Chile Photos

Here are some more photos, mostly from Pucon and all taken by Karin


These are from San Cristobal and yes I did cycle up even if I wasn't dressed in Lycra

The rest are from Pucon.
Termas Geometricas

Skiing on Vulcan Villarica

Living the dream at Termas Huife

Pucon

Last week on Tuesday I made another day trip to the snow. This time I visited Valle Nevado. It was another day of blue skies although much colder than the previous week in El Colorado. It was an excellent day ok skiing only marred by the long wait to sort out boots and ski's and bus transfer at the Ski Total shop in Santiago. I didn't get onto the slopes until 11.30 am, also not helped by the driver having to stop the bus every 10 minutes to top up with water as the cooling system had a leak. The bus problems and heavy traffic also meant I didn't get home until 8.30 pm in the evening.

This morning I returned back from a long weekend in Pucon with Karin. Pucon is south of Santiago in the lakes district. I took the overnight bus on Friday night, leaving Santiago at 10.50 pm and arriving in Pucon at 9 am on Saturday morning. We were lucky that the room in our hostal was ready for us when we arrived first thing in the morning so we could drop off our bags and then go get some breakfast. I would thoroughly recommend the hostel by the way, Lounge Brasil. Before going out for breakfast we organised a trip to some thermal baths for the afternoon. The weather was pretty awful, cold and rainy so thermal baths seemed a good option. Our driver, Rodrigo picked us up at 12 midday to take us on the 1.5 hour drive to the Termas Geometricas. The driver was quite an interesting character with a big booming voice and a habit of raising his arm to point out something to us and then only explaining what he was pointing out 5 seconds later. The termas geometricas are actually on the side of the (active) volcano Villarica that stands high above Pucon, except due to the weather we hadn't actually seen it yet. The thermal pools were above the snowline which made getting changed and into the pools a wee bit chilly. It was totally worth it however as the setting was awesome. Seventeen slate-lined pools ran up a canyon with a river down the middle of it. The temperature of the pools ranged from 33 - 43 C (there was actually also a 3 C pool a the bottom of a waterfall for the brave or crazy) so you could take your pick.

After spending the previous night on a bus and the afternoon at the thermal pools we were both pretty tired so thought it a good idea to lie down for an hour before going out for dinner. The next thing I knew it was 11.30 pm! Anyway we decided it still a good idea to go and find somewhere open to have something to eat. Luckily we were able to find somewhere still serving pizza. We must have still been pretty exhausted because the next morning we slept in until 11.30 and got up to have the excellent breakfast that they served at Lounge Brasil.

There were no definite plans for the day but the weather was much better and the snow covered volcano was clearly visible. So we set out in search of someone willing to take us up to the ski slopes (Ski Pucon) on the side of the volcano. Sunday was actually the first day of the season that the lifts were open. The first two places were not too helpful and weren't too keen on taking us for 3 or 4 hours. We struck lucky in the third shop, they could take us up the mountain and rent me boots and skis, leaving immediately (Aventur) . So I had an excellent afternoons skiing on the side of an active volcano, the only place in the world you can do this, at least that's what the locals told us. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera but Karin spent the afternoon taking the lift up and then walking down, taking lots of pictures which hopefully I'll post soon.

Monday, we had decided that we would go to another thermal baths. This time we went to Termas Huife which was a slightly different set-up to the termas geometricas. Theses were in a hotel and comprised three different hot pools and also a hydrotherapy pool. The pools were set alongside a rushing stream which made for a nice relaxing afternoon, we were even able to get some Pisco Sours delivered to us in the pools! Hopefully I will also post some photos from here as well.

The overnight bus back to Santiago left Pucon at 9 pm so there was time for some dinner and a final pisco sour before boarding. That was the end of a really nice weekend that I really wished could have gone on for longer.

Skiing

It's been a surprisingly busy week since the last post. Things should be winding down for me as I only have two weeks until I leave on July 14th. However, as is often the case many things seem to happen at the same time, I 'll avoid using any cliche's about buses.Since I last posted, not surprisingly, England's euro 2012 adventure fizzled out, losing to Italy on penalties, there was an air of inevitability about it all. At least Italy have gone on to the final, setting up an all Mediterranean final with Spain.
On Wednesday I gave the medical physics students their final exam so once the marks are all finalised I should have a bit of time free. I am not sure yet what exactly I will do or where I will go but it will probably involve some skiing. Also this week I have been working on a response to the assessors comments for an NHMRC funding proposal submitted back in March. These need to be submitted by Monday and are worth spending some time on as apparently these can make a difference for borderline proposals. Other work related matters I had the opportunity to attend a 'round table discussion' with last year's Physics Nobel prize winner Brian Schmidt. He is an astronomer at the Australian National University and he talked about ways in which Chile can improve its position both nationally and internationally in the world of astronomy and more generally science. He also talked about his experiences in Australia of dealing with government and their policies which was quite interesting as I could relate to a lot of what he said.
On Tuesday I went for my first ski trip of the year at el Colorado which is about 1.5 hours outside Santiago. The weather was absolutely incredible, blue skies and warm sunshine. There were also no crowds just a few rich Brazilians. I had a great day, some photos are below and more can be found here. I skiied pretty hard all day so my legs were pretty knackered by the end of the day. I had hoped to go again on Thursday or Friday this week but the weather hasn't been too good which means there has been lots more snow in the ski areas so next week should be good.

Santiago is down there somewhere in the smog.

Yoga, Opera and football

Time for another update from Santiago. We're now into the winter season. A whole lot of rain over the last week, mainly over the weekend has meant a big dump of snow in the mountains and the most of the ski resorts open this weekend! I now have a few weeks or so to make the most of it before I return to Australia.  The views on clear days of the snow covered mountains now are spectacular.

I have to mention football and the Euro 2012. The tournament is now down to the business end, lose and you're out, winner takes all. England play Italy on Sunday but before that there's a few juicy match ups, Spain v France could be a bit tasty as you never know which French team is going to turn up. I'll be heading down to the Shamrock on Sunday afternoon which has sort of become the HQ for the British and Irish lunch members. I can recommend both the 'Bangers and Mash' and 'Fish and Chips' that  they serve and there was talk of a traditional roast lunch being on the menu for Sunday's game.

I had a small party at my place on Saturday night which I think was reasonably successful and the neighbours didn't complain. I was woken up in the early hours of the morning by loud bangs and flashes which could have been gunfire. Later when I got up I found that there was no water and electricity. The transformer in the street had decided to blow up over night which is slightly less dramatic than gunfire. The water supply was restored once the emergency generator kicked in but there was no power for most of the day which meant a freezing cold shower.

Monday night I did my first ever yoga class.  Karin normally does yoga on monday nights but for some reason this week they were having the class in her apartment, I think someone was away this week. So three of us and the instructor pushed our bodies into positions that nature obviously didn't intend. Although I have never been to a yoga class I do have some experience with yoga, I am the owner of a yoga DVD that I used privately for a couple of months. I actually quite enjoyed the class and might take it up when I return to Australia. Interestingly I slept really well after the class and had really vivid dreams.

Tonight I am going to the opera, a production of Donizetti's 'Lucrezia Borgia' at the Teatro Municipal. I don't think I have been to an opera as an adult, as a teenager I have vague recollections of gatecrashing a rather grand open air production in Orange in the south of france once while on a family holiday.

Pre match blog

It's the morning before England vs Sweden. The games are on at pretty civilised times here, 12 midday and 2.45 pm in Chile, (compared to Australia) although it has been leading to some pretty unproductive afternoons as I have to go to the pub to watch the games. The first game I watched was on Saturday afternoon, I worked at home in the morning so I could go to Flannery's (one of the Irish bars) in Santiago for the 12 o'clock. There were quite a few people there I  knew and so it was around 4 pm by the time I eventually left. Germany vs Portugal. I managed to find myself in the Shamrock pub with around 25 Portugese despite my efforts to invite Germans. Germany are looking the team to beat although Spain looked pretty good yesterday. On Monday, England's first game against France, I  For todays game I am going to the Shamrock, this is a relatively new bar in Santiago, only open a few months and owned by an Irishman Darren. The British and Irish lunch club will meet for lunch first then stay on for the England Sweden game so I am sure a few cold beers will be taken and the afternoon will stretch into the evening.

Other important new. The snow has finally arrived, I on't think there is enough for the resorts to open yet but I think it will only be a week or two so I might get a week or two of the ski season before I leave on July 14th.

I gave my last lecture to the students here last week. Next week I will do some revision with them and then they have an exam the week after so I should have some free time the first two weeks of July.


A

Brr

The weather in Santiago is suddenly very cold. The last few days have seen morning temperatures of only a few degrees above zero. This has been accompanied by clear blue skies which I far prefer to the greyness we had previously. My apartment is not too cold despite not having any central heating. There is an electric convection heater which so far has done the job. Santiago is a bit like Brisbane in some respects in that everyone is in denial that it actually does get cold in winter and warm insulated buildings are needed.

Anyway, a short summary of what I've been up to the last 7 days. On Friday was the second British and Irish Lunch, regular readers ( I like to think I have regular readers) might remember the first one I went to a few weeks after I arrived. This one was in a restaurant Coquineria which is underneath the Hotel W. The service and food was not too impressive unfortunately but I think a good time was had by all anyway. Needless to say after a pisco sour and couple of glasses of wine I wasn't too productive for the remainder of the afternoon. Saturday was a pretty lazy day. I then went out for dinner in the evening to a local Italian restaurant Tiramisu, they do really good pizza's. I've realised that you have to be careful in Chile when ordering long drinks. My friend Karin ordered a vodkas and tonic. In Chile that means 3/4 of a large glass of vodka with a bit of ice and a can of tonic water.

On Sunday we had arranged a trip to Isla Negra which is best known as being the favourite home of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, he also had homes in Valparaiso and Santiago. Apparently he had an obsession with the sea which explains his love of the house. It is located right on the coast overlooking the windswept rocky coastline. You are able to do an audioguide tour of the house which was quite interesting. I have put some photo's up here. Sorry that there aren't any of the house.

Andrew

A bit of culture

Time seems to be passing very quickly. I can't believe that this week we will be into June already and that I have been in Santiago for over 3 months. I am fairly sure the next 5 or 6 weeks will fly by as well before I have to return to Brisbane.

Probably should mention a bit about my movements last week. On Tuesday evening I went to a book launch by Raul Sohr who is an international journalist. He has written a book on the Chilean energy policy and essentially how wrong it all is. A number of people gave a short talk followed by the author himself. I am sure it was pretty interesting but unfortunately it was all in Spanish so my understanding was limited! On Thursday I went out for dinner at a French restaurant in Barrio Brasil called Boulevard Lavaud which is in a pretty old building above a hairdressers Pelluqueria Francesa. I have to mention that they serve one of the strongest Pisco Sours I have tasted, excellent,but strong. I finished mine and ended up having to also finish my friend Karin's as well. The food was really good as was our choice of wine and I'd recommend it as the atmosphere is really nice, an old building with lots of old and interesting things on the walls.
  It pretty much rained most of the weekend which hopefully means that it will have been snowing in the mountains which bodes well for the prospect of skiing before I leave. Despite the weather I still seemed to have a pretty busy weekend. I was pretty tired after work on Friday so thought a trip to the gym might sort me out and get me ready to go out later. With hindsight a powernap might have been a better choice. The occasion on Friday was a leaving party in a small bar in the Lastarria district of the city. The party was for someone who I have only met a few times, and was returning to Germany after spending a year in Chile. Needless to say, the party went on until the early hours and was followed by an afterparty in someone's nearby flat. So it was around 4.30 when I finally got to bed.

On Sunday it was the National Heritage Day so many old historical buildings were open to the public in Santiago. The weather was pretty awful but that wasn't going to stop myself and Karin taking in a bit of culture. We started off with the  British Ambassadors Residence which is actually at the end of the street where I live. This was actually a bit disappointing as the ambassador wasn't actually there. Next up was the National Library of Chile, this was more interesting, particularly some of the old wood panelled library rooms, there were also demonstrations on the art of paper making that was quite interesting. Not too far away from here is the Teatro Municipal which is the main concert hall in Chile, a wonderful old traditional opera house. The final visit of the day was to the old US embassy, now the Chilean chamber of commerce. The US embassy moved to a new fortress some years ago. This was not particularly interesting. We also tried visiting the Argentinian ambassadors residence but they had decided to close early, I guess the comments about the Falklands and Maradona being a cheating bastard didn't go down too well :-) . It was quite tiring walking around all day but interesting to visit parts of Santiago I probably wouldn't have normally visited.

A

Vina Santa Rita

This weekend is a long weekend. Today, monday is a public holiday although I am not quite sure what for but I'll take it anyway. I've stayed in Santiago as I didn't really want to go away again, after last weeks trip to San Pedro. On Saturday I spent the afternoon in Flannery's a sort of Irish theme pub only without guinness which is a bit like a brothel without any girls. Anyway, there was a reason for me being there, the champions league final. I am not a Chelsea fan but when if they are playing a German team then they are going to get my support. It turned out to be an exciting game going to penalties and Chelsea finally won. I am also quite pleased because they won it with a caretaker manager. I have never been a big fan of Abramovich's hiring and firing tactics with his managers so it will be interesting to see what he does next, does he go for another high profile name or stick with the coach who won him the Champions league.

Yesterday I was invited out for lunch to the vineyard Santa Rita by some colleagues from the university. This is one of the larger wine producers in Chile that is owned by one of the richest families in the country. The vineyard is about 30 km south of the city. There is a wonderful museum there that houses the family private collection of historical artefacts some of which date back to 2-3000 BC. After wandering around the museum it was time for lunch which was the real reason for being there. The restaurant was full for Sunday lunch but fortunately we had a reservation. A good lunch including some very nice Carmenere was followed by a stroll around the vineyards. It was wonderfully peaceful compared to the craziness of Santiago and yet we were really not that far away from the city. It was an extremely civilised way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I would thoroughly recommend it. Thanks to Maria Christina, Beatriz and Paola and their families for the invitation.