Valparaiso, Vina del Mar & my near death experience horseback riding

We've had some time off from projects so we decided to go to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, where Megan studied abroad and where her boyfriend lives. These beach cities are so cool! The houses are built up on the side of a mountain so it is a really steep climb to get up there. There are some machines called ascensors that work on a pulley system to bring you up and down which helps a lot. Mostly we've just been exploring the beach, little shops and Pablo Neruda's house! There is a German restaurant and bar across from our hostel. It is pseudo-open. The two Germans that opened it have been waiting for their permit for 8 months here so they serve people but can't  have the front door open so you walk though the back. And they just tell the cops that they have private parties. They had one kind of beer that they have a German dude brew for them and no real menu so they just whipped up some delicious German food for us!

We drove out to a place called ConCon for cabalgata- or riding horses on the beach. I was very excited because I love the ocean and I have gone on horseback tours before. This was a little different. We were put on a horse and basically were just set free. We all stuck together but we weren't just in a line like I've experienced before. I got used to my horse trotting which was scary at first. I named him Rocky Road. But then the guide said we could gallop and that was the most terrifying thing of my life! I felt like I was going to fall off and if you know my life then you know I would be the one to fall off the horse on such an excursion. But we all survived and felt awesome afterwards!!!! Megan especially loved galloping, she was a natural. Unfortunately, she and I had the two slowest horses that would just stop when they wanted to and mine kept eating all the time. And they were friends so we rode right next to each other a lot. The horse her boyfriend had would never like our horses- the guide explained they did not grow up in the same herd or something so they would always be unfriendly. We went by the beach after and had some seafood and beer- the perfect way to end the excursion!

Our hostel is really nice!

Hostal Destino Bellavista

Vina del Mar

Beach dog

We watched the sunset in Vina del Mar

Valparaiso- view from the hostel

An example of the ascensors

This photo is not mine, I found it online, but it shows the ascensor we've been riding in our neighborhood. It is called Ascensor Espiritu Santo. Each ride costs the equivalent of 20 cents!

Me and Pablo Neruda hanging out

One of Pablo's houses- La Sebastiana

Earthquake!!

We got to meet Juan's family on 7/13! They were all so nice to us and his nephews Andres and Brandon were so fun! Turns out 6 and 7 year old boys are the same all around the world- they play video games and never want to eat their food. His family has houses right next to each other, and Juan is working on building another house for him to live in with his mom. They have 3 dogs- one very nice poodle mix, one very timid but beautiful collie mix and then some kind of shepherd mix that wags it's tail at us but was not friendly and even beats up the other dogs if he's not tied up. The food was delicious as usual- we had a bean soup and salad and goat cheese and of course olives.

But now to get to the earthquake!!! The night before I had woken up to the whole room rumbling but it may have only lasted 15 seconds or something. I whispered to the other girls but they weren't awake, and I was half asleep so later I thought that I dreamed the whole thing. I often think I experience weird things like that at night at really I'm just imagining it. No one mentioned it the next day so I figured it was nothing. After lunch with Juan's family he was driving us all to the beach when he turned to me and asked if I felt the earthquake the previous night!!! I literally screamed and looked back to the other girls because I thought I was going crazy! There was a 5.6 earthquake at 3am. I'm glad I experienced that because Megan has been living in Chile off and on and has always slept through the earthquakes! It was scary that evening though because there was another earthquake in Iquique where some of Juan's family lives and that can be dangerous because of tsunamis. In Fray Jorge we are protected in Fray Jorge by the mountains. 

So we made it to the beach (after stopping to hold baby goats-I will have to post pics later), and it was so great! My family was in California on our annual beach trip and I told my brothers we were together that day since we were swimming in the same ocean! It felt so good to float out in the water and of course the salty smell of the ocean always makes me happy. Juan pointed out a lot of cool birds by the ocean, and the Rio Limari that meets up with it.

There was a very young lamb with it's mom by the baby goats!

We liked the baby goats so much the first time that Juan took us to see more at his buddy's farm on the way back!

The next day we went to Tongoy for seafood with Juan, Alberto and Victor (people that come to work in the park from time to time). We had empanadas with shrimp, scallop and some kind of fish. I also had seafood soup that was amazing.

Tongoy!

I love seagulls.

And finally a picture of a cute dog.

This dog lives at one of the food stands outside the park.
He reminds me of my dogs!

This is a bullshit

We've been having a lot of fun with the guys that come here to perform research at the beginning of each month. Jose Luis is a goofball and crazy. He can speak English to us so we have a lot of fun joking around. We tried to explain the term bullshit, bullshitting, etc. and instead of "this is bullshit" he says "this is a bullshit" which all agree is more fun. He loves quoting movies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. He will whisper "my pleasure" instead of "my precious" so we explained that the pleasure version sounds a little pervy.

At first we though Hector was silently judging us all the time, especially when we are drinking. Now we know that Hector just has a certain expression that when combined with his eyebrows and the way he crosses his arms, comes off as judgmental but really he is just quiet and likes to observe everyone. When he smiles it is the cutest thing, and he is so nice to us. We found out he has a little baby, Hector Junior, and he loved showing us pics of the little guy. And Hector Junior has the same expression and eyebrows as his dad :)

Then there is Juan (not to be confused with our Juan). I love his disposition, he is so mellow and genuine. He likes asking us about English and the US because he studied abroad in California. We found out he has a little baby, too, named Alonso. Alonso is adorable with big cheeks and a lot of hair. Juan taught us how to drink Mate, with a cup that is called a mate and a bombilla (straw). He looks super cool drinking his Mate each afternoon.

So you guys get to hear about me through my blog and Katie through hers (http://atacamalove.blogspot.com/) but you don't really hear about the two awesome ladies that are also here with us: Megan and Erin! So I'm dedicating this post to features on these crazies.

Megan Johnston

I've been leading yoga sessions!

Megan is a recent graduate from UNC Wilmington. She has studied abroad in Chile, so now she speaks great Spanish (she says it's not perfect but we all think it is). Her boyfriend lives in Valparaiso, Chile. She says it is a beautiful place so I hope to visit her there someday. I'm  posting some pictures that sum up Megan as a person. She's a badass in the field, a drinker, a great yoga/workout partner, a vegan (I'm sure she doesn't find that interesting but we do), a Rubik's cuber, and swears like a sailor, but uses phrases like okie dokie artichokie. Her laugh is infectious and she doesn't take shit from anyone.  I'm glad to have her around for my Chilean experience. I know she doesn't always like doing it, but having her around to translate things has been such a help!! Of course I forgot to bring my flashdrive with Katie's pic of Megan in the field, bonding with a degu. You will have to wait til the next post.

Erin Myers

Studying for the MCAT

Erin is an undergraduate at UTC. She's from Clarksville, TN and such an interesting and compassionate person. Katie and I interacted with her all last year during lab meetings but never got to see the real "Erin" until this trip. She will look at you with such an earnest expression on her face and ask you profound questions that you have never really thought about. One day in Santiago she said to me, "So Maddie, do you believe in love?" Her questions usually lead to us being like "Fuck, do I believe in love?" Anyways, she is awesome. She hasn't worked with wildlife at all before this but is so amazing in the field! The few days I had to work without her I totally messed up my field notebook and the rhythm was all off. We also say that her look is effortless and chic, because it is. What are we going to do without her when she leaves in August?? We've also been talking about where she belongs in the world, because to me she has so many interests, talents, and things to offer that she can fit in with so many different types of people. Clearly, she will make a great doctor one day. And despite her intense ambition and hard work she still manages to have a ton of fun. She teaches me things about young people these days. One time she said, "So you don't turn up, turn up?" and I realized that I guess I don't party like I used to! I try to explain that my best friend/college roommate Anna and I used to "turn up" and host great parties, but I guess we've mellowed out since graduating.

Because who doesn't want to see more fox pictures?

A tinamou died in a rodent trap and after watching the process of preparing it and cooking it I wasn't so sure about eating it but I have to admit it the bite I tried was really good. Of course, I was happy that we could eat it so it did not die in vain because of human's putting out traps. Katie is a pro with animals so she knew how to prepare it for cooking and everything.

4th of July, marmosas, Bandido

Happy Belated 4th of  July! I'm not actually that patriotic but it was excuse to have a carrete (they don't use the word fiesta here) with all of the other researchers staying at the house. We even had hotdogs and Juan made us a fogata (bonfire)!!! He really is the best. 

There are researchers that come to trap mammals  in enclosures around the park and I was able to see some cool mammals like the elegant fat tailed  mouse opposum (llaca o marmosa), Darwin's leaf eared mouse, and the olive grass mouse (Abrothrix olivaceus). All my pics are of the marmosa. Katie'g blog has others.

Our dog friends came back for a few days! They left for good last night and Juan said he already missed them this morning. We named the lab mix Black Dog (in Spanish they just call him Negro) and the little guy was Button (Boton), Chico, or Bandido (Bandit). I think his furever home will call him Boton. We all took pics with the bubbas before they left.

No one could deny that Juan was their favorite.

Button was my favorite, I just love little dogs!

I started calling him Bandido because he was the trouble maker.
He would dig into rabbit and degu holes and get Black Dog all riled up, too.

We said Black Dog was handsome.

We learned the phrase "Sacar la chuca". It is great, and has so many uses. In English it basically means "bust your ass". In stories you can say that someone busted their ass when they fell, you might say it meaning you're going to kick someone's ass, etc. Not naming names, but one of us busted their ass during our trip to Ovalle in an epic way (it wasn't me since I DD'd). We had a great time telling Juan about that sacar la chucha incident.

The language barrier is interesting. We were in the truck once with Juan and he taught us "rally" which to them means to go off-roading or maybe just a part of the ride that gets rough so Katie yelled "punch it, Juan!" and he thought she said "Pinche, Juan!" which means "Fucking Juan". He laughed and I think just thought it was something to say when you're excited. Then we tried to explain what punch it meant. I've also tried to explain goofball (a researcher here named Jose Luis is a completely goofball and we can't figure out how to say that). 

Fog Forests, Fight Club, Showers

I miss internet so much! It’s weird not being able to google the questions that come up in our conversations. The only other thing I really miss is having time to myself. The cabin is pretty small and sometimes we will all move to any possible place to be alone- somewhere outside, in the truck, or in a bedroom.

Juan was with his family for a few days and we missed him so much! He came back on Sunday and brought us avocados and olives that his mom makes. I’ve never eaten so many avocados or olives, they are so good here. He took us up to the Fog Forest that evening which was so cool! If you go in the morning you will see the ocean from the lookout spots, and maybe even some sea lions. When we went there was fog in all directions. They have native plants marked throughout the trail and Juan was showed us some that are important to the native people of Chile, the Mapuche. 

That night we watched Fight Club with Juan. He kept saying it was a very fun movie. We had to finish it the next night, and at the end he asked if we had more movies so we put in Inception. We had watched it a few nights before, but this time we put it in Spanish with English subtitles. 

I did laundry for the first time here! I think everyone should try that in their life because it was rather difficult. I’m not even sure how clean everything got but my biodegradable laundry soap smells good so I was happy. We could shower every day if we wanted to- but we would have to fill up the water tank more often. Not difficult but not necessary so I have only showered twice since being here. We seem to shower when going into town, like it's a special occasion. So I’m averaging a shower every 5 days. Loren and I started a bet in the Atlanta airport about how long Katie would go without showering in FJ. We are up to 10 days….I’m really hoping to win some $$$. Although she's been dumping water on her hair outside of the cabin and washing it so does that count??? 

Degu Fitness

I am in a cafe in Ovalle this morning. We were all soooo excited to get online to look up things, read the news, hear things from home, etc. Friends and family: please send emails! I am going crazy thinking only about degus, telemetry, and driving the same road everyday! 

It is pretty great watching the sunrise every morning.

Right now we are working on trapping degus to find prospective social groups for my project. I am studying this Fray Jorge population of degus to understand the correlation between sociality (group-living) and fitness. And no, fitness does not mean lifting weights and working out. In ecology, fitness refers to an animal’s ability to survive and reproduce, so it is a measurement of life time reproductive success. I wake up every morning at 6am to set traps as a group and then we process trapped degus a little later in the morning. We've been practicing putting the tiny radio-collars on degus. My mom always said I would be good surgeon because I have tiny hands, but I've found my true calling with these radio-collars! My small hands are perfect for screwing on the itsy bitsy nuts on the collar, so I can be very quick which I'm sure the degus appreciate. 

The afternoons have been pretty free, although Katie’s project is starting soon. Then we will be busy from 7:30am-5pm. We all have positive attitudes about it but I will miss seeing and handling the little degus (for hers we will be tracking their home ranges with daytime telemetry). Right now I spend the afternoons reading, watching futbol games with park employees (Chile lost to Brasil), entering/analyzing data, watching degus, and recently attempting some yoga and work outs :) Megan and I have figured out that 2L juice bottles filled with water or sand will make great weights for our bicep curls!

I’ve been waiting to see a guanaco in the field and was shocked the other day to see one moving through my traps! It didn’t register right away and I was scared to see such a big animal!! He was being stalked by a fox, and after they had a face off the fox just laid down in the dirt. Then 2 more guanacos came through and had a little tiff with the rogue guanaco. Katie's blog has pics/videos! http://atacamalove.blogspot.com/

We have a pair of owls that live right by the house. 

This fox was trying to stalk me yesterday.

And here is a picture of our family out for Megan's bday!