Mariah in Chile: Oceans and Mountains!

One of Santiago's greatest attributes is its proximity to both the ocean and the mountains. Within a month, I was able to enjoy both sledding in El Colorado, a tiny town in the Andes, and sunbathing in Isla Negra, a tiny beach town where one of Pablo Neruda's houses is located.

In late September, one of our new volunteers, Angel, invited us up to her roommate's apartment in El Colorado. She did an incredible job organizing transportation, food, and a fresh snowstorm; all we had to do was drag ourselves out of bed a little earlier than we might have otherwise. Bruno, her roommate, picked us up in Las Condes, a northeastern municipality of Santiago, in his trusty Chevrolet Luv. We had way more people than seats, but Bruno said that as long as those riding in the bed of the pickup ducked under blankets during the police check, we would be fine. The boys chivalrously offered to pack themselves into the back, with a little assistance from Bruno:

At the end of the curvy ride, Angel met us in the cozy apartment with coca tea to nip any altitude sickness in the bud. We recovered for a while by sprawling on the heated floors, then headed out into the snow. Here's a view of some of the apartment buildings in the little town:

Most of our time was devoted to beating each other up:

It was a fairly perfect day, and although the boys (and Angel) had to ride back down in the freezing cold, we were all thrilled to finally get a taste of the mountains we [occasionally] gaze at [through the smog] from Santiago.

In mid-October, under very different weather conditions, four VE women headed to Isla Negra, a beach town south-west of Santiago. We started the day by touring Pablo Neruda's house. I had already toured Neruda's houses in Santiago and Valparaiso, so this completed the trio for me. Although the house wasn't my favorite aesthetically, there was something thrilling or magical about being in it. It was Neruda's favorite house, and where he kept the largest of his collections (seashells, tiny guitars, figureheads, etc). There are fascinating details in the house; for example, in one room, there are brown and green glass jars on the windowsill facing the garden, and green and blue glass jars on the windowsill facing the sea. I would probably be fascinated by anyone's house, but Neruda provides a lot to look at.

We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach, eating a picnic and watching tourists pose with the stone sculpture of Neruda's head. We saw some creative ideas, but no one else bothered picking his nose.