Friday Round-Up

Tiny Sara, big mountains

   Hey, ya'll.  It's Matt.  How've you been?  Oh, that's nice/too bad.  May is upon us here, which means winter is just around the corner.  The cooler weather has brought some rain with it.  Just last Friday, it rained good and hard.  This was delightful to ride a bike through while picking up pitiable paychecks.  However, rain here means snow in the mountains.  The view from our balcony has been stunning with the return of snow-capped peaks.  The rain also pulls a lot of the pollution out of the air (there's a lot of pollution).

Nom Nom Nom

Doesn't this make you think "Sandwich?"

   The weekend after the last post, Sara & I went to a sandwich festival in Las Vizcachas in Cajon del Maipo.  It was a lot of fun.  We ate a bunch of sammies and sampled a wide variety of artisanal beer from Chile.  There was live music, games, and a lot of meat sandwiches; needless to say, we had a great time there.  The weather was perfect and it was a very low key way to spend a Saturday.

Davin doing quick math on buying bike lights

   Davin & Molly also came back from Valparaiso last week and decided to establish themselves here in Santiago (YEAH!).  In an unexpected turn of events, Davin & Molly were able to find an apartment and move into it last Friday.  I didn't expect Davin to let go of a "no rent" situation so quickly.  Molly is really doing wonders for that guy.  The best part of it is that they live right around the corner from us.  We're going to have plenty of quality time over the next few months.

  Hmmmm, other stuff..... With the resumption of the school year there has been a resumption of student protests as well.  The last one went right by our apartment (check the video).  It was going peacefully and well until some knuckleheads burned a caribinero (police) stand.  That's when the tear-gas came out.  Luckily, we were not there for the violent aspects.  Also, we went on a critical mass bike ride on Tuesday.  It was fun, I had never been on one before.  The city could certainly be more aware of cyclists; I've had to yell many a hearty "WEON!" at inconsiderate drivers.

Single mother flees volcano. 

The first and last thing Sara did in San Alfonso.  "Hey, Buddy!"

   Chile, like most of the world, celebrated May 1st.  This meant that many people (myself and Sara included) took a "sandwich holiday" on Monday, April 30th - 4 day weekend!  We took a trip up to San Alfonso in Cajon del Maipo with two other gringos, Beth and Alan.  It was a good time.  We ate a lot of delicious food, barbecued, hiked about, and had a very relaxing weekend.  Our day trip out to Embalse al Yeso, the dammed lake above where I went fishing with Charlie, was really cool.  The snow mentioned above was covering all the land around the lake.  An interesting Chilean custom: parents drive their kids up to the snowline, build a snowman on the hood/windshield, and then drive down.

   I saw the above outside a bank, it was just interesting.  That's about it for news from us.  We'd love to hear from you, about how you are and what you've been up to, or just to ramble incoherently.  Trust me, you are missed.  Smooches.