noting, the Idahoans randomly ran into another Idahoan they knew from school on a different trip in the park. Talk about a small world! Such of the joys are traveling abroad? I think so. Anyways, we woke up to partial overcast and calm skies. Our spirits were high and we figured we would give the Valle Frances another go as we were all hoping to see some impressive mountains, but it was still socked in. No worries, we had 26km of rolling terrain ahead of his to our final camp. So we ate breakfast, enjoyed the calm weather, took photos when the blue sky peaked through, and just put one foot in front of the other so to speak.

After a long but pleasant day we arrived at Campamento Torres, about 2k below los Tres Torres. We set up camp under skies darkening with clouds, realized we wouldn't be able to to see the Towers, and took a much needed nap. We woke up around 8:30 p.m. with plenty of day light left and took a gamble and dragged our weary shit asses up the mountain in the off chance that we would get an unobstructed view of moutains. The start of the hike looked promising, but clear skies quickly gave way to more overcast conditions. About half way up the trail we decided to sit down and wait to see if the skies would clear. After so many miles, we had a hard time motivating ourselves to climb all the way to the top without a guaranteed view of the Towers. After a little more than a half hour of shivering and sitting in the cold (need i remind you again that it's supposed to be summer down here...) the clouds broke and we jumped at the chance to catch a glimpse. We sprinted to the end of the trail and got a somewhat clear view of the Towers for about four and a half minutes. The joys of camping.

We hiked back down to camp and the group planned to wake at dawn to watch the sun rise on the towers. Thankful, i already did this the last time i visited the park and did not feel the need to repeat the task. i told everyone not to bother waking me at 4:30 as i intended to sleep like a rock after such a long day. Needless to say, no one made it up at dawn, but somehow managed to get up to the top of the trail again by 6:20 or so while i slept warm and comfortably in my tent. However, camping does not lend itself to sleeping late so i was up around 7 a.m. anyways with my boots tied tight, ready to hike into yet another valley.

And so we hiked into the Valle de Silencia. The day began blue bird and warm. I actually hiked in shorts for about 3km! After we made our first ascent up the valley across the snow field, the wind started to blow. Once we finally made it to the talus field, the wind really began to blow and became a pain in our collective asses. However we ignored our tired legs and refused to accept weariness. We persevered to the end of the valley, saw what there was to see, acted happy about it, and high tailed it out of there. The joys of camping.

In conclusion, the weather in Patagonia is extreme and manic. It forces you to change layers/coats quickly and often resulting in tiring and tedious stop start hiking. While the trip was highly enjoyable, i was ready to head our of the mountains by the fifth day for a real meal, a hot shower, and bed.

Language Lesson of the Day: This is the longest entry i have ever written. It rambles. I am sorry. Say it with me now! Ésto es la entrada más larga que he escrito. Se divaga. Lo siento.

Feelin' Alright

Welp, it's been a while since i've updated the blog. Because so much has happened since my last post and because i am not feeling particularly reflective or garrulous today, i am going to give a shotgun run-down of the recent happenings and going-ons in my life down here in beautiful Punta Arenas. Enjoy!

• i have been super busy working! the race route is nearly finalized and the maps are coming along smoothly. hopefully we will do some field work in the near future to ground truth some areas of land the route passes through.
• explored the Reserva Forestal Magellanes (nature preserve) and hitched a ride home with a family of friendly Chilenos
• walked past the southern-most Coca Cola plant in the world!
• visited the Cerveza Austral brewery only to discover they DO NOT serve samples!
• climbed Mounte Tarn - a mountain Darwin once summited
• got lost in a forest while climbing Mounte Tarn
• subsequently found my way out of the forest while climbing Mounte Tarn
• visited a swanky water factory South of Punta Arenas
• saw penguins at Seno Otawy!
• went ice skating at the mall
• had a margarita at the sky bar in the casino

Clearly, i've been staying pretty busy.

Down by the Bay

Welp. 

Meat

Welp, there is an old saying about how to make the most of your weekends. And it is as follows; the weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. And i actually did a lot of pointless stuff this weekend! I slept in late, read a lot, fixed an old string of Christmas lights by checking each individual bulb, threw stones into the ocean, contemplated the ever changing weather of Southern Chile, manned the grill at a parrilla (Chilean for BBQ) with some of my Chileno amigos, and watched the newest Harry Potter movie!

While i didn't make it out fishing this weekend, i am not perturbed. It's okay really. The weather just wouldn't allow it. With the way the wind was blowing casting would have been damn near impossible and probably not very fun, taboot taboot. Nevermind the fact that i didn't have any beta or any means of transportation to get to where i didn't know where to go.  I have come to terms with the lack of fishing access close to town. It is what it is. I only hope to be able to make it out on a good trip soon. Though i am not really doing too much of what i expected to be doing while i am down here (traveling, hiking, climbing mountains, and fishing) i feel fortunate to experience to be living abroad learning about and experiencing the Chileno culture. 

Language Lesson of the day: I am a prince, i have it all... Say it with me now! Soy príncipe, yo lo tengo todo...

When the Tigers Broke Free

25 years ago today...

John the Fisherman

Welp, i didn't do too much this weekend. I stayed up too late and watched the sun rise friday, went on a run saturday, and walked to the grocery store sunday. In the midst of all of that, i wasted time reading and sleeping. Oh, and i went out for dinner and treated myself to lamb chops! Almost forgot about that. 

Life seems so much smaller without a vehicle at my disposal. My entertainment options (outdoor and otherwise) are confined to where i able to walk. And unfortunately, most of the Patagonian wild lands are not within walking distance from my house. Or biking distance, for that matter. Ever since i've arrived in Chile i have been anxious to get out on a river and get my hook wet. I am determined to make that happen this weekend. Car, bike, or bus be damned.  

Language Lesson of the Day: When i grow up i want to be a fisherman, one of the harvesters of the sea. I will live and die a fisherman... Say it with me now! Cuando yo crezco yo quiero ser un pescador, una de las segadores del mar. Voy a vivir y morir un pescador...

This Must Be The Place

Welp, i traveled six hours north to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine this weekend and spent three nights sleeping under the stars. What a tremendous piece of country that park is! I don't think i have ever been in mountains of such immense size or grandeur before.  Over the three days i spent there, i was able to witness the parks namesake (the Three Towers or los Tres Torres) veiled in clouds, dusted with snow, under sunny skies, and at dawns first light. 

While there aren't any bears or wolves in Torres del Paine, or South America for that matter, i did see flamingos, ostriches, and a giant rabbit. And when i say giant rabbit, i mean like the size of my dog. It was awesome. 

One More Cup of Coffee

Welp, i'm cutting the work week short and heading out early for a long weekend. And because i'm treating this thursday like a friday, i needed to adhere to a newly founded friday tradition i have started since arriving in Punta Arenas. This morning (conventionally on fridays), in a nod to one Homer J. Simpson, i had coffee and doughnuts in the office. Breakfast of champions, i say.

Sand and Sea

Welp, i spent a lot of time on the coast this week, not doing too much of anything. I thought i was going to be learning to kayak, but messages were misconstrued (or miscommunicated...) and i thought wrong. It was still really nice to get out from behind the computer for a while though. I spent a lot of time combing the shore for interesting little rocks or pebbles. Turns out i found a bunch of sea glass instead. I didn't even know about sea glass untill now! I thought you bought it Wall Mart or a craft store or something.

And i thought the sea glass was real cool. Pieces of glass were littered all along the shore  and  in a variety of colors - blue, white, brown, green ( green being the most common), and even some ruby red.  But i need to clarify, because when i say green i mean like every shade of green imaginable -  sea foam green, emerald, sage dust, kelly green, medium key lime, fern green, pond scum, lotus green, tarragon, deep forest, peacock, granny apple green. You name it. Walk a short distance thinking of a certain shade of green, and chances are you will stumble upon a tiny piece of sea glass that very color. Very cool, indeed. 

And each piece of sea glass was a different shape, a different texture, a different clarity, a different size, and in a different state of of the erosional process. Some were jagged and dull while others were smooth and polished. None were the same, kinda like finger prints or snowflakes. What was even cooler was picking up a piece and trying to figure out where or what it came from. The neck of a beer bottle? Part of a vicks vapor rub container? The bottom of a wine bottle? The screw top of a ball mason jar? A polished shard from an old time Coke a Cola bottle? Hard telling, not knowing. But it sure was a good way to pass the time.

Language Lesson of the Day: Here by the sea and sand, nothing ever goes as planned... Say it with me now! Aquí en la costa y la mar, nada según lo previsto...

Down by the Seaside

Welp because it's such a beautiful day down here in Punta Arenas, i figured i should get some fresh air after lunch. And i decided to do so by taking a quick stroll down by the seaside. Or maybe straitside is more accurate? Regardless, there wasn't too much to see, but it was nice to stretch my legs and enjoy the sea breeze. Saw a boat. Saw some clouds. Saw some people.

Down by the seaside. Saw the boats gone sailing. Can the people hear what the little fish are saying? Oh, oh the people turned away. The people turned away...

Cities

Welp, I made it safely to Punta Arenas six days ago and started work immediately. Can't say the city is a huge departure from what i was expecting, but then again i have made conscious efforts to hold zero expectations during my travels. Take it all for what it is, is what i want to do.

According to Wikipedia, Punta Arenas, the capital city of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, is the most prominent settlement on the Strait of Magellan. The city itself was officially renamed Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to Punta Arenas. It has a population near 150,000. Punta Arenas literally translated is Sandy Point. My initial impression of the city leaves me a bit underwhelmed, but i am keeping an open mind and will continue to be positive. It's got some good points, some bad points, but it all works out.

Things i have experienced and enjoyed thus far include:

The People - Chilenos are super friendly and approachable! Whenever i am at a loss for words, which is often, never am i afraid to ask a stranger ¿Cómo se dice...? While a sinking suspicion lingers that people may be making fun of me or saying rude things that i can't understand, i still receive an answer to my question with a smile and laugh. But if i was a Chileno, i'd probably laugh at me too. I'm just a gringo. No hard feelings, Chile.

The Weather - And i use to think Montana had unpredictable and exciting weather! The skies here can switch from a pleasant cloudless 15°C day to 40knot winds and hail to ominous gray to rain with cloudless skies and back to pleasant weather in the course of an hour. The forecasts mean nothing. I love it.

Things i miss already include:

American Grocery Stores - As one who values eating, and eating well, as much as i do - i should have seen this coming a mile away. I miss basil, reasonably priced economy sized bottles of kikoman soy sauce, and whole grain bread. I miss coldsmoke and moosedrool - hell, even coors light for that matter! I miss spinach, chocolate chip cookies, and sriracha sauce. While the bakeries and seleción de carne are amazing, the supermercados and Chileno diet as a whole leave a lot to be desired. On a more positive note, the wine is super cheap!

Speaking English - This is self explanatory and i don't really need to justify it with any sort of explanation, but i will. Moving to a foreign country and not being able to speak the language is difficult! I knew that when i decided to make the move, but i never imagined it would be so tiring to have to constantly be actively listening to what people are saying or always making a conscious effort choosing my words. While making small talk has never been a strong talent of mine, i feel even more at odds here in Chile. So it goes. But rest assured, i am not despaired. I the knew the language barrier would be one of my greatest struggles abroad. And while it is challenging, i feel lucky to have the challenge. 

Language Lesson of the Day: Think of Punta Arenas - small city. Dark - dark in the day time. People sleep - sleep in the day time, if they want to. If they want to! There's some good points - some bad points. But it all works out. I'm just a little freaked out... Say it with me now! Piense de Punta Aernas - pequeña ciudad. La oscuridad - oscuridad durante el día. Las personas duermen - duermen durante el día, si quieren. iSi quieren! Hay algunos puntos buenos - algunos puntos malos. Pero todo trabaja fuera. Soy solo un pequeño flipó...

Theme From the Bottom -> Light -> Joy

Welp, over two months have passed since the August 5th collapse of the San Jose mine near Copiapo, Chile, where 33 miners were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) below ground. The men were kept alive over that time by supplies delivered through narrow holes drilled down to them, and kept hope through video conferences with family - until two nights ago, when the first of the 33 miners was successfully lifted to the surface in a specially-designed rescue capsule. At 10:30 pm, Chilean time, all of the 33 men have now made it safely to the surface. Minutes later, fireworks erupted throughout the sky in Punta Arenas as Chilenos country-wide celebrated the successful rescue.

Language Lesson of the Day: Sebastián Piñera, president of Chile, served as a kind of master of ceremonies at the rescue, greeting the miners with paternal hugs and reassurance as they emerged from tunnel. He was quoted talking to one miner saying, “Thank you for everything, thank you for the inspiration. Welcome to life! Very few people have the privilege of being born again.”

Welcome to life! Very few people have the privilege of being born again. Say it with me now! ¡Bienvenido a la vida! Poquísimas personas tienen el privilegio de ser nacido otra vez.

I Am the Sea/The Real Me

Welp, it is good to be back on dry land. As i sit here in Café & Books in Puerto Natales, sipping coffee and reflecting on my trip at sea, i have trouble being anything but optimistic about the next few months i will spend in Chile. While i seemed to be in the minority on the boat being unable to speak multiple languages fluently, traveling without a companion, and having but one stamp on my passport - rather than being an overwhelming and lonely experience i learned that everyone needs to start somewhere. And i am starting right now.

The trip was beautiful and traveling by boat was a very unique way to take in the landscape. Or seascape...? Either way, the Chilean coastline is a seemingly endless expanse of jagged mountain peaks and coastal inlets. Often, one finds themself simply staring at the horizon, mouth agape, wondering what's around the next bend or beyond a subsequent ridge of mountains. The Pacific Ocean is truly daunting and immense in terms of size and power. The affect does not translate well over film and is difficult to express with words.

Cold Water

Welp, i woke up this morning with the cold water. With the cold water and with the cold. Slept all night in the cedar grove. I was born to ramble, born to rove.  Some men are searchin' for the holy grail. But there aint nothin' sweeter than folowin' yer own trail.Well, i woke up this morning with the cold water. With the cold water and with the cold.

- Tom Waits

As i sit here warm and dry, i am scanning through pictures from a recent overnighter i took,  trying to decide which to use in my collage, and contemplating the road ahead. An hour long bus ride from Pucon took me through the mountainous countryside and dropped me off at the Parque Nacional Huerquehue.  What a beautiful day to visit such a beautiful piece of country! From there i hiked about 12km and saw numerous waterfalls, three alpine lakes, and a variety of wildflowers. After my hike i set up camp, prepared a simple dinner, and read next to the lake until the rain started. Then i read in the tent, with the rain pouring down, by headlamp. 

And boy did it rain. Rained all night. Rained all morning. A cold rain at that. It rained so much that it cut short my plans for hiking another mountain before i caught the bus back to Pucon the following day. Additionally, i had hoped to be able to hike to a hot spring, but there was still too much snow for the trek to be possible. So it goes. At least i got a lot of thinking and reading done. 

Things i thought about include my family, my future back in the good ol' US of A, my farewell to Pucon, my quickly approaching journey by sea, and my job in Punta Arenas. Oooh so much thinking done. Lovely really. I miss my family. I am anxious about my future. I am ready to leave Pucon for new adventures, but hope to return in the future. I am excited for my journey by sea and expect to test the limits of my cameras memory card. And finally, i am very much looking forward to starting work. Living life aimlessly and without obligations can be surprisingly tiring. How i look forward to settling into a routine... 

Language Lesson of the Day: My sleeping bag is wet... Say it with me now! Mi saco de dormir es mojado...

Colonel Forbin's Ascent

Welp, it was a very busy weekend. I spent saturday hiking a volcano and kept busy sunday doing yard work at my host family's house in the countryside. All in all it was a very good weekend. 

The National Park Agency in Chile mandates that all amature and recreational alpinists need a guide to hike the Volcano Villarrica. So i ended up hiring Sol & Nieve to drag my wearyshitass up the mountain. But in all seriousness, it was a completely awesome, nontechnical, five hour slog up to the top of volcano with unparalleled views of the country below. In addition to a stunning view of Pucon, i was able to see the Sierra Nevada mountain range, three lakes, and six other volcanoes. The view alone was the worth the price of the guide service. And if i didn't have to pay someone to take me there again, i'd do it in a heart beat. Because of the vast amount of spring snow still on the mountain and cloudless sky, i think i filled up my monthly quota of vitamin D in a day! Even with all my sunscreen, SPF 50 mind you, the sun completely kicked my butt and left me more exhausted than i have been in a very long time. 

The following day and after a very recuperative 11 hours of sleep, i went with my host parents to their cabin in the countryside. and did yardwork! I got to check on the bees, split wood, have a slash fire, prune trees, and wrangle some cattle. It was awesome. 

A goat and a monkey, a mule and a flee. I'm moving to the country. Baby, won't you come with me? 

Across the Universe

Somtimes across the universe doesn't seem that far away. Even though i'm living on a whole 'nother continent, i am still able to find things that seem oh so very familiar and remind me of my life back home.  And fortunately, the life i have chosen to lead is one of leisure... 

A slight breeze, a pleasant 16 degrees centigrade, and not a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect friday for taking it easy by the lake in Pucon. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Language Lesson of the Day: Pucón's unrivaled location by a lake and a volcano and quite stable weather(especially in the summer) make it a popular destination for tourists. It offers a variety of sports and adventure/recreational activities including water skiing, snow skiing, backpacking, white water rafting and kayaking, horse back riding, natural hot springs, and guided ascents of volcano Villarrica. 

I have skied for many years, but i have never climbed a volcano. Say it with me now! He esquiado por muchos años, pero no nunca he subido un volcán!

Pollo Asado

Welp, the weather was perfect yesterday so i said - i said to myself, "self, best oughta go on another bicycle ride!" and that's exactly what i did. This time i rode my bicycle 32 kilometers (round trip) a la Ojos de Caburgua - a beautiful group of waterfalls east of Pucon. It was another fantastic ride and this time, much to my delight, sans rain! Additionally, the gorgeous weather and clear skies offered amazing views of the volcano towering over town. It was a pretty enjoyable ride, indeed. While pictures fail to do the scenery justice, i tried my best...

This weekend i was planning on climbing the volcano, but the beta i've received around town is that the conditions are not the greatest right now. Instead, i have decided to travel three hours to the north to go snowboarding on a different volcano! Let's hear it for spring(?) skiing! And volcanoes!!

Mountains in the Mist

Welp, I had my first spanish lesson in Pucon today, and as it turns out since there is only one other student singed up for lessons this week, i am receiving private lessons for the entire week. For the same price as group lessons! How cool is that? Let's hear it for traveling in the off season!

To celebrate i rented a bicycle, grabbed a map, and took a very wet and rainy ride into the country. It wasn't anything too far or difficult, but it was throughly enjoyable. Roughly a 22k mix of paved and dirt roads, with about 1k of single track thrown in there to keep things interesting, brought me to my destination at la playa a la Rio Platt . Even though it rained for the majority of my ride it was very tranquil, serene, and a much appreciated change from the hustle and bustle in Santiago. Albeit wet and rainy. 

Most of the scenery was obscured by clouds, but what little there was to see was quite inspiring. Did i mention this was the first time i have ridden a bicycle in nearly a month? Pretty much sex on wheels, i'll tell you what. I cannot wait for the weather to clear. Did i mention it was a really wet ride!? It rained the entire way to the river. Thanks for the rain pants Uncle Rich. They were put to good use today. Fortunately, the weather cooperated for my return ride and stopped raining just long enough for me to ride home without my hood up. I think i am visiting during the rainy season. But alas, it's still beautiful. 

One Week

Welp, it's been one whole week and i'm not in jail or dead. So i think things are going alright for me! 

Last night i left Santiago by bus and arrived this morning in beautiful Pucón, Chile - roughly 780km south of Santiago and one step closer to the edge of the continent. 

Let, Let Me In

I experienced my first earthquake today. It was pretty small. Maybe a three? Maybe a four? And it lasted a only a few seconds. Imagine if your house was only fifteen feet or so from some rail road tracks and an extremely fast train passed by. That's kinda of what it was like. Did i feel the earth shake? No. Did i feel the ground quake? No, but the doors and windows of my classroom rattled for a little bit. I was concentrating so much on my studies, i didn't realize what was happening until it was over. That's how small it was. Still, i am very happy to be able to check that off my life to do list. 

And rest assured, all is safe and well in Santiago. Apparently, much like L.A., this is a somewhat common event. 

Language Lesson of the Day: In Español, earthquakes of lesser magnitude are called los temblores. 

Did you feel the tremor? Say it with me now! ¿Se sintió el temblor?

Nuns on the run!

Well, i have survived the last four days in Santiago. Because of this small miracle, i went to la Iglesia de Santiago to give thanks.  And take photos. Mainly take photos. But to give thanks also. 

Movin' Away

holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holyshit. holyshit. shit. shit. shit. 

Well, i guess i'm really doing this. Wish me luck!