Fiestas Patrias

Fiestas Patrias: "Fee-est-ahs Pah-tree-ahs" Chilean Independence Day, 18th of September.


1. Algarrobo, Chile
Fiestas Patrias kickoff! I headed about an hour and a half outside of Valparaíso with my brother Dani and his three friends (finally, I was the only gringa amongst Chilenos) to celebrate Chile's Independence Day. Unlike the USA, Chile celebrates for an entire weekend, with most schools off for the entire week (mine included!). Stocking up at a supermarket in Viña del Mar before departing, we headed off with bags of "wraps" (same word) and enough "snacks" (same word again) to feed every single stray dog in Valparaíso. We stopped to walk along the beach, soaking up some long awaited sun and exploring the goods for sale in the various artensanías. I bought a present for a friend (you'll have to wait and see who you are!) which was the first time I've bought anything from an artensanía because I'm a procrastinatory shopper, always making up an excuse not to spend potential travel money because "ehhh i'll be here for three more months, I can do it later, right?" Those of you who know me well are rolling your eyes, but I truly do hate spending my precious Chilean pesos (aka "luka" which means bucks). Apparently I'm not the only one. I was flabbergasted when my brother sent me an email less than 24 hours after our trip telling me to wire 3500 pesos ($7 US) directly to his friend's bank account because he paid for our food with his credit card. After an appalled Facebook status and much head shaking, I told my brother how strange this was that he didn't ask me in person and instead gave me his friends banking number and he explained that its incredibly common for friends to settle money this way. Learning new things every day.

Algarrobo, Chile. (Fran, me, Dani, César, Cio)

But I digress. We all met up with all of Dani's psychology student friends where 13 of them were crammed into a rented cottage close to a great empanada place and "las ramadas," the Chilean version of a state fair put on by nearly every city during Fiestas Patrias. We all enjoyed a very 4th of July-esque casual afternoon before grabbing some empanadas (my favorite being the "Neopolitana" which consists of the fried empanada dough on the outside stuffed with cheese, oregano, diced tomatoes, and ham) and exploring the stands at the fair. The games are all very similar to those at an amusement park, but far more low tech and family operated. Sadly no one seemed to win anything (of course) in the ring-toss-at-bottles game or shoot-the-duck. There were a few unusual things, one being the continuous greyhound dog races and having to pay to play foosball (which is called "taca taca" in Chile so when I was asked if I knew how to play,  I shook my head and they all screamed with glee and disbelief proclaiming I must live under a rock).
Our little group of 5 went to see the sunset at the beach (you have to park faaaaar away per usual) and ended up playing frisbee keep-away with a stray dog who suddenly appeared because frisbee is encoded in canine DNA. I managed to teach three more Chileans how to play so Dad, you can consider my life a success. The Chileans watching us in amazement have probably never seen that many Chilenos keeping a frisbee away from a dog in their lives.
sidenote: I have also now taught 4 Chileans how to use the word "Nifty," which is technically a Chilean ice cream brand, and they find it absolutely hilarious. 
Once we got back to Valparaíso, Dani and his friend Fran and I went to the gigantic "ramadas" at Sporting Club Viña (where I usually play Ultimate Frisbee on their many fields) where traditional Chilean foods, games, dances, and drink (try this: Pisco Sour). I didn't end up dancing any Cueca (despite my many lessons) but there were plenty of caballeros in complete outfits with the spurs and hat and all.

2. Olmué, Chile

mi familia: Dani, Vela the dog, Sonia, Marcela, (Paula)

Asado dinner table- complete with cowboy décor

For the actual Diez y Ocho (18th of September), my host family went to my host Mom's boyfriend's house way out in the boonies at the base of the hilly National Park, La Campana. We had a huge asado (barbeque) dinner with lots of meat and empanadas (surprise surprise). Dani, Fran, and I hiked up a bit of the cerro (hill) to see the breathtaking view and just sat talking for a while, all in Spanish. After dinner we rented a horse for an hour (no paperwork required, God Bless you Chile) and took turns trotting up the steep hill with her. The true adventure, however, was driving back through all of the holiday traffic for two and a half hours for what should have been a half hour drive. My host sister Marcela exclamed "We're moving slower than Windows 93!" and Dani countered, "Psht more like Windows BC."

3. Mendoza, Argentina
Given my ten days sans-escuela, three of my friends and I decided to take a bus about five hours accross the border over to Argentina. After some problems at the border, they finally decided to let the poor sad blonde gringas into the country to buy wine and chocolate. We stayed at Hostel Lagares in a 6 person bunk room but had it to ourselves. Hostels are wonderful for their community feeling: you have to share the bathroom with other travelers, everyone uses the kitchen together and shares the one computer and one TV. We met people from Germany, Poland, and even one from New Orleans who knew one of my Tulane friends who is in my study abroad program.

wine tasting in classy biking clothes

On our first night we found some hearty Italian food (lasagna for me) and chatted up the Argentinean waiter who invited us to go out and celebrate the first day of Spring (a holiday for them) the next night. Sadly we were stood up the next day but ended up meeting the entire University of Buenos Aires futbol (aka soccer to you Americans) team while we were waiting around! We found incredible  ice cream as well at "Bianco & Nero" that would have cost $10 a scoop in the US for the quality and deliciousness, but was incredibly inexpensive.

too original (cheap) to eat at a table

On our first full day we ventured out on our self-guided bike/wine tour, packing our own lunch to eat along the way. Mr. Hugo's Bike Rental has a deal with our hostel (if you stay 3 or more nights, so our 3 night trip worked perfectly) so we were given free bikes for the day. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny start to the spring so I was able to wear shorts for the first time since I left the States in July. Despite some butt pain from our slightly questionable bikes, we had an amazing day touring local wineries and little chocolate/jam shops. My favorite purchase was a coconut chocolate bar I bought that tasted more like cookie dough. Anyway, rather than pay to eat at the expensive bodegas, we sat beneath the trees with a bottle of wine out in the dusty fields and shared our crackers, cheese, salami, and apples with a sweet stray dog we named Rudy.

Andes Mountains

my best friend the escapee

Day two was a bit colder. By a bit I mean at least 20 degrees. No matter, we braved the wind and cold and trekked out to the Zoo where we made friends with some escaped baboons, feeding them popcorn given to us by a zoo worker despite the "Don't Feed the Animals" signs clearly marked on the popcorn machine. It made me a bit sad to see how overpopulated their cat exhibits were, with many of the big cats alone in a cramped cage. Their birds, however, were gorgeous and I also discovered a newfound love for a wooly, horned breed of sheep called "Ovejas de Jacob," or Jacob's Sheep. That night we also endured Chicago-like cold to go check out the brave souls of the artisan market and their hand-made crafts. Beautiful jewelry and leather goods that would cost an arm and a leg at a craft fair in the US were but a few dollars.
Our trip home was an adventure in itself. To make a long story short, we were on at least 4 different buses for a total of twelve hours. It should have been one bus, five hours. One of our "rescue" buses was double stuffed, the stragglers standing or squatting in the aisles until we reached the  border. However, one of our breakdowns was in the middle of the Andes Mountains for three hours, so we made the best of the situation and explored the stunning landscape, stopping along abandoned train tracks or giant boulders resting on patches of snow. By the end of the fiasco, everyone on the bus were good friends, with plenty of inside jokes and Mate Tea to share.

Lots of Words. One Epic Week of Fiestas Patrias.