Get Lost

I have been lost many times in my life.  And in the past year and a half, I have had some great times getting lost.  Wandering around Santiago, I would get lost and discover new parks and roads.  Going out to Gialibomba I had no idea where we were, where we were going, or even where the road was.  (I dare you to try to find your way in this.)

Where's the road?!

 Hiking through the ecological reserve just outside of Santiago, my friends and I ducked under barbed wire, slid down hills, and were ultimately rewarded with one of the most breathtaking and exciting views I have ever been surprised with.  

Under the barbed wire...

Through the tree...

The picture doesn't do it justice

We never did find the waterfall we had originally set off to find.

Months later, the crew set out to find some hot springs (or something like that) out in Cajon de Maipo.  We just went, and figured we could figure it out, but of course, we got lost.  And the man that ran the goat farm was not very helpful with directions.

Where are we!?

We never found the hot springs, but we did pull the gringo card and didn't have to pay for our picnic table at lunch, saw some road kill, and got to cross the Rickety Bridge of Doom.

Rickety Bridge of Doom!

I have been thinking about these adventures of getting lost a lot lately, I think for two reasons:

1. Getting lost provides for some amazing adventures.  I have never had a terrible experience with getting lost.  Sometimes, in the moment, things can be frustrating, but there are always a lot of laughs, some good photos, and usually a good story to tell at the end of the day.  I miss getting lost and having those stories to tell.  I want to find new places and people so I can get lost and eventually become familiar with them.

2. I have come to a point in life where I have to make a decision.  I think I have already made it, but it's not 100% yet.  Standing at an intersection and deciding which way to go can be stressful, especially when society dictates you play it safe and do one thing and your heart, soul, and gut tell you to do what makes you happy.  I figure, at worst, I get lost and have an amazing story to tell at the end of the day.

Endless possibilities on the open road

25 Things to do While I am 25

I was recently inspired to make a list of 25 things I wanted to do in my 25th year on this great planet.  Since I don't have much else going on, I figured it would be something positive and productive to focus on.  Granted, some of the things on the list are kind of bizarre and random, but I guess that is what you get with me.  I decided to share some of the things on my list (some, not all), and document the progress I am making.  This way, with the public watching, I will be more motivated.  (Feel free to get on me about not getting though enough of these things fast enough because I do procrastinate.)

1. Date someone- This means going on at least 3 dates with the same person with some sort of romantic intentions (Side note: if this goal was to eat 3 dates with someone in the general area, I would have had this one whipped only days after my birthday.  Unfortunately, actual progress on this goal is dismal, at best.)

2. Visit a new country- If all goes as planned, this will be happening in April with Kelley.

3. Learn to Dougie- This one was actually accomplished only days after my birthday by watching a YouTube video of Cali Swag District teaching me how to Dougie. 

4. Run a 10K- Although this is going to be harder than bricks (running on pavement every day is giong to kill my shins, and probably my whole body), I think I can do it.

5. Read a classic novel- Like I have never done this before or something.  I just needed some things that would be easier and more enjoyable to accomplish.

6. Go golfing- The real reason I want to do this is due to the reason the Scots put 18 holes in a round of golf: There are 18 shots in a fifth of scotch.

7. Work on my memoir- It's not even February, and I already have at least starts on three chapters.  Now I just need help with revisions to (hopefully) make it something I don't hate.  Not even something to publish (although, I am sure it will be published and sold along side Tropic of Cancer by the time I am 30).  Just something I don't hate.

8. Return to Chile- No explanation needed.

9. Learn the rest of the words to Ludacris's "Fantasy"- I have been trying to learn all of the words for about 5 years now, but I figure now that I am 25, I should focus and learn those last few lines.

10. Get a camera- Since I got robbed in Valpo, I haven't had a real camera.  I loved my film camera, and I always will love film.  But I think I am going to look for a digital SLR this time.  Now I just need to find a really good deal on one...

11. Do  this and this with said camera- And really, I would love for my friends to make lists of things for more photo challenges.  I love finding the beauty in simple and everyday things.

12. Lose at least five pounds- I have been trying to do this since summer 2010, but I will do it this year!  And ideally, the pounds will just keep falling off once I get on a roll.

13. Kiss someone at midnight on New Year's Eve- Let's be honest.  This isn't going to happen.

14. Hiking and camping adventure- My biggest obsticle with this one, is that I am going to have to do it by myself, and I think I would enjoy it significantly more if there was at least one other person to share the experience with.  But I suppose that is part of the challenge, eh?

This isn't everything on my list, but it is most of it.  My list is still lacking a few things, so if anybody has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

What a Stellar View

Words cannot describe the beauty I saw today.  The pictures can't even do it justice.  And the way I had to get to the scenery made it that much more rewarding.

We decided to do a hiking trip in a reserve right outside Santiago.  I was down for a couple of reasons.  First, the smog starts to get to me.  And second, it was only going to cost me a metro ride out to Las Condes and back, and I like cheap fun.

Meeting at the metro was the easy part, but then we had some dificulties figuring out which bus to get on because we weren't sure of the direction we needed.  That didn't stop us for long, and we were soon on our way to the Reserva Ecológica Contrafuertes Cordillerano (that's Spanish for Andean Mountain Buttress Ecological Reserve).  

Clea, Chloe, and Jemma waiting for the bus

 We got there and started hiking.  We, or I at least, was not quite expecting what we had gotten into.  It was tough.  It got especially tough for me when we started to get up higher- my lungs were struggin' with the altitude.  We kept going though.


We wondered if we were taking the right path a couple of times, but we followed the arrows made of rocks and found our way up the hill.  

Helpful arrows point the way up the hill

 

 

 

We had to stop and play in the snow that hadn't melted yet:

Snow!

 

 

I want you to understand that I am making this sound like a walk in the park compared to what it actually was.  There was sliding down loose gravel and fearing we were going to slide into a cactus or two.  Not to mention it was beyond steep at points.  Jemma even slid down some parts on her butt.  And I almost ended up on my butt a couple of times.  When I got home, my feet and ankles were black with dirt, and I was wearing shoes the whole time.  After hours of pressing on to get to the top, we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen: The Andes (without the haze and smog blocking a perfect view).  Look:

This is a real photo.  I know it's hard to believe, but it's not a postcard.  And it's not photoshopped.  To be honest, this picture doesn't do it justice either.  It was amazing to clearly see the mountains.  The hike was a bitch; the altitude made it really hard, and combined with the terrain... but the view once we got over that hill was spectacular.  


The grossest part of the whole adventure was being above the smog.  Looking down trying to find Santiago and only being able to find a gray cloud of smog was straight up nasty.  And I live in this:

All in all, it was awesome.  I got to challenge myself hiking up the Andean foothills for about 6 hours or so, and I was rewarded with a stellar view.