We gotta get right back to where we started from.

After the summer break, it is time to get back to what I should be doing: working having asados, camping, and fun-runs.  That is precisely what I plan to do.  Please note that many pictures were not taken by me but rather by Eva or Sarah.

Outside of hanging out in Barrio Bella Vista, I am always happy to spend time in my second home in Valparaíso. 

 

It was a big hit in the U.S. and it has started to spread worldwide.  I participated in the Color Run in

Viña del Mar with my good friend Jessie.

 

The same weekend as the Color Run in Viña was the Cerro Abajo urban bike race in Valpo.  In case you haven't seen it, you must watch the Youtube video!  It will blow your mind. 

 

Of course I am actually fully back to work in Santiago.  In my free time I do a lot of exercise, reading, and chilling.  Here is a picture of Santiago at sunset I took while running Cerro San Cristobal.  

 

Oh yeah, and lots of palta.

 

Another weekend, I got out of the city and went camping in Yerba Loca in the Andes on the way to Farellones with Anne, Brian el Segundo, Eva, Sarah, and Edmundo.

El Segundo Trayecto

 

The original plan for my summer vacation did not involve the South.  It was a nicely planned vacation to spend some time in Buenos Aires and Uruguay.  Well sometimes life is how it is.  We took a bus ride from Santiago to the Argentine border and back to Santiago that lasted 24 hours.  There was a landslide in the route between the Argentine border and Mendoza took out the road.  We had no choice but to turn around and figure out plan B.  It wasn't pleasant to say the least but we did what we had to do.  So we headed south to the land of hiking, honey, and happiness. 
 

 

You will notice a distinct honeybee theme to my pictures.  To me it was amazing to see all the busy little bees on each and every flower.  With the decline in world populations, it was a little sad to see these bees busy working while there bee brothers were not making it in other parts of the world.  

 

 

We went to 3 different places in the South.  To Valdivia in Chile, to San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina, and back to Pucón in Chile.  We trekked around Cerro Catedral and Llao Llao in Barloche and in Parque Nacional Huerquehue in Pucón.  Eva took some convincing, but I know there was an Austrian mountain girl in there somewhere.

 

 

Back in Chile, we had some miracle clear days to enjoy the Chilean South.  We got some great hiking in and good views of the volcano leaving us with a good second journey.  

 

Jumping the Fence

My good friend from home Colin came and visited me Chile.  We decided to jump the wall of the towering Andes to spend the weekend in Mendoza, Argentina.  Of course we did some Bodega tours, biking, and white water rafting while we were there.