Maitencillo and Algarrobo

Since the boys got an entire week off from school, we decided to make the most of it.  We first went to Maitencillo, which is a hippy surf town about 2 hours northwest of Santiago. Our plan was to find a parking spot by the beach and camp in the van for a few days. When we shared our plan with a school parent friend, he said "Oh, I have a good friend from school (K-12 school, not university), who lives in Maitencillo. Let me give you her number." So we message this lady, Carito, and she says, "Oh, you're interested in surfing, I am good friends with the owner of this surf shop that's right on the beach, let me give you his number and you can park there." And so that's what we did, we parked right next to this surf school that was right on the beach, and Drew and the boys took lessons there. Carito, along with her  husband and young son, also came to hangout at the beach with us one afternoon. This is how all things happen in Chile. A friend of a friend of a friend opens their arms to you with all the warmth and hospitality of a long lost bestie. But only if someone can vouch for you. If noone can vouch for you, game over. Now, that being said, there was plenty of parking at this particular beach, so would we have been fine on our own? Yes, yes we would have been. Did we have a better time getting to know the locals and enjoying their hospitality? Yes, yes we did.  

As is typical for the entire Chilean coastline, the water was FREEZING. Not to mention, it's really only springtime here, so it wasn't hot outside either. So the boys lasted about 15 minutes in the water with wet suits on. Drew surfed several more times, and he claimed he was perfectly comfortable with his wet suit on, but I didn't try.  This particular beach had a nice sand bottom with no rocks, which was very nice. It also had quite a large break father out that the expert surfers would do which was fun to watch. The boys stayed much farther in, basically riding the white wash. Drew would go somewhere in between. Both boys got up on the boards a couple of times, with the help of either Drew or the instructor Sebas riding on the back to keep the board steady. 

Emerson catching a wave!

Avery's turn!

Can't complain about the view!

On the second day we took a walk from our beach to another beach called Playa Aguas Blancas that was about a 40 min walk north. It was a pretty walk along the coastline, with lots of little beaches and rock outcroppings sprinkled along the way. One beach we passed had more perfectly intact sea shells than I have ever seen. Scallop shells, mussel shells, clam shells, it was incredible. There is some serious seafood in them there waters. 

On day 3, it was a bit windy and chillier, so Emerson spent some of his birthday money on a kite. He was obsessed and flew that thing for many hours. Kites are apparently a very traditional toy for Fiestas Patrias, so we saw lots of kite flying that week.

On Wednesday, our original plan was to head back to Santiago, so we could experience the Fiestas Patrias celebrations in the city. However, that previous Sunday, we had been invited by a family from Emerson's class to come stay with them at their family's apartment in Algarrobo. So, we drove straight from Maitencillo to Algarrobo, which is about 2 hours farther south along the coast. This is the same friend who connected us with the folks in Maitencillo. They have one son named Pascual. The beach at Algarrobo had beautiful white sand that was perfect for volleyball. However, the currents at this beach are apparently super strong, so no one is allowed to swim there at all. So you  can look at the pretty view, but you can't get in, not even just a bit. 

On Thursday, which was the actual Sept. 18th Fiestas Patrias, we went to The Fonda, which is the Chilean version of a carnival. It was free to get in, but once you're there, they nickel and dime you hard. It had lots of kiddie games, and you paid $2 per game with cheap prizes galore. We gave the boys $10 each and told them that's all they would get, so think about what you want to spend it on. That was a hard decision, jaja.

There were lots of inflatable bouncy houses and slides with the largest one, the Extreme Rush, being the boys' favorite.  The fonda also had pony and ATV rides, but we did not partake. 

We did partake in Terremotos (Earthquakes) for the first and last time. This is the traditional cocktail for Fiestas Patrias, and it consists of sweet white wine, grenadine, and pineapple ice cream. Would not recommend, but we had to try it once. Felices Fiestas Patrias! 

Fiestas Patrias en Escuela y Chile Lindo

Sept. 18th is the celebration of Chile's Independence day, similar to the 4th of July, which they call Fiestas Patrias. Basically the entire month of September is a celebration, and you see Chilean flags and banners everywhere. The boys would be getting the entire week off from school. Leading up to that, the school had several celebrations that were honestly my favorite part of Fiestas Patrias. Every class learned a specific dance from various regions throughout Chile, as well as one song, and they dressed the part with traditional Chilean outfits. The infant school, which is Kinder, Pre-K, and PlayGroup, put on their production on Friday, Sept. 5th. The boys in Avery's class dressed up like huasos, which are Chilean cowboys. They wear a felt hat, ponchos, and black boots. The girls wore various floral dresses. Their dance was the cueca, which is a very popular dance from central Chile. Traditionally the boys dance next to the girls, and they both wave handkerchiefs at each other, basically flirting with each other.  For Avery's class, they separated the boys and girls so they danced to different songs. Not sure if that was because they didn't want kids so young putting the puzzle pieces together or if it was just easier to teach them that way. Regardless, it was super cute, and we've been singing the songs and dancing the dances around the house for weeks now. It's easy to see why people in Latin countries have such better rhythm than us two left-footed gringos. They all learn early!  

Also for the celebration, each class had a "Paya" competition. A paya is like a little poem or funny limerick  that, in this case, celebrates the school. Avery and I wrote one in English, because I didn't have it in me to spend the time required to figure out a cute poem in Spanish. Well, our poem won, so we got to recite it at the celebration in front off everyone, as well as the other winners from the other two Kinder classes. Not sure why they picked a poem in English, and afterwards the HeadMistress even laughed that is was funny that there was an English paya during Fiestas Patrias. Maybe it was for publicity since this is technically a bilingual school? Whateves, we were just doing what we were told. Jajaja

Avery's class also got to celebrate with some fun games and empanadas afterwards. 

Emerson's class performance was the following Friday. His class dressed up with an outfit from the North, and they danced to the Membrillazo, which was a fun brass band song with lots of jumping and pompom swinging. Luckily one mom bought the outfits for the entire class so that they were all the same, and we simply had to pay her back. This certainly made my life much easier, as I was already sweating thinking about how I was going to find and buy the correct outfits for this. 

You can see all three 1st grade classes in this picture, dancing at the same time, but each with a different color: green, red, and blue. 

On Saturday, Sept. 6th, there was Fiestas Patrias fair called Chile Lindo at one of the parks down the street from our house. It cost about $7 per adult, and the kids were free! There was lots of music and traditional dancing. Below you can see these two performers dancing the Cueca for real. After the professionals danced, they opened up the stage for anyone to go try to dance the cueca. Our friend Antonio who is from Venezuela, so he doesn't know this dance, went up and had a lesson!

There was also a petting zoo with lots of unusual birds and reptiles to look at. 

Finally, there were little amusement park rides that the boys loved, as well as little games they could play like ring toss and knock over the cans. We got there right when it opened, and that was key, as there were no lines at all for probably the first hour. But after that, it got much busier, with long waits for the rides. It pays to be early here. Overall a very fun day.