Totoralillo

Last Saturday I ate a hurried lunch at home before hurrying to el centro. I was on a mission. Will, Maca, Lucas and I were going to the beach, which could only mean one thing: I needed a kite. During las Fiestras Patrias volantines are easy to find, but I had to ask  around in a couple of shops before finding one that carried kites.

I then headed to the bus terminal to meet up with the others. We waited for a bus to come that was headed the way we were going and hopped on. The bus ride was about forty-five minutes - 25 minutes to Coquimbo followed by 20 minutes watching the rugged coastline whiz past.

The bus dropped us off on the side of the highway and for over half an hour we walked down a windy road past the town of Totoralillo to the beach. The bad news: I discovered that my camera was basically out of batteries. (I took a grand total of 3 pictures on my camera during the trip.) Without further ado, I give you:

Totoralillo!

It was a perfect day for the beach. Paradoxically, there were amazing cloud banks covering the sky but it always seemed to be sunny.  I didn't swim, since the water was quite cold, but Lucas, Maca, and I convinced Will by offering him 1000, 500, and 500 CLP respectively (a total of ~four dollars!). He had to stay in the water for a full minute, fully submerged except for his head. Yikes.

There was a beautiful rocky hill abutting the beach, which tempted me no end. It wasn't very big so I scrambled up and within 10 minutes was enjoying the vista from the cima (top).  It was windy and I felt like this (minus all the pink and the leaves) :

I went back down to the beach and Will and I did some crossword puzzles (still addicted) before having a frisbee catch with Lucas. 

Soon enough I declared it to be kite time, so this time Will joined me and we clambered up the boulder-strewn hill with the volantín. The wind pattern kept blowing the kite into the side of the hill, which meant that we didn't have much success, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.

(The next four photos are Will's, whose camera was functioning properly. He's a great photographer, as you can tell. Thanks, Will!)

I wanted to feel more like Pocahontas so I unbraided my hair.
Unsure why my expression is so pained.

After a few successes and many failures with the kite, we headed back down to the beach and packed our things up. The sun was setting, producing a beautiful array of colors in the sky and reflected in the water. Being on the Pacific is absolutely amazing - before coming to Chile I had never really experienced an ocean sunset before.  Though it's now a common sight for me, it hasn't lost any of its wonder for me.

My battery died again just when the sun dipped below the horizon.

It was about 8:15, and since it was a 45 minute walk back up to the highway we had to hurry to make sure we'd make the last bus that would pass by (at about 9pm). On the walk up, Lucas asked if we'd ever hitch-hiked (hacer el dedo). Will and I hadn't, but he and Maca had; it's a lot safer and more common in Chile.

With that in mind, we all stuck our thumbs out at the next car that passed by that might be able to fit all of us. An middle-aged man and his young son kindly picked us up, and with all four of us squished into the back seat he dropped us off at the highway. We knew we'd probably be waiting a while for the bus to come, so we decided to try hitchhiking again. We were lucky! Within five minutes Lucas was in the front of a pick-up with Maca, Will and I in the back, headed to Coquimbo. From Coquimbo, Will and I took a micro back to La Serena and were back in our homes by 10pm. An excellent day.

(The kite is furled in my room, waiting for its next beach expedition.)

Algarrobo

I haven't posted in a while, sorry! That's because this week is a holiday week in Chile, and I've been away with my host family. I didn't bring my computer which at least for me makes for an ideal vacation. We went to Playa Algarrobo, a beach about 6 hours south, for 6 days... not a bad life :)

We were celebrating Las Fiestas Patrias, which means lots of asados (barbecues), kites, and cueca, (among many other things). Then again, this is Chile, and I eat much more meat here on a daily basis compared to in the US. The kites were lovely to see, though, and cueca music is really catchy. I met a lot of my extended host family, which was also great.

Where we were staying had a pool, and right next to it, a small field set up with soccer goals. There was almost always a pickup game going of fútbol going on. Teams of 5 would play to 1 goal, and the winner would get to stay on. It was fun to watch, though it made me wish there was pick-up frisbee here. I tossed the frisbee around a few times with my extended family/family friends there, but I miss actually playing frisbee. Although, having Will in La Serena is great because it means I can throw with someone who actually plays frisbee.

A short ~15 minute walk away from the apartments we were staying in found us at la feria artesanal, which is essentially an artisan fair. There were lots of stands set up with food, typical artisan Chilean goods, and random tourist things. We walked there basically every day, so by the end of our trip I was very familiar with it. It abuts the beach, so each trip was accompanied by lovely views (and we could see all of the kites). I bought a handbag, and my host mother bought a pair of lovely glass earrings for me!

(One of the food stands there - thanks, Google)

At night we usually went to la fonda, either getting a ride from one of the parents there or taking a taxi. Fondas are basically large areas for people to eat, drink, and dance, especially during Las Fiestas Patrias. Chilean parties are much later than at Bowdoin, but since my sleep schedule generally tends towards insomnia and staying up late, as those of you who know me well are probably familiar with, it hasn't been too difficult for me to stay up til 3, 4, 5am etc.

Chile is known for its terremotos (earthquakes) worldwide - but not just in the sense of seismic activity. One of my favorite Chilean drinks is the terremoto, probably named such because it will make you feel shaky after consuming it. For its taste, it is very surprisingly high in alcohol content. It's mainly made from pineapple ice cream and white wine, with other types of alcohol usually added (what is added depends on who makes it).  If you are drinking a terremoto, though, be sure to mix the ice cream in before drinking, or else it will taste pretty harsh! As with the real terremoto, it can be dangerous to have multiple in a night, as I discovered.

I was, as per usual, absolutely abysmal about taking photos. One of my favorite parts about the trip, though, is that each night we could see the sunset on the beach... I'm used to being on the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Pacific, so ocean sunsets to me are breathtaking. It was like this but more beautiful every night - more color and vibrance!

(Algarrobo sunset. Again - thanks, Google)

I should have taken more photos, whoops. I think I took a grand total of 3.

El faro

Disclaimer: probablemente hay errores. no, sin duda hay errores.

para los que no son hispanohablantes... google translate?

Después de nuestros clases Will y yo fuimos al centro para almorzar, y más tarde, al faro para ver el mar. Era más lejos que anticipábamos, pero me gustó el camino, conversando en español terrible con el (¿sólo?) otro norteamericano en La Serena. La vista es tan linda, con las olas pasando - también puedo verla desde mi casa, lejos unas millas. En la playa parecía como la vida había más lenta. Cuando el sol brillaba había menos fria (pero todavía había viento). Había unos surfistas, pero es invierno aqui, así que no había mucha gente en la playa.

Paseamos a la orilla del mar por un rato, y encontramos unos columpios. Después de columpiar un poco, hicimos la mayoría de un crucigrama. Will era el escritor, y cuando pensé de una palabra, traté de explicarlo en castellano (aqui los chilenos no dicen español - hablan castellano). Luego subimos la colina hacia la universidad para andar a nuestras casas.

Una foto -

(No es mía, porque todavía no he sacado fotos de La Serena.)