went up to the mine...

took a hike this weekend....

It has been to long since I updated or anything, many apologies but I just haven't made it anywhere near the blog lately.

Here is a photo from this weekend, I will try to post some more, if I get a chance while I'm up here at the mine.

So I haven't managed to update lately...

It has been hard to get myself to update the blog lately, I have been super busy going between the mine, Santiago, my new internship at the Santiago Times, social life, friends, girlfriend, celebrating diezyocho, Chile's independence day.

This last weekend I went to Talca to celebrate the national holiday with some of Carolina's friends. It is starting to look like springtime, which is really nice after a succession of rainy cold weekends in Santiago. We drank lots of wine and chicha, a national drink that tastes like cider that spent a little too much time sitting the fridge. Chica is a little better, has some sugar added and all.

The weekend before that I went to the coast, laid on the beach and ate some sea food. I have several pictures from both weekends and will post them when I get back to Santiago. For now I wait for students to arrive, it is a beautiful day up here at the mine, blue sky, nice and warm. Tomarrow is the first day of spring, and I am more than ready to start some outdoor activities. Some hiking in the Andes this weekend if all goes well.

Sittin round...

In Santiago there is a cemetary that is completely full of these large buildings, brick pathways, good sized trees, large structures with small slots for bodies. I have no idea how many people are buried here, but there are alot. From Salvador Allende, to unnamed workers. Most of the space is taken up by shed sized buildings housing a family. There are bigger buildings that house soceities and groups like firefighters, military, foreigners from far away. The designs of the structures vary greatly, from simple stone buildings to ornate reproductions of Aztec temples.

It is a nice place to come to and just wander around. You can sit and see all these other people walking through. Some are on bicycles just getting exercise, others are taking picures, many are visiting relatives. Every now and then you see an old woman visiting her long lost spouse, people praying to a cross in the center. There are lots of pepper trees for some reason, it is very fresh but I wouldn't even consider using pepper from a cemetary tree.

Along all the tombs, graves and buildings are flowers, old and new. Photos, figurines, plaques, and momentos all provide a visual collage that sparks curiousity about who these people were, what the did, how they died and who they left behind.

In the center is a large grave for Salvador Allende, the former president killed during the military coup of 1973. It has his last words inscribed on a marble podium. It is a very simple design.

The walls look like something build for a castle, and you enter through a large gate. It isn't a place I go very often, but when I do, it always makes for an interesting afternoon...