Location: Central Chile, Cajon del Maipo, Valparaiso, Cachagua
Rundown: Adventures with my familia in the mountains and on the sea!
Rode up and up over scree and rough trails. Our sure footed cayuses made it look easy.
Lunched up at the hanging glacier and hiked around a bit, soaking up the sunshine. Maybe too much.
Got onto the covered portion of the glacier. We're just barely visible on the top of the gray glacier. In the sun the glacier was dropping mailbox sized rocks frequently. Little scary to be near.
And with that we rode another few hours down the dusty trails. Ended up out for 8 hours. Fantastic guides and horses!
Sauntered around Santiago. Had a belated Christmas celebration, decorating the palm tree with citrus slices.
Had a private wine tasting at Viña del Pete while paragliders flew over the house. Couldn't join them because you're not supposed to drink and fly. Not sure why, there are no white lines or children up there...
Soaked up the Mercado Central's sights and smells. Lots of people bustling around. Chile's summer produce and fresh catch.
Watched a French theater troop wield a dozen 7m red giraffes in Plaza las Armas. Watched the colors sunset over the old and new architecture as road flares and music blazed.
Wandered here and there around Santiago. Tried a little Mote con Huesillo... barley in peach juice with a peach in it served cold. Interesting...
Drove up to Valle Nevado and La Parva for a little hiking. We had a great time driving the switchbacks! Needless to say, Mom didn't like the drive.
Saw a dozen Condors up close hovering off the edge of a cliff! I made a rude comment that there was someone dead down below. When we came back from our hike a rescue team was recovering someone from down the gulley. Yikes.
Remember that camera I lost in August? Found it in December! Picked it up. Dusted it off. It fired right up after four months in Andean ice, snow melt, and pounding sun. It's a Panasonic. Solid.
Drove to the coast to usher in the new year from Viña del Mar and Valparaiso which are supposed to have an unprecedented fireworks show. We were supposed to stay at a hostel with Mom and Denny, but the owner had us stay in his sister's apartment instead! So we followed him across town, riding a bike, to get to the apartment!
Played tourist in Viña del Mar for the day, had a couple of deliciously messy completos, then had a siesta to rest up for the night's festivities.
And oh man, did Valparaiso deliver! Bussed between the two cities and arrived in the havoc. Bands cranked music from a huge stage, ridiculously funny people crowded the squares, plazas, streets, alleyways.
Twenty barges fired off volleys from forty kilometers of coastline along the bay. It was stunning. This first one isn't my shot. I'll bring my paraglider next time to get a better vantage point for shots!
People were off the wall, packed like sardines everywhere. There was such a good 'onda' in the air though. We had a blast.
In the first minutes of the new year we hiked home with the thousands of other revelers. The streets were impossibly encrusted with party poppers, broken champagne bottles, and other trash. Unreal.
What surprised me the most was the cleanliness of the city the next day! Holy smokes! You'd never know that a tempest of trash had blown through only hours ago! We walked the bohemian streets and enjoyed the ambiance!
Makes me want to be a graffiti artist!
The topography itself is great in the city. Lots of twisting stairs, painted in crazy schemes, and old funiculars. Really great place to haunt.
Spent a day driving up the coast. Hit Maitencillo, Colchagua, and Zapallar. Fun mini road trip!
Swam out to the island off the end of the point to see the penguinos! Kayakers get close, why not swimmers? Naturally, we didn't land, but it was fun to see the little critters up close.
Had a great time getting to hang out and do some fun things with Liza, Mom and Denny!
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