La Isla Negra

Last Friday, Stanford organized a wonderful trip to la Isla Negra and Pomaire. First, we left Santiago in the morning and drove about 2 hours to la Isla Negra. Even though it isn't actually an island, this city features a gorgeous view of the Pacific.

Upon arrival, we took a tour of Pablo Neruda's home overlooking the ocean. (He actually has 2 other homes I've visited, but I'll include those in another blog entry.) His home consists of about 3 separate, small buildings and is filled with extensive collections of nautical-themed items, such as sea-shells, boats inside glass bottles, and ship-parts.

Afterwards, we spent an hour or so at the beach, where I enjoyed climbing up the rocky coastline and taking in the view. It was also fun to stop by and watch a theatrical performance taking place nearby and peruse the stalls of the local street vendors selling a hand-made crafts.

Outside Neruda's Home

The View

Exploring the Coastline Up-Close

Sponge

Zapallar

Doing a little bit of catch up with this blog entry- I actually went to Zapallar with the Stanford group during our first Friday here. (can't believe it's that was 5 weeks ago!) It's about 2.5 hours Northeast of Santiago, and we headed up for the day with a group of Chilean students from Universidad de Chile.

Overall, I found the beach and surrounding area extremely beautiful. With green hills, a rocky coastline, and lots of upscale houses, it reminded me a lot of Carmel back home in California. Also had some fresh empanadas de camarones y queso (shrimp and cheese) that were the best I've had here so far.

The View from Above

(couldn't help but snag this photo off Google images since I didn't take any good ones from this view)

Closer to the Coast

It wasn't quite as hot as Santiago, but that didn't stop us from getting wet...

nothing like salty hair after a long day at the beach either!

El Mercado Central

I opted to stay in Santiago and take it easy this weekend rather than travel to Buenos Aires or Pucón with the majority of the students in my program. About 4 others stuck around too, and we had a great time exploring Santiago with some new Chilean friends.

One of the more memorable places we visited was el Mercado Central. Located just 3 blocks from La Plaza de Armas, this seafood market was filled with a variety of stands, restaurants, and (somewhat touristy) souvenir shops.

Fresh Fish

Erizos (Sea Erchin)

wasn't feeling gutsy enough to try them...maybe next time

Restaurante Donde Augusto

After walking around for a bit, we decided to eat at one of the more famous restaurants, Donde Augusto, which serves about 1,500 people daily. For it's large size, I was surprised how quick and friendly the service was. It was a bit pricier than other restaurants (average 7,000 CLP per dish in comparison with 4,000 CLP) Overall, I thought the food was pretty good, but not amazing.

One of my friends is a big fútbol fan, so we couldn't help but stop and pose for a pic near a signed jersey of one of his favorite players framed in the restaurant.

While exploring, we also ended up chatting with one of the vendendores or salesmen for quite a while. He took a liking to us and gave us free Chile pepper necklaces. He was also selling a variety of ají, or salsas, that he wanted us to try so he gave us a free sample platter when we sat down nearby for lunch! We ended up snapping a picture with him and our new Chile necklaces as well. (above)

Free Ají Sample Platter

In Chile, "spicy" really isn't spicy compared with U.S. standards. That said, I really enjoyed trying this sample platter since it gave our food a bit more of a kick than I've had in a month or so.

Mariscos Especiales

My Entrée- a variety of clams, shrimps, mussels, and fish served in cold in a seasoned broth, served with limón.

Chupe

My friends ordered this seafood stew. It reminded me of a lighter crab dip- quite cheesy, but tasty!

In addition to the mariscos especiales and chupe, we finished off the meal with a few empanadas, which were quite tasty. Overall a pleasant and fun afternoon!

La Feria

This weekend, I finally made it to la Feria, or market, with my host family. They go to a local one about once a week to re-stock the fridge with produce. I've been meaning to visit with them since the week I got here, but was too busy traveling to make it before. Considering the fact that I love cooking, especially with fresh, local ingredients, I really enjoyed looking around and chatting with vendors.

I was also surprised that la Feria also had a lot of stands that had a garage-sale sort of feel, featuring clothing, toys, and knick-knacks. After about an hour, we came home with quite a load- one full carrrito (personal shopping cart) and one giant plastic bag full of corn, pumpkin, tomatoes, eggplant, onion, beans, bananas, pears, plums, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, peppers, and spices, not too mention a new bed cover.

My Host Family

Waiting for the Bus

la Feria is about a 35 minute ride from our apartment

Trigo

for mote con huesillo

A Variety of Grains...and Pet Food!?

Produce Trucks

Porotos (Beans)

Cebolla (Onion)

Mariscos (Seafood)

I ended up chatting with one vendor for awhile, and was curious about the seafood pictured above (unfortunately I don't remember the name anymore). Anyway, he was nice enough to offer to cut it open and show it to me!

Huevos (Eggs)

... and Ropa, Juguetes, Espejos etc. (Clothes, Toys, and Mirrors )

Barrio Patronato

About a 10-minute walk from La Plaza de Armas, Barrio Patronato has a "China-town" section that I wanted to see. Unlike the China towns in San Francisco and Manhattan, I've visited, this one featured lots of clothing stores (and not much else...). Didn't spend too much time trying stuff on since I was with friends, but plan on returning if I need to get some shopping done. Lots of variety and prices are reasonable, although not incredibly cheap.

We also spent an hour or so hanging out at La Plaza de Armas. There were a lot of interesting street vendors and performances going on. Ranging from human "statues" and break-dancers to artists and comedians, it was quite entertaining. I ended up buying a small painting from one vendor for $4, which I plan on putting up in my room.

Barrio Patronato

Wall Mural en Calle Bandera

Río Mapocho

separates La Plaza de Armas from Barrio Patronato, continues throughout Santiago and even passes by my host family's apartment

Carabineros (Police)

Monkey Faces at La Plaza de Armas

Mueso Chileno de Arte Precolombino

This week I realized that I've been living in Chile for over a month and still haven't made it to one of Santiago's many museums. (just goes to show how busy I've been doing other cultural activities...) Anyone, today I decided to change things up and headed off to el Mueso Chileno de Arte Precolombino (The Chilean Museum of Precolombian Art).

The Museum is located in the heart of Santiago at la Plaza de Armas (see previous blog entry). It opened in 1981 and is world-renowned for its extensive collection of South American woodwork, metals, textiles, ceramics, etc. I spent about 3 hours exploring their permanent exhibit on the first floor. I particularly liked how the exhibits included extensive descriptions of most works so I could better understand and appreciate what I was seeing. It was also interesting to note that the Spanish descriptions were more detailed, about twice as long as the English ones.

Museum Link (in English): http://www2.precolombino.cl/es/english/index.php

Below are some pictures from the Museum Website- these are better quality than the ones I tried to take while visiting myself.

Museum Logo

Clava cefalomorfa

Mapcuhe symbol of power held by community leaders, 600 A.D.

Textiles

particularly liked the intricacy of the weavings and dyes up close

Typical Stone Figurines of South American Indigenous Groups

Mapuche Statue (larger than lifesize)

assists dead spirits leave our world so they do not haunt the living

Barrio Lastarria

Barrio Lastarria is a small, artsy section of Santiago just 3 metro stops (or a 25 minutes walk) away from my host family's apartment. On a Sunday afternoon, I met up with a couple friends there, which was a fun excursion. Even though it's so close to the commercial, fast-paced, and crowded main streets of Santiago- Barrio Lasatrria's small the boutiques, librerías (bookstores), and clothing shops had quite a different vibe.

My friends and I enjoyed perusing the antique stands that lined the streets, and I ended up buying some 16-year old French Disney comic books for $1 each. (not exactly sure what I'm going to do with them, but the drawings were too cute to resist...I'll probably end up posting some up in my bedroom) After browsing a few more music shops and art galleries, we sat down at a café for pastries and coffee. Next time I visit, I want to set aside more time and visit some of the museums there.

For more pics and some Spanish practice, here's the official website of Barrio Lastarria.

http://www.barriolastarria.com/museos_barrio_lastarria.php

Note: I cheated and googled some pictures for this entry (and a few of the entries following this one) because I didn't bring camera along... I don't like to bring it around with me all the time because theft is quite common so it's a lot of responsibility to look after.

Cobblestone Streets

Antiques Fair on the Street