This morning I went nowhere.
I mean, I actually got on a plane. And it took me north.
But take a look at this picture and try to tell me I’m not nowhere.
I thought so.
Antofagasta is actually Chile’s 2nd or 3rd largest city, and the only reason for its existence is so that some people can dig big holes in the surrounding horizons of dirt.
Population: 345,420. +2. And a bear.
To kill time, we watched TV. We fought over the controls.
I won.
It’s the end of the W. We’re waiting for the bus. That’s as good a time as any to hang out on a hammock. With my bear buddy. And Las Torres in the background.
Today was a nice day. It was also a long day. For Nicholas. Well it was a long day for me too, but I just got carried. Nicholas had to do the carrying. After yesterday’s torrential downpour, I was happy to see good weather. And some nice views.
Today Nicholas knew better than to keep me stuffed in a bag.
And look, I made it to the summit!
Sometimes, like today, I like to watch the camping folk pitch their tent in high wind conditions from the comfort of my cot shielded from said high wind conditions.
Given that their outer shell blew off overnight, I’m glad I am inside and not out there.
Here I am not laughing at the suckers brave folk deciding to camp outside before a windstorm.
Truth be told Santiago is not so bad on a summer day when half the city isn’t around because they are all on vacation. (Because it makes the city less smoggy.) Here’s a view from the top of San Cristobal.
We live across from this hill with a white statue on it. I see it every day. One day, I decided Nicholas should carry me up that hill. He wanted to put me in a bag. I wanted him to hand carry me. We found a compromise.
And with that, I guess I can say I’ve now done the Santiago tourist thing. That’s the Virgen, aka the-white-statue-I-see-on-the-hill-across-from-my-house.
But I prefer the ones where I get all the chocolate and chips and cocoa that I want. That type of hackathon, this was not.
But at least I can say I went to a hackathon in Chile. How many bears can say they did that?
That’s right. This bear se habla español now.
What choice do I have? We’re here for six months. Or longer. I have a feeling I’m here for a while.
They better make chocolate better than they make coffee.