Pisco

The shinning sun and the passage of a few weeks since my last excursion prompted an impromptu departure. I didn't have my chemistry lab last Friday, so Tuesday night I headed out to the bus station. A gringo friend of mine and I jumped on board a bus headed north and 13 hours later we were in La Serena, Chile.

La Serena is a desert coastal town that in summer months sees its beaches filled up with tourists. Our visit was in the off-season, so the common gringo sightings didn't happen.

The first day we found a hostal and took it easy, the theme of this trip. The next day we took a bus south about an hour to the small fishing village, Tongoy. There we ate 'mariscos' including 'machas' (clams), 'locos' (abalone or sea snail), 'jaibas' (crab)and camarones (shrimp). I have already eaten these things on a few occasions here, but it was a nice treat to have them come right off the boat. We spent the remainder of the day hanging out on the beach and relaxing before a night out on the town back in La Serena's neighbor town, Coquimbo. The night life is basically non-existant in La Serena, so we took the 15 minute ride next door most nights. We saw a good Bob Marley cover band and hit a couple of discos. Back in La Serena we hung out on the beach and took in the sun.

We ended our time with a trip to El Valle Elqui, the old stomping grounds for Gabriela Mistral and the place where all of the pisco grapes are grown. We left our bags at a hostal in Vicuna at the valley's head and bussed it up to Pisco Elqui for the day. There we went to a small pisco factory and did some tasting. The valley was very dry with a high mountain desert landscape, but the valley floor was a river of green grape plants. Very pretty. Back in Vicuna, we visited the Capel distillery and bottling plant. Capel is the largest producer and exporter of pisco in Chile. As pisco has found a special place in my heart down here, this was a great experience to go to the place that it is born. Salud!

We had made reservations for our final evening to one of the several observatories in the area, but due to a slight overcast sky, the tour was canceled. Darn. As a consolation we drank one last bottle of pisco and got back on the bus the next day.

We rolled into Concepcion at about 4:30am, I jumped into bed, and then it was back to 'reality' once again.

Pictures can be found at this link in the album "La Serena": http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan

See you all soon!

Chao FB, Hello

As we open the door to October, the harsh reality sets in that I have only 4 more months in Chile. I have 2 quick months left in Concepcion to finish up school, and then 2 super duper fast months of traveling before its back to the mother country. So far I feel like I have taken good advantage of my time. However, I have become really accustomed to life here, and the curious spirit has slipped a little bit. I contribute the long rainy rainy rainy winter to most of that. During that time I spent many hours inside, on my computer, not doing much. Now that spring has finally shown up on the tail end of this journey, I need to reevaluate what I'm doing.

I have decided that Facebook (although a good communication tool) is going to be set aside. I'm a little bit tired of the PUBLIC communication and sharing of information that is Facebook. I'm also tired of the time consumption it can beckon. There are a few more books I want to read while I'm here, there is a big research paper i need to write, there is Chilean air i need to breath. None of these things will be accomplished while 'tagging' photos on facebook.

I know some of you are probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about because you are not familiar with this 'animal.' If you are one of those, disregard. However, those of you who are, I'm not saying that I don't want contact with you. Give me a call, I would love to chat, and my number is from the states so it’s not an international call (505-908-9491). Send me an email, I would love to exchange some notes or letters (shirleydan@gmail.com). Y para ustedes que estan en chile, mi numero es 74327384.

In no way is this an attack on people using facebook! I understand that it is a great social tool to keep people connected all over the world. It has served me well for this purpose and I anticipate using it again. But for this specific time in my life, I want a break. That is all I'm saying!!!

I miss my family, my friends and understanding everything that I hear. However, for the next several months, I need to concentrate on me and continue to enrich my south american invasion.