New room, new routines

Lou: We seem to be in the grittier part of town, though we like our temporary little home a lot. We have an “apart hotel” room. It’s like something you might find on the north shore to rent for a week or so. We have a bedroom, a kitchen/dining room, and our own bathroom. We are slowly making little excursions that go a little farther from home each time. Last night we made our way (by bus!) to the huge city park on the edge of town. We made our way back along a street full of restaurants and bars. That area had a younger feel to it, which makes sense since it’s nearer to the universities. We made some (tourist) friends to hang out with for the evening at a micro-brew bar (which I’m sure we’ll be back to!).

We think that we are starting to get the hang of the daily schedule. It’s amazing that many stores (even the central market) close up at 1 or 2 pm and re-open again at 5 pm. We joke about our month of Sundays. We wake up 8 or 9 am, take a nap during siesta (about 2 or 3pm), and then, sometimes go out or just stay up until 12 or 1 am. It is hard for us to get used to eating supper after 9 pm, though!

Other observations: green & trees! Our dollar goes further here than in Chile. Wine is about $3 and eating out as well as buying groceries is maybe about 1/3 of what it would be in the Cities. Keys for doors seem to all be the skeleton-key type. The streets are crazy busy with families doing back to school shopping this week.