viaje
Isla Negra, translated as Black Island, is not an island. Paradoxical Chile. This small town by the ocean is known for being home to one of Pablo Neruda's eclectic house-turned-museum, and is where my Chilean culture class went for a field trip. We had lunch on the beach, went sort-of-trekking, and visited a smaller town known for its artisanal pottery. There were many wild dogs and 1/2 kilo empanadas.
Read MoreMy program friends and I made samosas and curry over the course of a very delicious Sunday afternoon. The samosas and curry we made disappeared fast, but the pictures remain to make me hungry. Lazy Sunday afternoon cooking sessions are the best.
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South of Santiago three hours on Ruta 5 highway is Talca, a medium-sized city of about 250,000 people. From there it's an hour and a half bus ride east (towards the mountains) to get to Armerillo, small town and home of Parque Tricahue, where two friends and I spent a long weekend hiking, eating peanut butter, and somewhat-successfully building fires in our cabin's stove.
Read MoreValpo and Viña, sister towns on the coast near Santiago de Chile, were two great towns to explore. For less than a $5 bus ticket I got to the beach and out of the big city. I know where I'll be most weekends from now on...
Viña
Valpo // cats and coffee
Viña // the town's dogs loved sleeping on the beach
Valpo
Viña // pure happiness, eating a fresh-out-of-the-fryer empanada and watching the sunset
Viña
one of a billion sunset photos, but this one's mine
An ode to the ocean and my film camera that makes me so happy.
As beautiful of a city it is and as much as I love speaking Spanish, the transition to living in Santiago de Chile has been rough for me. I went from volunteering on a farm in rural Bolivia - to living and navigating a city of 7 million people in Chile, a country with an average income triple that of Bolivia. Taking the Metro, navigating the bus system, and just being immersed in the energy of 7 million human beings has been like constantly leaning on the accelerator pedal: feeling constantly drained. After a month it's definitely getting better, thanks to wonderful friends, host family, and my parents taking my calls with their never-ending patience and love. Here's to becoming a big city fish sooner than later...
film. taken from Santa Lucia hill in the middle of the city. beautiful.
I live with my chilean host family in one of many apartment buildings with a large central park area where families and groups of school kids gather to talk
Skyline of Santiago's business district, affectionately known as "Sanhatten"
Flowers Outside the Bellas Artes metro stop // nature and concrete
Manquehue metro stop // steel and light
Gustock music festival raising money for the public park // good music and even better veggie pesto ravioli
Camila Moreno performs at Gustock music festival // love the sparkly blue dress
"Bienvenidos! El museo ahora es gratis" (Welcome! The museum is now free) did not apply to the dog who followed us in. He was not welcomed by the museum staff :(
NuNu's derp face // no animals were harmed in the taking of this photo
Fruit from the Vega market, known for its cheap, fresh produce. I bought a kilo of strawberries for less than 2 dollars and a small box of huge juicy blackberries for the same amount // nomnom
Shadow of a palm tree on the concrete in Parque Uruguay
Buildings in the older sector of Santiago
More photos to come...semester ends in July.
film. Sunset from a friend's balcony.
From high vantage points it's apparent that the city goes on and on, in layers of buildings and cranes that get blurrier as the distance increases, due to the smog.
