Riding with the furious

This week was the monthly ride of "Ciclistas Furiosos," in which a couple hundred bike Fanatics get together and ride down the streets during rush hour. It was a nice ride that went into some of the older parts of Santiago where I wouldn't even think of riding at night alone. It brought out all sorts: hippies, kids, office workers, dogs, and even a rat.

Chile In Headlines: Energy Crunch

Chile's government has been forced to take measures in order to ensure that its electrical grid can supply enough energy to meet demand. Rainfall shortages have meant that its hydro electrical dams haven't been able to produce enough electricity to keep up.

The government has created a special commission to deal with the problem. They have created a list of things people can do to decrease their own consumption: use energy saving light bulbs, shut off the computer when you aren't using it, don't defrost food in the microwave, among others. The congress has also passed a law requiring electrical companies to invest and use renewable energies as well.

The crunch has also meant several controversial dams projects will also get the green light from the government. Despite the measures taken, authorities still won't rule out that mandatory blackouts could become necessary in the not so distant future.

Late Night Liquor Store

In the Headlines: Bond comes to Chile

Soy Bond, James Bond....

James Bond will be coming to Chile to shoot the latest flick "The Quantum of Solace." 007 starts shooting on Monday, March 10 and will spend most of his time in the north near Antofagasta.

According to an article in El Mercurio they will shoot a couple of fight scenes that involve two Land Rovers and also film at the Paranal Observatory.

Beach Dogs

Living the hard life of a beach dog.

In the Headlines: Retailers drop merger

Today two of Chile’s largest retailers Falabella and D&S dropped plans to merge their operations into Latin America’s second largest retailer after it was rejected earlier this year by the country’s anti-trust commission.

The merger would have created a Chilean Walmart with a whole lot of power to influence the price of everything from food to domestic electronics to clothes and furniture. Falabella is a department store, something like Sears, and D&S owns one of the country's largest supermarket chains: Lider.

Critics argued it would destroy small businesses and give the company too much power over its providers, while others said it was necessary for the consolidated firm to compete internationally.

I think it is a good sign since it gives more opportunity for small business, there are so many ma and pa stores that would suffer from the conglomerate coming together.

Born to Ride

Nothing could stop this little guy.

Santiago places: La Feria

So over the weekend I made it to this place: Club La Feria. Located in Bellavista it has been described to me as the best place for electronic music in Santiago, and a really good club. Add to that the 6000 peso entry (the mid tier places usually charge around 3000 pesos and give you a crappy rum and coke) that comes without a free drink and I got my expectations up for something really nice.

The pluses of the place: The DJ knew how to DJ, how to do a transition (no trance followed by AC/DC which can happen in a place with a “typical” Chilean DJ, no 80s music..etc). The place had a fairly interesting look to it as well. The bar tenders could make a drink and take money. (Many places have two separate lines, one to pay one to get your drink), and they also were more like bar tenders, if they saw you needed something they came to you.

But the negatives: Needed something more visual, I think they have a TV, but for a place where the DJ is center stage and all he is doing is pushing play on the laptop, video is important. The drinks were a bit expensive 3500 for rum or vodka, 4000 for whiskey, 2000 for a bottle of beer, and it was very small.

So if you really want to dance to some electronic music it is worth it, but just make sure to bring enough cash.

In the Headlines: Bachelet calls on Colombia to explain itself after weekend attack on the FARC in Ecuador

So the political drama unfolding between Colombia and its neighbors has been at the center of attention in Chile, where the country’s President Michelle Bachelet called on the Colombian government to explain its actions following an attack on FARC rebels that spilled over into Ecuadorian territory.

According to a report on El Mercurio’s site, Bachelet spoke with other leaders in South America and is ready in intervene as an intermediary to resolve the conflict. She called it “worrisome” and said that Colombia owes Ecuador an explanation as to how and why it crossed into its territory.

If you missed it, Colombia bombed a FARC camp located about 2km into Ecuadorian territory on Saturday, killing the FARC’s #2 man: Luis Edgar Devia, aka "Raúl Reyes." The FARC have long been suspected of hiding out in Ecuador and Venezuela to escape the Colombia military.

The attack generated strong reactions from Hugo Chavez, who has recently clashed with Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe over negotiations to free FARC held hostages. Chavez warned Uribe that it would be war if he did the same in Venezuela started amassing troops at the border. He also accused the US as having backed the attack as well.

Colombia had a shot at one of its enemy’s at it took it despite the potential fall out that we are seeing today. Authorities in the US have accused Venezuela of providing shelter to the FARC to conduct their kidnappings and use as a corridor for drug trafficking, something Chavez has denied. Granted I wouldn’t expect Colombia to take any aggressive action. Let’s hope cooler heads prevail at this point.

Center of the Community

Heading towards the mountains in Chillan there are a surprising number of Evangelical churches. Many are like this one in the photo, small little shacks that draw the local huasos to worship. There are hardly any real towns in this area, just roads with houses, farms and shacks on the side. The nearest town is basically an intersection with a couple stores and a restaurant. So this little church is the closest thing to community for miles and miles.

The only other establishment is, of course, a liquor store across the street.

Linares Chile by Night

Night time hits in Linares, Chile where Carolina and I were stranded due to what we now (almost a week alter the fact) know was probably due to a bad batch of oil. So part of the engine nearly caught on fire and the whole car shut down while we were going about 120 Km/hr.

Luckily Carolina has one of these roadside assistance insurance plans. They came to the rescue and put us up in a (crappy) hotel with a view of the center of town, La plaza de armas de Linares…imagínate!

It’s a lot like many small Chilean towns that I’ve had the chance to see. For some reason I thought of Salamanca, where I stayed over the course of 20 weeks while teaching English at a copper mine a little less than three years ago. For some reason though the place was pretty lively, not in a New York sort of way, but rather in a lets get ice cream or pizza or beer kind of way. Plus every single teenager was in one side of the plaza, while the older youth of Linares gathered around the perimeter of the place listening to music in their cars. But no one was doing the time honored activity of “crusin the loop,” despite the fact that this plaza, well actually any of them for that matter, seems built to do circles round.

So we saw it for a second, and then returned to the fourth floor of the crappy hotel (where I should say the clerk had a porn movie going on in a small TV below the counter. We couldn’t see it, but we could hear it, real classy place, but free) and I watched the flow of people and cars pass by the strange wolf or dog statues they had in each corner of the plaza. Why they were there?...A mystery.

a midnight scene under the moon

Facing the Andes under a full moon as the generator hits the bottom of the fuel tank the pool took on an almost mystic quality. The moon was bright enough to draw shadows beneath the trees and light my way.

Best friend for five minutes

One of the things I enjoy about wandering around in Chile is that you meet lots of random street dogs. Some of them are in a sad state, some of them are as free and as happy as doggedly possible. This guy was somewhere in between.

Fresh Fruit

Along the highway are tons of these small fruit stands where you can walk away with boxes of fresh and extremely cheap fruit. We came across this one en route to a mountain cabin in Chillan.

Movistar's 3G

So I went out today to sign up for Movistar Chile's 3G offer. They are still marketing it for laptops, I think they may have one or two handsets offered through their store that can use the HSDPA network.

So among the things they say:

600kbps downlink
Same coverage as GSM voice signal
It will be activated today

It is a bit pricey at this point..about 30,000 pesos a month. Hopefully that will come down soon, but I imagine it could take a little while.

Why did I get it? I wanted to be able to work from wherever I please and not depend on some Cafe's crappy WiFi signal. I want to also be able to use it on my phone...I won a Nokia N95 last year when they launched it here and haven't really been able to take advantage of some of its advanced features..save the 5megapixel camera...which took the photo in the header, and the MP3 player.

So we'll see how the service goes.

How do you know you are not much of a "mountaineer"

When you have to be rescued by a helicopter from Cerro Manquehue. Granted its a bit steep in some parts, and if you get off course you could get into some pretty nasty areas. But it is one of the easiest climbs around Santiago and at around 1600 meters it is pretty small for Chile. It isn't really part of the Andes. Several of the taller peaks surrounding Santiago stretch past 5,000 meters, to put it in perspective.

Having said that though it is a fun hill to "summit". Unfortunately it has no sort of protection or caretakers, so in many places people have written on rocks, littered or worse. More its known to be a bit dangerous thanks to thieves that pray on lone hikers. Best to go in a group. But despite some of its down points its definitely worth a try, it has a great view of the city and the mountains around it. Just download the route from Andeshandbook.cl first and don't end up like these four who were rescued. What's next? Aerial rescue from Cerro Santa Lucia?

Santiago in February

I always have associated February as a time of cold, thanks to the homeland of Iowa. It was always the coldest month, the month when winter becomes a bit too much to deal with and thoughts turn to the upcoming springtime, even if it is still several months off.

In Santiago though, with the seasons upside down, it is the peak of summer. Hot scorching days (though it’s a dry heat) mark the second month of the year. Its also prime time for vacations and traveling. As such the city feels almost deserted at times. I went outside this morning to find a newspaper and every single kiosk within three blocks of my apartment (about four of them) were closed.

When I first arrived in Chile February was the off season, since I was teaching English. It was part of the three month period that lasts from late December into mid March where there is no work. So I traveled. I rambled through the north of Chile, then onward to Peru and Bolivia one year. The next year Carolina and I went to Torres Del Paine for a 12 day trek. Two years straight of great travel and new experiences.

Not the last two years though, full time work has meant that I spend most of the month in the city, save a quick jaunt for the weekend to the beach or the mountains. This year was much better than last. I enjoy my work more, I got to travel back to Iowa and to Boston for work, and we escaped to Pucon between Christmas and New Years and had a great time. I even got to see an erupting volcano on the bus ride back.

But about this time of year I start to feel a bit anxious. I want to sit at the beach. All the “llegó Verano” (Summer’s arrived) commercials on TV seem to make it worse. The city seems a bit more boring and harder to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to complain here. When I traveled I would return broke and stay that way until about May. Plus if you end up traveling these months you pay a whole lot more for everything, especially bus tickets and lodging.

But still, there is a part of me who just wants to be on a bus without worrying about when I will get back and how long it will take me to get caught up or deal with that back to work blues that always hits after a vacation.

Can we give this another shot?

Its been a very long time since I wrote in this blog. I was actually thinking of laying it to rest. I still think maybe I should. The whole thing started when I came to Chile in October 2004. I think maybe I started it in November. It was a travel blog at that point. It was my contact with the world I used to know as home, it was a log of the places I went. Entries about basic food items like Empanadas and completos, places like the plaza de armas. The things you think to write about only when they are so new.

How things have changed. I can't say I'm a traveler anymore, I've put some roots down. I've lived in the same apartment now for over two years. I don't have three month periods to roam around the continent. I work at least eight hours a day. I'm getting married. I have to ask for vacation.

But I don't want to really just pitch this one aside. I need to some how reinvent it. I'm sure no one that might've checked it before still does. I haven't been a good updater. Just look at the archives, single digits for the entries in 2007.

So, I could write one of those "things are going to change" entries, but I don't want to waste your time today. Check back tomorrow, if there is something here than maybe there is a chance I could bring it back.

We'll just have to wait and see.....

Diezyocho

Diezyocho…the 18th of Sep…Chile’s independence day. It is always a pretty interesting time, the weather is nice, it involves several days off from work, and this year the government even passed an extra day, meaning a five day weekend.

Around the first of September the rawraw starts, one can feel it in the air and see it in the amount of flags that all of a sudden go on display. Fondas, an area with plenty of bbq, some dancing maybe, drinks pop up all over the place.

These are days that one thinks of the country, or campo, even in the city they bring in farm animals to some of the fondas to give you that country feel in the middle of suburbia.

This year I was stuck in Santiago as I had to work two out of the three days that were off. It meant that it lacked some of the excitement that took hold of a lot of the people around me. It was the first year that I stayed in the capital for the holiday, so I went with Caro to her mother’s house, where a whole bunch of her mother’s family showed up to have a little mini fonda…



I wonder how many pounds people put on during the holiday...meat is in no short supply


Caro and her aunt.

Great aunt of Carolina.


Caro's mother.
Bailando cueca.
Homemade empandadas.

Pomaire

Its not very far away from Santiago, just about an hour on a flat nicely paved highway with tolls.

Pomaire it’s called, a place of around 10,000 nestled in low lying hills between the Andes and the coastal region of Chile. Its claim to fame is a style of pottery marked by its dark tones and earthy appearance. While there are some artists who choose to paint their work, most has a very raw feel to it. It is for all practical purposes raw mud.

The town itself has a very held together by spit and sawdust feel to it. There are no posts that are straight in this town, there are no signs that clean, and the houses all look a bit old, with lots of dust surrounding them, giving the place a very simple but intriguing feel to it.

Of course on the long weekend surrounding Chile’s independence day of September 18, everything is a bit different……

Just a few pictures from the stay in Key Largo....

Alberto what were you thinking?

So have you heard of Alberto Fujimori? The ex-President of Peru, he stands accused of several human rights violations in the land that he once ruled, excesses of power during his 10-year rule that ended in 2000 with him fleeing to his ancestral land of Japan.

BUT HE CAME BACK!

Despite the risk of falling in the hands of Peruvian authorities he showed up in Chile in November 2005 and was detained by authorities here in Santiago. An expedition process was started soon after, and he now awaits the final word of a judge who has already received a report recommending his extradition.

The question remains, what did he have up his sleeve? He is not stupid, Fujimori had to have known that he could and would fall into the hands of Chilean authorities. So there is plenty of speculation and rumors surrounding this.

But just when it couldn’t get much stranger, a Japanese political party announces that he will be there candidate for the Japanese senate in an election to be held on July 29! Now, they are claiming “political persecution” against Fujimori from his political enemies in Lima.

What still is not clear however, is exactly what was on this guy’s mind when he thought leaving a sheltered exile in Japan to make another run for Peru! In the meantime, he is under house arrest in his country home, which is far nicer than my apartment.

Races, rides, and other madness....

One has their skills and their faults

I have an announcement to make to the world: I'm no skier. This past weekend I tried out my skill on the slopes of Cerro Colorado, located just outside of Santiago, it didn't go so well. Sort of like riding a bike with no breaks.

The place itself is very beautiful, and really feels like a different country. Some "fashionable" people up there, much cooler than I could ever be. It attracts a very elite crowd, which I think have, on average, spent more on their ski parka than I have spent in total on clothes in the last six months.
The view is one of the main attractions, you can see the smog of Santiago below, surrounded by snow capped peaks.

lunch

I stumbled upon this in one of Mexico City's largest park. It had a sort of pickled cactus, cilantro, onion, this cheese (is it goat cheese, I'm not sure) a bean paste as a base on a sort of grainy hard shell. Of course there was some of the salsa roja y salsa verde. I couldn't even finish the thing.

Drunken Dog Nap

Just a week ago I was in Mexico

28

So my 28th birthday has now passed, it was well celebrated with good food and better company, on a beautiful day at the base of Los Andes, well actually technically it wasn't the Andes yet, but at the base of a mountain.

To me 28 now means that it has been 10 years since I gained the right to smoke and be arrested. It has flown by, but then again I think about some of the places I have seen or done in those last ten years and it feels aweful long.

I suppose though, the bigger landmark is that it is only 2 years away (now a day less) from turning 30, and that makes me feel like an old man.

Long Time passed by

So its been a while now hasn't it....lots of days passed by unrecorded...hate to say that I haven't managed my daily ritual of updating and recording the events that pass me by so well...

El Pochoco

The vastness of the paved reallity

Urban life...opening doors worldwide.....coming soon to a forest near you

In the Mean Time

Just a sliver...

The sunset over the Pacific is always a spectacular sight. When it gets almost all the way down, until nothing but a sliver is left, you can watch it slowly slip away, you can see the earth move slowly, turning day into night.

Sunrise at the port

The trip from my apartment to my class room takes around 2 and a half to three hours. Going both directions twice a week can be a drag. I have to find things about it that make it all worth it, and in Valparaiso there are many. From eating fresh fish to arriving to a fresh sunrise early on a cold morning.

Justa Doggone Nap (Sola Unasiesta Cachorrondo)

While on a walk through the center of Santiago

I took a walk on Sunday through the city. Usually there are a lot of different things going on. On this occasion, the Catholic Church was putting together this display featuring sand, sawdust, leaves, flower pedals and other odd materials. It went on for several blocks, and each part was done by different high schools.

Relief

a good place to sit....

Sometimes we all need a quite place to sit back and contemplate the finer things in life...