Rueda del Carro

Yesterday I left the delightful company of my Chilean friend in Talca, and navigated the pristine and blessedly non-choatic metro system of Santiago. The metro is relatively new, and is on caliber with Washington D.C. in cleanliness and ease, maybe better! I arrived at my new home for the next 4 nights, a hostel on the plaza de Armas, the huge international square in the center of the city. It strikes me as sort of a Union Square...but with more palm trees, naturalmente!

First I went out for a long exploratory walk into the artsy Bellavista district. I had dinner there at a great traditional Chilean restaurant.

When I got home to my hostel, well, it was like a scene out of my dreams. I found myself out on the hostel balcony overlooking the square,



drinking wine, jamming to the tunes of Jason Mraz, Bob Marley, and countless Bossanova hits, as played by the Brazilians staying in the hostel. They jammed on a couple of guitars, somehow the bongos wound up in front of me, it was a night fit for Baconalia! And I know what you're thinking right now, and yes, I did teach them wagon wheel. How could I resist the pull of Rueda del Carro! The only thing that made it even better was when I found out that they were a split between aspiring fashion designers, and medical students. It was like my posse del Sur.