Camping in the Canyon

We finally have wheels! It took about 3 weeks to get the car we bought registered and with plates, but it is ready and we were dying to get out of the smog of the city. There is a great ecotourism and camping area just outside Santiago, called Cajon de Maipo. It is a long canyon with a great rushing river, at least for now. Unfortunately there are plans to dam the river with a hydroelectric plant, which surely has its benefits but also impacts the many people who live in the villages along the river and depend on it for their livelihood. We had a long weekend, so on Sunday morning we stuffed ourselves with homemade pancakes and fruit, threw a bunch of stuff in the back of the car, and headed out camping.

Our first stop was a roadside horseback riding rental. We saddled up on our horses and went on a short ride through a field overlooking the canyon. It was Appolo's second time riding and just like the last time, he jumped on, grabbed the reins and acted like a natural born gaucho. He can make the horse trot, go in circles, slow down, and maybe even dance. He loves going fast and can hold on with one hand and control the reins with the other. I'm sending that kid to rodeo camp! The fun part was watching Fredy on his beast, um, I mean, horse. We should have known something was funny when the kid at the horse corral said to Fredy, "So, you know how to ride pretty good, right?" And Fredy, who does know how to handle a horse answered with a confident nod. So the rest of us started off at a nice little trot, and Fredy's giant white horse took off like ghosts were chasing him. He ran every which way, up hills, down hills, into bushes, and came pretty close to the edge of the canyon a few times. Of course, my very confident husband surely had everything under control the whole time, but we enjoyed watching the show!

Next we found a campground and went on a guided hike to some waterfalls. The kids had a great time crossing the suspended bridges swaying over the canyon. I had a great time hanging on to Appolo by the neck of his shirt to keep him from sliding down the mountain.

Then we headed to our site and set up camp -- pretty simple since we were staying only one night. One of the cool things about Chile is that supposedly there are no animals in the entire country that pose a threat to humans.  We built our fire, roasted some hot dogs, and settled in to the tent for a lovely relaxing night under the stars... or so we thought.... The campsite across from us ended up being party central, with music blaring and people coming from all over the campground to party-- till 5 am. 

So we finally got to sleep at around sunrise and slept in late and then enjoyed a relaxing day of playing in the park. Athena had the adventure of her life -- she did the zip-line across the canyon and loved it.

Then we had a delicious 5 course lunch at a little roadside restaurant and headed home -- tired, dirty, and happy! 

More Photos

Trekking in the Andes!

It might seem overdramatic to start this story saying that I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life yesterday, but who cares, I like drama. Fredy and I recently joined a local Trekking club and were excited to go to our first group hike. It was to a mountain about an hour outside the city. We were looking forward to a day of hiking but it ended up being way more than we ever anticipated. We knew we were a bit in over our heads when people started asking where our trekking poles and polainas (covers that go over the lower legs to keep the snow out of your boots) were.

We headed out around 9 am and very quickly found ourselves surrounded by the most amazing alpine scenery we could imagine. Luckily the group we joined was filled with talented, kind people who taught us some of the basics of getting up snowy inclines and getting down slippery slopes.  Each time we thought we were arriving at the "top" we would get there just to see that it was the beginning of a flat plain that only led to another incline. It was challenging but worth the effort. The colors of the mineral rich mountains topped with snow are just amazing.

Memorable moment: me unable to catch my footing on a slippery part and Fredy staying behind me, literally pushing my butt up the hill. Thanks, Babe! Thankfully there are no photos to prove that though!  It was also fun to be walking along looking at the enormous mountains all around and suddenly the snow collapses and one of your legs drops thigh deep into a hole. 

We made it to an altitude of about 3,100 meters, which is over 9,000 feet. We didn't quite make it to the intended peak, which is called Refugio Plantat -- a stone shelter where people can camp. But that just gives us a reason to go back again!

We got back to the parking area at about 5:30, which was just perfect timing because those high altitude winds were starting to get nasty. We made some wonderful new friends throughout the day and plan to head out on another trek with them ASAP, right after we go buy some new boots, trekking poles, polainas, and hats with big flaps to keep the relentless sun off. The reflection of the snow is brutal and the ozone is depleted here so you don't mess with sun exposure. Luckily we did go prepared with plenty of sunscreen, so we were not totally clueless. Oh, and we were well nourished by some homemade granola I made that was pretty darn good.

I must say that I never had any interest in climbing the great mountains of the world, like Everest, but I think I am going to like hanging out on these "small" peaks! 

More photos