Been lucky...

So my three day weekend slowly winds to a halt. It is always amazing how fast three days can past. I was lucky enough to be able to get out of Santiago. It was the second weekend in a row, and I hope to keep it up if I can.

The family of one of Carolina's friends recently purchased a house on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean. It has a large deck that offers a panaromic view of the ocean. You can sit and have breakfast while watching the ocean spray off the rocks in the harbor. The house is in this quite little town. It is an uppty area and each house is more of a castle, with a few reaching palace status. Everyone uses woodfire chimnies to heat their homes so the streets are filled with the scent of burning wood. Like many coast towns, it is filled with steep hills, lots of stairs to get you up them. Many of the roads and infrastructure within the town were made of stone. This lent a feeling of Europe, as did the architecture of many of the houses.

It was a relaxing weekend, there was really nowhere to go out, Carolina cooked some fresh fish with pasta, we played cards and drank vodka. Saturday, we hiked to one of the large boulders along the coast. I figured out that I have only went to the ocean around 16 times in my life, about 6 of them being since I arrived to Chile. This makes being on the beach such an experience. It is something that I need to do more often, especially if I am invited to stay in a nice cabin.

The week before, I made it to Valpariaso for a couple of days. It is an amazing town. Narrow, steep streets wind all about, elevators, stair cases, pass ways, all meander through the cerros. I think that you could live in Valpo your whole life and still get lost. There is an interesting aestetic, as well. It was one of the richest ports, but has since lost its importance after the opening of the Panama Canal. There are countless mansions, amazing houses, all falling apart and in need of serious repair. Murals line the narrow streets, and the view of the sea is never far. There is a brisk feeling in the air, and a level of energy on the streets. We stayed in hostel that had an amzing view from the roof, it was an old building. For lunch, you can pay around 2 dollars and get a huge plate of fried fish with a salad at the central market. I left Valpo feeling refreshed and inspired, not too mention full. It is a unique place, and only a little over an hour away from my place.

Santiago isn't a bad place to live, there are alot of things to do, and see. However, it is a place that you have to leave. The choas, noise and fumes of the micros are reason enough. There is something about the pace of city life that can get you down at times. Sometimes, you just have to escape, or else the humm of the micro might have its way...