La Isla Negra / Algarobbo

Our first real week in Santiago saw 3 days in a row of lectures, at different points in the city of Santiago. For our first lecture, we walked 20 minutes from the hotel to FLACSO, a local Chilean university site. The professor (Annie) gave an introduction and comprehensive/condensed history of Chile, ranging from it's roots as a primitive yet proud nation who successfully defended itself against all conquerors, to present day Chile and all the economic and social reforms that took place. This is a country that has a deep history, one of much conflict and revolution mixed with everyday life. Apparently if you ask the rich people, they still side with Pinochet for financial reasons despite the knowledge of his mass executions.

Tuesday the lecture was in Spanish, so it was a little less engaging. However, Wednesday we had a Columbia-educated native English speaker who presented an interesting summary of recent Chilean economic policy, in a manner that managed to hold my attention. He analyzed class discrimination, and suggested a number of policies to pursue in the future including capitalizing upon natural resources and potential as well as providing a garunteed 2 years of technical school for those who cannot afford regular university.

Following these days of class however, we reached a nice break in that Thursday happened to be a national holiday. Despite yet another round of serious drinking the night before, we all managed to stagger down into the hotel lobby around 8:45, to catch the bus to the beach.

The ride alone was worth it, a sensational tour of the countryside. My eyes did not leave the road for a second, as I soaked up the many and varied sites that the Chilean landscape had to offer. As we rode, the sun gradually rose until it covered us with a warm glow, transforming the climate from a cold morning to a beautiful afternoon, as we also descended in height en route to the Pacific. I was fortunate enough to glimpse tableaus of local life, from all nature of farms and poor shacks, to workers laboring in the fields, occaisional clusters of horses or cows, and beautiful rivers and mountains in the background.

However, La Isla Negra was even more beautiful then the bus ride. We got off at Pablo Neruda's seaside home, the second of third which we were to visit. The house was stunning, overlooking the water with Neruda's typical proliferation of outside bars and patios, with a connecting path running along down to the beach. I skipped the first tour to wander the beach, but as soon I began to find my higher grace whilst meditating against the ocean it seemed we had to leave.

However Neruda's house once again proved an interesting tour, as we once again viewed his obscure collections of random objects (glass piano leg holders for example...) yet admirable for his aesthetic tastes. No original Picasso pieces here, but nonetheless another eccentric assortment of individual taste and artistry. The views from his balcony were magnificent, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and conjuring both at once feelings of grandeur yet also tranquility. I could clearly imagine in my head the famous poet sitting with his friends, drinking adult beverages along the ocean with much pleasure. It reminded me of a past resolution of one day owning property along the ocean, surely a beautiful thing.

After Neruda's house and the beach, we departed for Algarroba, a nearby town, for lunch. This was the home of the world's largest pool, a touristic monstrosity constructed so large that it was possible to sail boats in it as well as scuba dive. The largest irony of this massive unnecessary behemoth was it's extreme proximity to the ocean, seperated by only a narrow strip of land. I encountered a picture of this monument to human travesty while googling Santiago, but never imagined I would eat lunch at a restaraunt literally right across the street from it. As I was explained, the local Chilean people hated this place as it was fenced off by a massive tourist resort, and unfitting with the archaic, quiet nature of the rest of the town.

Post-lunch, we wandered into town as we had several hours free. We found a market along the water, where I decided to buy a number of impulse purchases ranging from a massage toy to a Chinese puzzle piece to a buddha (yes I bought a buddha in South America, don't ask me why...) Hooray for spontaneous consumption, I definitely felt pleased afterwards, especially considered my entire shopping spree set me back less then 20 US dollars...We eventually returned to the bus, and headed back for Santiago. A long day, but certainly fulfilling and eventful, if for no other reason then being able to hang out along the Pacific Ocean. I fell asleep excited, as usual, for the coming days and in particular the Jazz Club my friend Gonzalo had offered to take me to on Friday night...Pero ahora, hasta luego, voy a dormir...