Last I left off it was just before the holiday, September 18,
which is like the fourth of July back home, but goes on for a whole week. I went
with Rafi to Valparaiso for the first weekend where we partied at a punk club,
where I met an awesome biker gang. Ate at a great place called El Pinton, it
was like a rock grunge style restaurant, that had great artisanal beer and I got
chorrillana. Chorrillana is fried potatoes with a type of sour krout, beef, and
onions on top with a delicious sweet sauce underneath. Also the graffiti in
Valpo was great, amazing detail and often actual art on the street. After
Selena and Lena meet us for a day then we traveled to La Serena, a city to the
north with amazing beaches and La Pampapilla although the Pampapilla is in the
neighboring city Coquimbo. We got lucky and stayed with a family and I made two
great friends, Miguel and Rodrigo, who were kind enough to let us stay with
them and Tati, their grandmother for nearly a week for free. I went to an asado
with them to their families farm ate what was a lamb over a fire for a few
hours, which was amazing. Just check the pic of Rodrigo and me. The Pampapilla
is a festival that goes on for an entire week and is known as the biggest in
all of Chile for the Celebration of deciocho. It cost less than $2 to enter and
there are concerts, venders of every sort, carnival rides, food, booze,
dancing, and camping on the hill for those that do not wish to leave. Then also
in Coquimbo is the largest cross in all of South America, and I mean huge. So big
that you take an elevator to the arms of the cross and can walk across and see
all of La Serena and Coquimbo. We thanked our great host and left for home a
day before school would start back up to make sure we could recharge our
batteries before the work begins. The results from my certamins were great passed
them all easily, what can I say I’m the juice, and studying was back to usual.
But I’m not on here to bore you with school so the next trip Selena, Lena,
Rafi, and myself embarked on was to Mendoza, Argentina, a 5 hour bus ride
through the Andes to a town not far inside Argentina. Compared to Santiago it
was very small and life was slow and easy. I enjoyed the lifestyle, shops open
later close earlier, and going out was seen as a common event that was partaken
by all. Also the beef of Argentina was great along with a decent domestic
flavor of Argentina whisky and wine. But my favorite part was, yes more food,
the tenador libre (free fork) which was a buffet of many different meats being
cooked right there with so many different sides and deserts. Just like a little
piece of heaven, with a bottle of wine of course. And one more piece of advice about Argentina,
they have a liquor called fernet, which I have had one time before with my friend
Pete in Long Beach, and decided to try in Argentina thinking that here it would
be better. It was not it taste like shoe polish smells avoid at all cost.
There was also a trip to a pueblito called Algarrobo, which is
just south of Valpo. I stayed with some Chilean friends in cabin on the beach;
we made an asado, went to a carrete on the beach in the middle of the night (just
amazing), went to the Pulparty (poolparty that’s just how they spelled it) in
Vina de Mar, and spent hours on the beautiful beach (pic on display of the
beach). The natural beauty I can highly recommend to any that have a chance.
Lastly Halloween, which is a relatively new holiday here in Chile,
they celebrate dia de los muertos (day of the dead) instead. But unlike the US
dia de los muertos is a national holiday so the day after Halloween everyone
has off, which is an amazing idea by the way we need to adopt this back home. But
my friends and I went to a underground type club, which was in a gymnasium by
the way, and danced drank and were marry. It was the after party that involved craziness,
a shirt being turned into multiple head bands, a broken sink, and no sleep. On the
sink note I want to say thank you to the most great family that I live with for
being the marvelous people who they are J.
Want to see more facebook me otherwise, Good
times until next time.
And this lesion of is: any chance that swings your way take
it, you just never know where it's leading you.
