Day 230 of 1827: Business As Usual

Today was a work day.  A very long work day.

Some very exciting things are going to be happening later this week, but I had a lot to do today to make sure everything goes according to plan.

Stay tuned; you'll never guess what happens next!

Vegetables for sale at La Vega.  I really love produce photos, dontchaknow....

Day 229 of 1827: La Vega

Today started off like any other.

At least, I'm pretty sure it did.  Oddly, I can't remember what I did this morning.

Ah well.  This afternoon was awesome; let's focus on that instead.

Early this afternoon, our American houseguest came back; she had been in Valparaiso for the last few days and wanted to spend a little more time with my roommate and me before she moved on to the north of Chile.

She was feeling a bit under the weather and was pretty sure that she was deficient in a few essential vitamins and minerals.  I didn't have a complete breakfast to offer her, so we decided to go find some fruits and vegetables instead.

Hm... fruits and vegetables.  You know, there's supposed to be a really famous place in Santiago to get those things.  And now that I'm thinking about it, I have been meaning to visit that place ever since I got here.

Ok then.  Let's go to La Vega!

To get there from Las Condes, you have to hop the Red Line out to Baquedano, and then transfer to the Green Line to Plaza de Armas.

We emerged from the subway at Plaza de Armas.  As usual, the place was packed.  Performers and vendors were stationed all over the place, and throngs of people milled about here and there.

We didn't hang around, though; we had places to be!  Instead, we made our way north along Paseo Puente, a pedestrian street that stretches for several blocks north of the Plaza.

The street is lined with shops, and there are lots of vendors interspersed among all the people.  I spent most of the time keeping an eye on the crowd; in this part of town, pickpocketing and snatch-and-grab thefts are pretty common.

Eventually we reached the bridge over the Mapocho River, and before us was La Vega.

As soon as we got inside, I had to stop to take a photo.  The ceiling bevels around the support posts and is perforated to make it look like a forest canopy (or at least, I'm assuming that's what they were going for – either that, or the roof is in seriously bad repair!) — I'd never seen anything like it before!

Today was Mother's Day in Chile, so the place was about half empty, and most of the shops were closed up.  However, we managed to find a juice bar that was open so we could recharge.

The selection at this shop was enormous — the menu of drink options covered the entire back wall floor to ceiling!  I ended up picking up some guanábana (prickly custard apple) con leche (milkshake-ish), which (at least, according to the sign) was imported from Colombia.

It tasted a lot like chirimoya (custard apple).  It wasn't until much later that I discovered this is because both fruits are types of custard apple (biologically speaking, they are both species of the Annona genus).

Also fun fact:  guanábana seeds contain a potent neurotoxin.  I'm pretty sure they removed all the seeds before dropping the fruit into the blender... at least I hope they did.  Hmm... maybe that's why I can't remember what happened this morning....

My friend decided to be a little less adventurous and went with papaya juice.  Meh.  Tasty, but still... meh.

We walked around the market for a bit, looking at all the different fruits and vegetables for sale.  A few shops were also selling cheese, meats, pickled foods and other foodstuffs.

We collected some vegetables for stir-fry and started hiking back toward the Metro station.

On the way back, we came across Mercado Central, the famous fish market.  Hm... well, we didn't really need any seafood, but we figured we might as well check it out just to see what it's like in there.

Mercado Central is... a very weird place.  The walls are all brick, and it's very dark in there.  And it smells like fish.  Lots and lots of fish.

We got through it as quickly as we could.

On the way back to the apartment, my friend started feeling pretty exhausted.  As soon as we got back to the apartment, she curled up on the couch and went to sleep.

So much for stir-fry.  Ah well; I've got a ton of work to catch up on anyway.

I wonder what they do when it rains....

Day 228 of 1827: Fantasilandia

Today I went to Fantasilandia!

Don't worry; that link is totally safe for work.  Fantasilandia is an amusement park... you know, for kids (:

I met up with my friend (obligatory blog post link) at his apartment, and we hopped a bus out to Parque O'Higgins.

Well, technically we hopped two buses; the first one went down a different street than we thought it would, but never mind that.

Fantasilandia is located at the very back of Parque O'Higgins, and the sign is partially obscured by a street light post.  It kind of reminds me of the Isla de la Muerta — it cannot be found except by those that already know where it is.

Also of note:  I did not know that there was a Pirates of the Caribbean wiki.  The internet truly is a fascinating place.

Anyway, we paid our entrance fee:  $8.990 CLP (about US$18) per adult — and that was the price without bringing an empty Coke can.  Take that, Six Flags!

Now, lately I've noticed that when I visit major attractions, it feels like I'm back in the US (except for the Spanish).  Well, I am pleased to report that Fantasilandia is nothing like any theme park I've experienced back in the States... well, almost.

So, the first thing that I noticed when I got inside Fantasilandia... was the Spanish.  Ok, that doesn't count.

The first thing that I noticed when I got inside Fantasilandia for reals was that there didn't seem to be much of a "theme" to this "theme park".

There were mascots all over the park, but there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to them... Alice in Wonderland, pirates, clowns, a guy in a bear suit... very eclectic.

Many of the rides were also decorated with... well, I'm not exactly sure that I would classify the artwork as "family-friendly".  I mean, it wasn't exactly... well, my friend took a bunch of pictures; you'll see what I mean.

I also was rather pleased by how none of the park employees seemed to care that I had my phone out taking pictures during the rides.

But enough about my impressions of the park.  What did we do once we got there?

We started out with a ride called Ikarus.  I am not sure exactly how to describe it, except that it spins around really fast and goes way up into the air.  It was fun.... um... yeah, that's about all there is to say about that.  Moving on!

One bathroom break later (no, nobody had to go barfy; I just had to dehydrate), we were ready to try the next ride.

Next on the list was the Raptor!  Raptor is an inverted coaster with lots of crazy loops and corkscrews.  It looked like a ton of fun!

Unfortunately, half of the park seemed to have the same idea; even though it was only about 20 minutes after the park had opened for the day, there was already a long line to ride it.

Well, at least something about this place reminds me of amusement parks in the US.

It was worth it, though; Raptor was awesome!  Although, it took turns REALLY fast and made my head jerk around uncomfortably... and then at the very end it braked super fast making everyone almost fly out of their seats.

In other words, it was just like riding a public bus in Santiago.  Heyoooo!

Two rides down, and we were both still going strong.  What's next?

Well, there's Extreme Fall, which takes you up really high and then drops you (but catches you right before you go splat on the ground).  Ummmmmmmmmm... yeah, that one scares me too much.  Maybe I can work my way up to it over the course of the day.

Instead, we hopped on the Kamikazee (where do they come up with the names for these rides?).  How to describe Kamikazee?  It's kind of like being on an out-of-control swingset.  You get into this little train, and it swings back and forth on a swinging pole until it's practically upside-down.  Then just for good measure, it goes all the way around for a few revolutions before slowing back down and releasing the prisoners.

Now I have to be honest; this ride got to me a bit.  Going really fast, and even doing a little free-fall on a roller coaster... I can handle that.  But spending prolonged periods of time upside-down (and pulling a couple of extra g's for good measure)... my body's not so good at handling that kind of experience.

So we decided to take a lunch break.

Well, my friend took a lunch break.  I took a sit-very-still-and-hope-I-don't-throw-up break.

After lunch, we decided to find a couple of more tranquil rides.

Such as autos chocadores (bumper cars).  Yeah, that seems pretty tranquil.

After spending a few minutes recreating my first driving exam, we found another ride called Wild Mouse.  It looked pretty mild — there weren't any big drops, and most of the ride seemed to involve lots of switchbacks.  Let's go for it!

We got into the car, which was shaped like a big fat mouse (kind of grisly when you think about it), and the operator secured our safety harnesses... with a rope that he clipped to the side of the car.  Sure, why not.

I tell ya; those switchbacks sure looked like fun when I was watching from the ground.  I really should have been looking at the people in the cars as they went around them, though — getting slammed into the guy sitting next to you as the car whips around a 180° curve is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

Well at any rate, we survived, so we went looking for more ways to tempt fate.

The next ride we tried is one that will live in my memory forever.

Ahhhh, Tagadá.  It looks like a giant horizontal circle with benches installed against the inside edge.  Ok, so it spins you around for a bit, right?  That seems like fun; let's try it.

As I took my place in the ring, I noticed that there were no seat belts.

I soon discovered that this was an essential design decision.

The ride started up and spun us around for a bit.  Whoooooo... um... ... meh, this isn't really as exciting as I — whoah!

Suddenly, the ride began bouncing — hard!  Everyone was flung a couple of feet straight up out of their seats!  Arms and legs were flying everywhere, and I got pretty well tangled up with the girl sitting next to me (which wasn't quite as exciting as it sounds, but feel free to indulge your imagination if you want).

After a few minutes of all hell breaking loose, we were set free.  It felt a little weird to be back on solid ground after that!

Around this point, my stomach was feeling a bit queasy again (although honestly, who could blame it?), so we took a break from riding the giant masochism machines so we could get discount vouchers for a future visit.

When you visit Fantasilandia, be sure to present your ticket and your RUT card at a special kiosk in the park, and they'll give you a discount code that you can use to save 3 lucas off your next visit.  My next trip to the amusement park will only cost me $5.990 CLP (about US$12.50)!

We still had time for a few more rides, so we set out again to find some more ways to put ourselves in situations that evolution never prepared us for.

Oh look, the Evolution ride!

If Tagadá can be described as a big circle with benches along the inside edge, then Evolution is more like a big circle with seats along the outside edge.

However, unlike Tagadá, the seats on Evolution have safety harnesses, and pretty hardcore ones at that.  Once those things ratcheted down, I could barely move — which made it particularly difficult to slip my phone out of my pocket so that I could take photos during the ride, but one almost-dislocated shoulder later, I had my photography device in position and ready to go.

As if that wasn't enough security, the operator pulled down a separate cage door across the entire car.

I soon discovered that this was also an essential design decision.

The ride started up, and we started spinning, as expected.  But of course it wasn't that simple; as we were spinning horizontally, the ride rotated vertically at the end of a long shaft, lifting us high into the air.

For about 2/3 of the ride, I got a great view over the rest of the park... except the horizon was at a completely unnatural angle (and usually upside down as well).

Speaking of which, I spent that 2/3 of the ride pressed up against that massive safety harness.  I'm pretty sure if that thing had failed, I would have fallen right out of the car!

Unfortunately, because my body was in some kind of upside-down configuration for most of the ride, by the time I got off, the oogy factor was back — and at full intensity this time.

In fact, it got so bad that I had to sit out the next ride.  Dang it.

Actually, around this point we were both starting to get a little worn out.  We took a quick ice cream break, walked around exploring the rest of the park for a little bit, and then we headed back out to the entrance.

It turns out there's a Metro station at Parque O'Higgins, so I could take the train back home.  I probably could have hopped a bus, but this station was on the Yellow Line, which was the only line I hadn't been on yet, so I figured I'd try it out and see what it's like.

It was... well, it was a Metro train, except this one ran above ground and traveled on actual rails.  Ooh, exciting.  I mean, it was exciting at the time; it's thoroughly boring to read about now.

On my way back to the apartment, I came across a Smart Car parked in front of a building.  Huh... I think that was the first one I've seen in Latin America so far.

Come to think of it, I think that's the first hybrid I've come across in Latin America, period.

Maybe Chile doesn't look nearly as much like California as some people say :P

I hung around in front of Tagadá for a bit trying to get a photo of this chaos in action, but it was surprisingly difficult to capture.
You're just going to have to come down here and experience it for yourself!

Day 227 of 1827: Isolation Chamber

The internet is broken.

Well, not the entire internet.  At least, I'm pretty sure.  I can still access Facebook on my phone; that counts, right?

Anyway, at least as far as my apartment is concerned, it might as well be going down in flames.

That's... awesome.  Well, I gotta keep busy somehow; I guess I'll do some laundry then.

Ah... there's nothing like being stuck in an apartment with no internet access when you realize you just put your only pair of jeans in the wash.

Guess I'd better get on with some podcast therapy....

Estadio Nacional de Chile – in this photo, it's got about as much going on as my apartment did today.

Day 226 of 1827: Eclecticism

I like playing tour guide.  I wish I had more opportunities to do that.

Hey, we have somebody staying with us who's never been to Santiago before.  I wonder if she needs a tour guide...

She's a big fan of hiking, which in Santiago means visiting one of the cerros (hills).  It was pretty hazy out today, so Cerro San Cristóbal wouldn't have been particularly rewarding.  How about Cerro Santa Lucía instead?

We hopped the Metro out to the Santa Lucía stop, and then I led us out the wrong exit, so we ended up on the wrong side of the street.

Well, let's make the best of an awkward situation.  We might be on the wrong side of the street to visit the hill, but we are right next to the Centro Artesanal, a local craft market!  Let's check it out.

At the entrance was a vendor selling churros from his cart.  You know, it's been ages since the last time I had a churro — and that was at an amusement park back in the States, so it probably doesn't even count!

We each picked out a churro, which the vendor filled with manjar (also known as dulce de leche, a Spanish variation on caramel, made with milk).  They were a tad on the small side, but what they lacked in substantiality, they made up for in flavor (:

There were a few individuals hanging around the market who looked a little shady — they were wearing sweatpants and t-shirts... but sporting gold watches.  Something tells me that there's a story behind how they acquired those accessories, and I'm not so sure it starts with a voluntary transaction.

But they seemed content to give us some distance.  Maybe I misjudged their intentions... or maybe it's just because the armor in my motorcycle jacket makes me look like a linebacker.

We didn't find anything worth purchasing at the market, but we did get a second chance to spend some money.  It turns out there was an Egyptian cultural group (Comunidad Egipcia en Chile) holding a bazaar in the park next to the cerro.

Or maybe not.  There were banners in Arabic all over the place, but the goods on display were rather... diverse.  There were even a couple of Asian and Native American vendors who had set up shop.

I was very confused, but my friend didn't seem to mind; in fact, she seemed to be enjoying the variety of products for sale.  That seems like a much more productive outlook; let's go with that instead.

With the day's shopping finished (and no purchases weighing us down), we began our ascent up Cerro Santa Lucía.

This marks my third hike up the hill, but I still manage to find something new every time I visit.

In this case, I discovered that they occasionally repaint the handrails and other fixtures at the park.  Ewww... I hope that washes off later!

No, of course they didn't post any 'wet paint' signs; why would they do that?

We spent a couple of hours exploring the hill, befriending the local wildlife (mostly stray dogs, although there were some pigeons hanging around, too) and taking lots of photos.  You know, touristy stuff.

On our way back, we stopped at Centro Cultural GAM, a local cultural center.  The building itself has very unique architecture, and I'd been meaning to check out the interior as well.  We didn't stay long, but I could definitely tell there was an awful lot of culture there.

When we got back to the apartment, I had to sequester myself in my room for a bit to get some work done.  Thursdays are podcast days for me, and I had a few Skype calls to make as well.

I emerged a couple of hours later to find the apartment deserted.  I checked my online channels and discovered that my roommate had invited us out to the local Jumbo to pick up some groceries... for taco night!

Hooray!  I love taco night!

I ran out to Jumbo and met up with my friends.  The shopping list was relatively small this time; we already had most of what we needed on hand.  It wasn't long before we were on our way back to make tasty, tasty tacos.

I think my favorite thing about taco night is assembling each one right before I eat it.  It's super fun, and it tastes soooo good!

You think I'm exaggerating for effect... and I am.  But still, I really do enjoy taco night (:  If you haven't tried it in awhile, I highly recommend it.

I don't think Neptune's in a very good mood right now....

Day 225 of 1827: Outside Influences

Okay!  I've got myself a free day at Conectas.  Let's make the most of it!

Ooh, they have a water cooler now.  heh heh heh... little do they know:  Most people see a full water cooler tank; I see a challenge!

I love working out of Conectas.  It's a great atmosphere for getting things done, and the caliber of person that is attracted to a facility like this... well, let's just say that there is some excellent networking potential here.

Around noon, my roommate invited me out to Le Bistrot; the Dutch guy was back in town after visiting Valparaiso with his girlfriend, and he wanted to meet up with us for lunch.

You remember him — he stayed with us last week.  And he has a blog!

Unfortunately, I had to stay at the office; I had a Spanish lesson scheduled for right after lunch.  That marks the second time now that I've had to skip out on an awesome lunch at Le Bistro.

As it happened, my Spanish teacher's compy was taking a sick day, so my Spanish lesson was canceled.

Life is so unfair.

Well, at least it was a productive afternoon.  I finished out my workday, posed for some photos and made my way back to the apartment.

All in all, a great day.  Time to get clean and ready for bed!

As I was getting out of the shower, my roommate knocked on the bathroom door.  Wouldn't you know it, but we had another houseguest arriving in about 5 minutes!

I look forward to the day when I will be able to meet somebody for the first time and not be scrambling to put some pants on.  It's bound to happen sooner or later.

Sure enough, 5 minutes later there was a new occupant in the apartment.  She had just arrived from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she had been studying Spanish for the past 3 months.  Now that's hardcore!

Apparently, she had been meaning to arrive yesterday, but there was a bus driver strike across the country, and all the long-distance buses had been shut down.

To put it mildly, she was very happy to be out of Argentina.

We sat in the living room chatting for a bit until it became pretty obvious that my roommate and I had stayed up way past our respective bedtimes and had to turn in for the night.

I won't even speculate what our guest's bedtime is; after 3 months in Buenos Aires, I'm not even sure if she has one anymore!

A humble exterior, but an awesome interior.

Day 224 of 1827: Coins

Ooh, I just found two dimes and a nickel in my bag.  Well, not going to have much use for those anytime soon.  *whoosh!*  Ooh, I feel like Galileo right about now (:

You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I can't recall hearing special names for coins in any country I've visited so far.

In the United States, there are pennies (1¢), nickels (5¢), dimes (10¢) and quarters (25¢).  There are also half-dollars (50¢) and "silver dollars" ($1), but nobody uses those anymore.  I'm also pretty sure there's no actual silver in a silver dollar, but that's what I've always heard them called.

Anyway, in Chile, there are 1-peso coins, 5-peso coins, 10-peso coins, 100-peso coins and 500-peso coins.  How fancy.

Actually, I think very rarely the 100-peso coin is referred to as a gamba, and the 500-peso coin is called a quina — but I only know that because I've read about it; I've never actually heard anybody use those terms.

Today was another work day.  Booooooring; let's move on.

We're out of practically everything at the apartment; looks like it's on me to head out to Jumbo to restock.  Let's see... we need dish soap, laundry detergent, sponges, peanut butter... this is going to be a big haul tonight.

Everywhere I go, the sales tax (called IVA here) is always included in the price, so I don't have to do a bunch of math to make sure my grocery bill stays within my budget like I would have to in the States (although I didn't had to worry about exchange rates most of the time I lived in the US, so I guess it evens out).

When I got back, my roommate was just arriving from the office, and he had some interesting news:  Conectas is going to bring in a photographer tomorrow to take some publicity shots, and they're letting people work there for free tomorrow so that the place looks hip and popular for the photos.

Awesome.  I really need to get out of the apartment; I'm starting to go crazy (or at least, more so than usual)!

Plus, it means I get to go to Mercado de Providencia for lunch!