4ta Corrida Familiar

Once again our local park hosted a family event over the weekend, this time a family race around the neighbourhood. We entered the 5km race and I was very proud of myself for running the whole way! Daniel, of course, hardly even noticed that we were running...

Parcela

Some Chilean friends of ours invited us to their 'parcela', (plot of land) in Limache, about 100km from Santiago on the way to the sea. The area is known for its fruit trees, especially avocados. 

We spent a super weekend with Manuel and Andrea, hanging out by the pool and soaking up some sun. 

We even went avocado-picking and we came home with a goodie bag full of avos!

On Sunday we stopped off for lunch at Concon, a beachside town for Santiago's rich and famous. The weather was beautiful and the seafood and pisco sours finished off a perfect weekend getaway.

Mercado Paula Gourmet

Last weekend our fantastic local park hosted a food market. There were stalls with samples of cheeses, spices, spreads, and breads, as well as wine and beer tasting, ice cream stands, bonfires to huddle around late into the night, and live music after sunset. We went with some friends and enjoyed an impromptu picnic of salmon carpaccio starter and lamb-on-the-spit main course, accompanied by a refreshing French Champagne!

Cerro Pochoco

On Sunday we went for a lovely hike to the 1800m summit of Cerro Pochoco, a hill in the foothills of the Andes. We climbed high enough to see the snowcapped Andes in the distance, and we enjoyed the beautiful summer flowers and birds. Thanks to our guide, Fede, for showing us a new trail in Santiago!

Cascadas Las Animas

We did some exploring over the weekend and headed down to Cajón del Maipo, a canyon southeast of Santiago. We spent the day at Cascadas Las Animas, an adventure resort that offers all sorts of activities. Our first stop was a delicious three-course meal overlooking the river - we had the best table in the house!

After lunch, we went for a casual zip-line, 30m above the Rio Maipo. The longest wire was 170m across the river and my squeals echoed around the canyon!

To end off the day, we walked to the famous waterfalls, where the fairy spirits are said to live. According to legend, they are benevolent to children, but mischievous to adults... Fortunately they did not stir while we were out and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and cascadas.

Festival de la Rosa

Our local park hosts numerous events throughout the year. The big spring event is the Rose Festival, a combination of a garden expo and the unveiling of the year's new roses. We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon strolling along the paths and through the gardens. Our prize purchase was a new hammock, which we look forward to testing out over the summer!

Yerba Loca

We went to Santuario La Naturaleza de Hierba Loca with some friends and camped Chilean-style. While we had packed our tent, sleeping bags, food, clothes, etc. to fit into two backpacks, our friends’ car was overloaded with shopping bags, a duvet, a table and chairs, inflatable mattresses, you name it! Clearly we had misunderstood the brief that we were leaving home very early, walking very far and then camping. Turns out we left the city after midday, pitched camp about 20m from our car, and took a gentle stroll along the river before dinner!

  

And we ended up having a great long weekend! Yerba Loca is located halfway up the Andes about 30km from Santiago. The glacial Yerba Loca river winds its way through the valley and there are lovely trails and an abundance of wildlife. We saw several new bird species, lots of guajitas (lizards) and a very cute little chilla (fox).

Chileans take their dining very seriously and we had the biggest asado (braai) we’ve ever had, washed down by some piscola. There was music playing around the campsite and we all enjoyed a weekend getaway out of the city.

Dieciocho de Septiembre

Chile celebrates its National Day on 18 September, a day filled with asados (barbecues), meat (lots of it), dancing and kite-flying, and huasos (cowboys!). Although we were camped on a remote beach on the day itself, we enjoyed the build-up and we did some dressing up and celebrating beforehand. 

Animales del Desierto

The desert flowers attract a large variety of birds and insect life, and we saw some beautiful birds and butterflies as well as the regular desert animals. Our favourite animal was the guanaco, part of the llama family, and our least favourite was a scorpion which we found 2m away from our tent!

Desierto Florido

Every 4-5 years, when there is more than 7mm precipitation, the arid Atacama Desert bursts into bloom. Dormant seeds beneath the sands explode into life and colour in a phenomenon called the Desierto Florido (Flowering Desert). It is impossible to predict the year of the Desierto Florido (it last happened in 2008) and it only occurs between September and November, so it was a special treat for us to see it this year. The first photo shows the contrast between a typical year and a flowering year. Both photos were taken in the same spot in the same week of September.

Below are a selection of our photos taken from the Parque Nacional Llanos de Challe and the mountain road between Huasco and Punta de Choros. Enjoy!