To Guanaqueros we did go
While I was busy not hating La Serena, the idea for a short daytrip developed. Actually we had wanted to go to the elusive and hard to get to Fray Jorge park, to wander on white sands and probably get sunburnt and thirsty. But since it was a long weekend, there were...
Tales from the Chilean road, La Serena
The first time I visited La Serena, a midsize city on the coast in the Norte Chico of Chile, about six hours by bus from Santiago, I was wholly unimpressed. First of all, it was winter, and therefore very quiet. The main plaza was also wrapped in construction fences,...
Finding beauty where monuments to the dead are erected-Santiago’s Recoleta Cemetery
Recent field trips with friends and photography classes have taken me to Santiago's Recoleta cemetery quite a few times lately. It's a lovely place, varied and bright, with sections for the well-to-do and regular folk, streaming with flowers and mementos and flags of...
SWF seeking friends in Santiago
SWF, English/Spanish bilingual seeking friends for laughter, serious talks, impromptu trips to the coast, the central valley and silly-item shopping (getting lost optional), academic pursuits, patience, rollerblading, bicycling and long walks a plus. I particularly...
In search of the pretty in Pomaire
Pomaire is a town nearby Santiago, that most long-term Santiaguinos have either been to willingly, or dragged to by some tchotchke-loving aunt, or in-search-of-a-giant-empanada nephew. Even I've been several times already. It's a town that makes its living by selling...
Everyone’s a cartographer
Before I start this post, you should know that not only am I a terrible navigator (rendering me nearly useless as a copilot, though I will keep you supplied with snacks), I am also not a particularly good artist. There's a funny aside here about how when someone talks...
What’s in a name? Vegetables and adjective use in San Francisco and Santiago
Illustration: Manuela Montero, used with permission. It is impossible not to notice many differences between there and here. In my case, there is the United States, and here is Chile. More specifically, I'm going to compare San Francisco and Santiago, and our take on...
The Alameda bike path (ciclovía Alameda) and why hissing “ciclovía” at me will not make me take it
Some time, ago, I'm guessing about five years, they redid the "bandejón central" (kind of like a long traffic island) that goes down the length of the Alameda, or the main street in Santiago from about the Moneda Palace down to Pajaritos, a distance of several...
I’ve been censared. Censused? Incensed? Chile Census 2012
Earlier this year, Chile looked at its watch and realized, heavens, it's been a long time since we counted our people. I wonder how many of us there are now? And what their floors are made of. And whether or not they compost. So they suited up many, many (official...
Lost in space, Neoyorquina no more?
My family has experienced what I consider the great eastward migration, since the beginning of its existence in the United States. On my father's side, I know they arrived before 1911, as my grandfather, who was born in that year, was born in this country (though he...
