It was my friend from Wofford Jackie's birthday Friday, so we took her to eat Cuban food for lunch, had pedicures, and went out with her brother and his friends that night. I was very proud to say I was a very "chilean" partier that night. For some crazy reason, parties here don't really get started until at least 1 am. So we went out then, spent some time at one club but weren't really into the electronic music (very popular). We went to another club too, which was also a little strange, but had some better variety. In all, it was a good time and we finally got home at about 4 am.
A few hours later.. :) We got up Saturday and headed to Cajon de Maipo, a national park outside of Santiago. We had a great time in the beautiful outdoors, despite many setbacks that didn't go according to plan. But, as the saying goes, getting there is half the fun!
After a 45 minute metro ride and 45 more minutes on a crazy bus, we were dropped off in San Jose. Unfortunately, the trail to Cascada de los Animas (Waterfall of the Spirits) was another 15 mins or so in car in San Alfonso. An old man hanging around told us there would eventually be a bus. So we sat down and ate our lunch on the side of the road to wait. Eventually, we gave up on the bus and took a taxi.
We ended up at Cascada de los Animas, which was not quite what I expected. The land is owned by a company that offers all kinds of outdoor activities and lodging, and apparently you're not allowed to hike to the falls on the weekends without a guide... i.e. 8 bucks.
Obviously, they trap tourists who have come all this way only to charge them to walk on their own two feet, but it turned out fine and we had a great time. Everything was beautiful and blooming and the weather was perfect. For all the pics, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016351&l=0ba77&id=54001690 (the Cajon pics are the 2nd part of the album).
The beautiful Cajon de Maipo valley:
In other news, though I never thought it would happen, my chilean fam and I are moving next Friday and Saturday. Not far, only 3 metro stops down the road, but I'm going to miss this apartment. And I'm not looking forward to the whole process and dealing with the only half-finished apartment (we saw it last weekend) which is a mess right now. But I'll make the best of it! I've already started packing up some stuff up and I hope I can fit everything back in these 2 suitcases! I've aquired a few extra items!
Hope all is well back home, I'm thinking of yall settling into the cooler days of fall while I enjoy the transition to springtime! Remember that if you have mail to send you better do it quick while I'm still here! :)
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