Day Trips
Farellones
Farellones is a village and ski resort northwest of Santiago. One afternoon, we decided to visit some of Federico's friends that worked there, so we grabbed Josefina's puppy, Pelusa (meaning fluff), and drove up. Because it was summer, there was no skiing to be done; a lot of the employees did mountain biking instead. But it was nice to be in the mountains, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.
Concón
Concón is a beach town about 30 minutes north of Valparaíso. We stopped there after staying in Valparaíso before heading back to Santiago. We walked along the beach, looking at all the crabs and jellyfish that had washed onto shore, then got lunch at a restaurant on the beach: seafood soup fried fish, and seafood empanadas. Afterwards, we went to the nearby Ciudad Abierta - the Open City. (Note: I'm not sure that this is actually open to the public, but no one stopped us.) In 1967, a group of architecture teachers and students bought a tract of land on which they could build buildings that were of experimental design. Today, the land is owned by a foundation, but still contains the bizarre buildings and other structures designed and erected in the 1970s.
Rancagua
We went to Rancagua to attend the first birthday party of Cristobal, Lara's friend Nicol's son. Rancagua is a small city, about an 1.5 hours south of Santiago by bus. We took a bus to the city center, then a colectivo - a shared taxi - to Nicol's. Everyone was incredibly nice to me; they spoke in Spanish, but slowly, even when talking to each other, so that I could understand. The food spread was tasty and I finally got to try a snack that Lara had told me about: cream cheese with soy sauce, eaten with saltines.