Cerro Manquehue

One of my Chilean friends invited me to tag along with his hiking group, Los Malayos, to climb Cerro Manquehue. In all, there were about 20 of us, from all walks of life, and I found the structure of the group quite interesting. Each week, Los Malayos chooses a hill to climb (there are quite a few surrounding the outskirts of Santiago) and sends an e-mail out to a public list. In the e-mail, they specify an accessible metro stop to meet at, and from there the group heads out. When talking with members of the group, I found out there are a number of other similar groups in Santiago as well, but they prefer Los Malayos because it is free and consistently organizes weekly hikes.

For Cerro Manquehue, we met at 8:30 am a few metro stops away from my homestay, and I was back by 2, which made for a refreshing morning excursion. (unfortunately, I had to spend the rest of the day writing a final exam essay) Overall, the hill was a lot steeper than I had initially expected, but the scenery was beautiful. Since it is now autumn in Chile, the weather has been a bit chillier lately. In turn, it was extremely foggy for the majority of our climb, which created a neat effect.

Views from Cerro Manquehue

Overlooking Santiago and Cerro San Cristobal

Lots of condensation!

Cajón del Maipo

I spent this past weekend in Cajón del Maipo, a scenic region on the eastern side of the country. Considering the incredible view of el Río Maipo winding by the foot of the cordillera, or mountain range, leading up to the Andes, this destination is definitely one of my favorites outside of Santiago. Cajón del Maipo also features a number of recreational activities and points of interest, including camping, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, vineyards, traditional Chilean restaurants, and artesanía stores.

See for yourself at: http://www.cajondelmaipo.com/.

Even though it takes about 90 minutes to reach la Plaza de Armas de San José de Maipo, the commercial center of Cajón del Maipo, public transportation to get there only costs $3 USD and consists of a 35-minute subway ride and 50-minute "colectivo" shared cab ride. Not too shabby! (although I must admit my friends and I ended up having to pay $9 each to get back since we couldn't manage to find an available colectivo and were too impatient to get on the crammed and slow metro-bus for $1)

One highlight of my visit to the region was an afternoon spent river-rafting with a couple friends. After gearing up with wet-suits, life-jackets, helmets, water shoes, and rafting paddles, we were quite a sight! The river was a class 2-3 on a scale to 6, but reaches class 4 later in the year around April/May. I enjoyed going over the safety spiel and learning the paddling commands in Spanish. Our river guide was also quite energetic and entertaining.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along since I didn't want it to get wet so you'll just have to picture a mental image for yourself. You can also check out the company pics at: http://www.chilerafting.cl/.

After rafting, we finished off the day with delicious made-to-order empanadas de camarones y queso (shrimp and cheese) and by perusing craft booths lining the sidewalks of la Plaza de Armas de San José de Maipo.

Cajón del Maipo

Stopping by a Roadside Vineyard

Fresh Grapes!

La Chascona

The third famous home of Pablo Neruda is called La Chascona, which means "uncombed hair." Neruda constructed this home for his third wife Mathilde, and name it in her honor. La Chascona is located in a section of Santiago called Bellavista, just two metro stops away from my home-stay in Providencia. I visited with a couple friends a while ago for a fun after-class excursion.

As with his other homes, La Chascona is filled with eccentric furniture. In addition, as like in La Isla Negra, this home consists of three small, separate buildings, which create an open, playful feel that I particularly like (and is unfortunately hard to capture via photography).

La Chascona

photos taken from google images and http://www.fundacionneruda.org/en/la-sebastiana/image-gallery.html?id=1

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a popular tourist destination about 2 hours from Santiago. While many Chileans opt to spend there summer vacations there, foreign visitors flock to the beach town as well. When visiting for the day, I was struck by the colorful hillsides- although only 1 hill appears in the photo below, several other similar ones lined the coast.

We also passed by the town cemetery, which is not a typical point of interest, but I appreciated the special stop. Our guide explained the variety of tombs there reflect the different social classes in Chile. Ranging from a section of children's colorful, dirt covered tombs to walled-in streets lined with smaller adult tombs to larger, marble buildings, the cemetery was filled with sections of distinct character. To top it off, the cemetery is high up features a view overlooking the rest of Valparaíso.

Valparaíso also contains one of Pablo Neruda's 3 famous homes, La Sebastiana. Unlike La Chascona and La Isla Negra, tours of La Sebastiana are offered in a self-guided audio format. Since I opted to take my tour in Spanish and the quality of the recording was low to begin with, I had some trouble catching all the details about La Sebastiana, but still had fun simply walking through Neruda's home- not only was it filled with interesting collectors items, but the view was also wonderful.

The Hills of Valparaíso

Outside La Sebastiana

Lunch

in this picture, we were eating Palta Reina, a traditional appetizer that features avocado stuffed with a chicken-mayonnaise salad

La Sebastiana

pictures taken from http://www.fundacionneruda.org/en/la-sebastiana/image-gallery.html

Reserva Nacional El Yali

I recently went on a day excursion to Reserva Nacional El Yali, about a 3 hour bus ride outside of Santiago. Considering the fact I was told beforehand that El Yali contains a beach, I was surprised by the dense greenery and woodsy feel of the area when we first arrived. However, a 20-minute (bushy and prickly) walk led us to the promised coastline.

Unlike the other Chileans beaches I have visited thus far, El Yali was practically empty. This is because it is a protected reserve and visitors must receive permission to visit. (our bus was also sprayed with disinfectant upon entering!)

While the majority of my fellow classmates went about taking notes and examining the flora and fauna for a "Living Chile" class, I entertained myself by building sand-castles and attempting to take artsy photos of the gorgeous scenery. I also took advantage of the pleasant, breezy weather and enjoyed wading in the warm ocean waters. See for yourself and check out the pictures below!

Looking Eastward from the Coast

Close-Ups from the Coastline

Parque Araucano

Parque Araucano is located in Las Condes, a neighboring barrio (district) in Santiago next to Providencia where I live. The park features a beautiful rose garden, dirt paths, some playgrounds, basketball courts, and plenty of grassy areas that are perfect for playing soccer.

Right across the street is Parque Arauco, one of the larger shopping mall complexes in Santiago. When walking around, I was surprised by the number of American restaurants and stores in Parque Arauco. To name a few, there's TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's, McDonald's, North Face, Colombia, and Merrill (I was shopping for outdoorsy clothes...).

Here are some pics of the area from some visits to Parque Araucano and the mall on a number of occasions over the past couple weeks.

The Entrance of Parque Arauco

Rose Garden

Soccer in the Park

the first time I've played in quite a while, but I enjoyed it so much I definitely need to do it more often : )

Bowling at Parque Arauco

Pokemon Ride in an Arcade

couldn't resist the photo-opp!

Pomaire

After leaving la Isla Negra, we headed off to another close-by town, Pomaire. Pomaire is famous for its clay ceramics, and I absolutely loved exploring the local marketplace. Store after store was filled with the traditional craftwork and prices were extremely reasonable. A set of 3 cups and dishes, for example, cost about US $7. Here are some pics that are representative of the diversity of products sold there.

Chanchitos

good luck pigs- the larger ones can be used as piggy banks you actually have to break to open up

couldn't help but include another stray-dog picture

Tortillas

Our visit to Pomaire also included lunch at a traditional Chilean restaurant, where we enjoyed empanadas, fresh fruit juices, pastel de choclo, cazuela, and watermelon for dessert.

My host Mom gives me a piece of watermelon that big for dessert at least a few times a week- no joke. It's wonderful since watermelon is in season right now!