Above Santiago....

Its a bit of a haul, but always is worth it. Parque Mahuida on the edge of the community of La Reina is a bit of portal. To get there one must ride through a spectrum of urban settings. From pothole ridden slums, busy streets, expensive barrios, quite offlets, all while dodging street dogs, microbuses, cars, other bikes, passing military bases, small airports, and a multitude of business.

The worst part of the ride is the last six blocks or so before one arrives at the gate of the park. I swear this hill is straight up and each pedal wears one down. Sweat pours down the face, as every bit of toxin that was ever inside your body is forced out. It is quite therapeutic, though tiresome. However, arriving at the park is always a good feeling.

The park itself is a gateway to a much different world. The Sendero de Chile lies there, which
is a trail that will one day connect all of Chile, north to south. At this point there are several parts completed but the whole thing has yet to be finished. Near the capital, Mahuida offers the only access, luckily it is only a short bike ride from my apartment. From there you can reach many different places along the eastern border of the city. The only problem is that to get there is a feat in itself, so I never have a lot of energy to get to far.

Bike trails aren't the only feature of the park. There are several hiking trails as well. One that will take you up to around 2800 meters (9186 Ft). This is a longer hike, probably around six hours. I still haven't made it yet, I never seem to arrive there with enough time. I made it higher than halfway, the view was spectacular. The whole entire capital looms below. You can see the smog bubble, in all of its brownness.

On my last journey to the park I met and talked to one of the workers there, the man who is responsible for rescuing lost hikers. He told me there is a trail that runs from the first mountain (or hill, as the Chileans call it, but to an Iowan such as myself it is a massive mountain) to another "hill" behind it that stands at about 3200 meters (10,500 Ft). The trails continues and tops two other peaks, before taking you back down into a different neighborhood of the city. In all, it takes about six days to complete. From the moment he told me about it, I wanted to go....mmmmmm

Back to last week...

January is a month that is full of live outdoor music in Santiago. One of the events is Providencia's jazz festival which takes place along the murky water of the Mapocho river. It is a three day even featuring musicians from all around the world. This year one of the features was Poncho Sanchez, a US born Latin Jazz musicians who gets on the congas and really fills the place up with some life. There was a Swiss group that went before him, they were really technical, something only a true jazz fanatic could enjoy, it bored me. When Poncho came on, wearing an all white outfit that glowed in the heavy stage lights, you could just feel the energy. He likes to talk, usually in a good Spanglish mix, and his beats make everyone want to move...

time?

I, like so many I know have an alarm clock. It wakes me up when I am forced to rise earlier than my body would like. Usually, I am forced to rush somewhere afterwards. I check the time every hour, at least. I couldn't tell you the last time that an entire day passed without stealing a glance at some sort of time keeping mechanism. Yes, that is the world we live in, or at least most of us do. Hurry up, don't be late, drink coffee to stay awake, don't forget to write down the things you have to do, and if you do manage to complete this daunting task, you'd better check off that list, there is lots to do you see, more than can ever be accomplished in one day, shit! I'm out of time....

It is nice to know, that there are old men and dogs in this world who don't understand the corrupted language that time speaks two seconds after you just missed something...

see you next time...

Back to the books...

That's right, I have once again become, (well actually not anymore) a student. I took a short Spanish class last week, 20 hours in total, 4 a day, to practice and "polish the diamond" a little bit.

It was interesting to be in a language class as a student after having taught several classes. It gave me some perspective into the style I use when I teach, being in the students shoes I see some of the things that work, and others that don't. It actually makes me a bit excited to think about teaching once again.

However the class is now complete, and I am just an unemployed gringo for one more week, then I'm hitting the road, heading for the southern tip of South America.

spilling into the street...

The Plaza outside of my apartment was full of people waving banners, screaming, having a good time as cars tried to squeeze past.

The crowds filled up....

Crowds of people waved Bachelet flags, there was almost more excitment than a Colo-Colo vs. U de Chile soccer game, almost.

There is no moment...

Chileans like to BBQ, and not a moment passes that can't be utilized...here a young child enjoys a stick of meat as the country celebrates the election results...

the new president....

I arrived to a new day in Chile. A women president has now been elected in a very conservative, machista culture. I came back to the capital after spending the weekend on the coast and found the place alive as people cruised down the streets honking their horns, waving flags, yelling, dancing in the street, generally having a good time. I haven't ever experienced anything like that, I have grown to associate presidential campaigns with disappointment in the end.