una lluvia sorpresiva (a surprising rain)

Dan: Speaking of bad timing, today there was a freak rain shower. There hasn’t been a drop in Santiago since September and a few people have told us that it NEVER rains in February. Well it happened to have begun raining while we were walking from buying bus tickets, and continued to rain all morning and into the afternoon, when we had to change hostels and walk ½ a mile with all our possessions in our backs. For those readers who thought it was crazy to leave for a year with only a well-stuffed backpack apiece, I must say that if you were in our wet shoes this morning, you would’ve wished you had packed even less. But it felt more like somebody’s romantic, roughing-it image of trekking in South America; drenched, burdened and trying not to knock over any morning commuters with our packs. We found our new temporary home, a place I think called Marilu’s B & B. It is a clean place with nice shared kitchen and living room areas. Despite the challenging, cold, wet morning, we are both feeling in good spirits. The crappy day has given us an excuse to take a day off, read, stretch, make soup, drink coffee.

Maybe we’ll get over to the park at Cerro Santa Lucia later today. Also there is an artsy movie theater near here that is playing a movie about Inti-Illimani, one of my favorite Chilean music groups, so maybe we’ll check that out. My legs are still a bit itchy from bedbugs at the place in Vina del Mar, so maybe a restful day and some hydrocortisone cream will help make tomorrow’s 7 hour bus ride across the Andes a little more comfortable.