Gringa-style asado

Who says Chileans do it better with their meat? We had a gringas and pololos bbq with so much delicious stuff...quinoa salad, hobo dinner veggies, potato salad, ginger lemon fish, spicy chicken wings, guacamole, a little meat, and grilled pineapple! We know how to do it right. :)

A Siamese banana!

Oh the things you find in the farmers market...I found two bananas stuck together...Siamese bananas!
I also found a giant papaya and had to try it...

The new painting

Since I finished my last painting, I started a new one...this time going in the complete opposite direction and doing something abstract, colorful, and on 3 canvases. We'll see if I even come close to finishing before I leave!

Oveja Verde

I found a really great vegetarian and vegan restaurant here in our very own Iquique! Who would have thought there would be innovators here who don't only eat hotdogs, burgers, fried chicken and French fries?? It's the Oveja Verde (green sheep) and it has delicious soy burgers, lentil burgers with basil and garlic mayo, and natural fruit and vegetable juice. Yum.

Finally finished!

I finished my painting! Here's the final picture and a video that shows the progression of all 27 classes it took me to make it. :)

Salt flats

Outside San Pedro de Atacama there is a huge salt flat. Within the salt flat there are lakes filled with waters that come from the Andes mountains not far away. When the lakes are full in the rainy season, the water is like glass and the reflection is perfect. When the lakes dry up in the dry season, it's completely white from the salt. The lakes have such a high percentage of salt that you float without any effort. Some of the lakes, like the Eyes of the Salt Flat, are hundreds of meters deep, and others are barely deep enough to cover your feet. Watching the sun set there is definitely a sight that shouldn't be missed.

Laguna Cejar

Los ojos del salar

Salar

San Pedro de Atacama

I finally made it to the desert hot-spot everyone's been talking about. San Pedro de Atacama is one of the  biggest tourist attractions in all of Chile so I had to see what all the fuss was about. San Pedro is a tiny town in the desert but it's swarming with foreigners and chileans alike, all wanting to book tours to see the sights around the town. The sights were awesome...the amount of tourists, not so much. If you go, I would definitely recommend renting a car or a bike and checking things out on your own instead of going with one of the super expensive tour agencies and having to deal with all the people...but that's just me.

 

 

 

 

A traveller's wedding

Some friends of mine who met through couchsurfing got married and decided to have their wedding in a little town in the desert oasis near Iquique. The groom is Canadian and the bride is Chilean...they met travelling and since then they've been travelling together ever since. It was a very simple but beautiful wedding and a nice excuse to get together in the desert.

Maraton de Santiago

Well the big day finally came. After a crazy week of earthquakes and aftershocks, no water, no electricity, no school, little sleep, we travelled to Santiago for the race. I prepared 4 months for it and there was no way I was going to miss it. I was ready. Saturday we went to the expo to pick up our numbers and shirts, then we all went out to lunch for a carbo-loading session. Sunday morning we got up early and took the metro into the city. It was chilly but perfect for running.

I had a blast during the race. The first half I felt like a breeze. I never hit a wall and I finished feeling strong. I felt great until I finished...then I could barely walk. Needless to say the next day at work was a stru-ggle. Walking up and down stairs was not on my list of go-to's...

BUT...I'm already looking forward to the next one! Boston here I come!

Thanks coach!!