Training Log Archive: maprunner

I had planned to run today, maybe, but all I did was walk with Sandy (and her dog) at the dog park, and binge watch TV. I didn't miss TV for the whole time we were gone, but today I was a slug and couldn't do much else.

I did finish the write-up of our Chile trip. You can jump back to the first day's log entry here and work your way forward. Happy reading!

Edit: here is the link to the photo album (click on the "i" icon to see captions):
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9h55dfEvJ3CDTVYBA

C • Thanks! 4

Landed in Houston at 6 AM, then took and 8 AM flight to KC. Mike's mom picked us up (yeah!) and we were home by noon. I felt a bit off all day.Interesting to see how this was due to long distance travel/lack of sleep, as opposed to jet lag (only a 2 hour time difference, which was great going down).

But it was a nice sunny day in Lawrence, and I needed to get in my weekly orienteering training to keep my streak alive (tomorrow will be cooler and wet).

I asked Mike to set me a course on top of a previous map. I know this was easy orienteering, but I made it more challenging by:
1) having to read the course that was closely overlaid on a different course
2) not using a compass or magnifier
3) challenging myself to keep moving and reading the map on the run
4) being sleep deprived and a bit cranky

I know, it's lame, but it's all I could do today and it meets my definition of "orienteering once a week".

http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...

Also spent a lot of time buying groceries, cooking dinner, unpacking and writing a few AP logs.

Our last day in Chile, so we had to get to the Pacific Ocean at last. We drove to Quintay and enjoyed walking around the whaling museum (because of the setting, not because of the subject or the displays, which were all in Spanish). Then we drove to the large beach (Grande Playa) and walked the full length to a cave. It was a gorgeous warm day and it was so nice to be walking on the beach.

Wandered the beach today

A post shared by @ okansas on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:36pm PDT

We stopped back at Penuelas Forest on the way back to Santiago and Mike enjoyed some more bird watching by the lake. Back to the airport, returned the car and endured the 9 hour flight to Houston.

Time to get out of the city and enjoy a different part of Chilean culture: wine country. We drove to the Casablanca valley, where we had a reservation for a tour, tasting and lunch at a winery. Lucky us, being a week day in the off-season, we were the only guests. It was lovely. The setting was great, we had an interesting and engaging guide, the food and wine were delicious. Since MIke doesn't really drink, he would take a sip and I would finish his portion. As a result, I ended up drinking more than enough but I don't regret it one bit.

Winery tour, tasting and lunch today.

A post shared by @ okansas on Apr 18, 2018 at 3:41pm PDT

City day: we started with a walking tour of "Off Beat Valparaiso". Our guide was very interesting and he took us off the usual tourist track. We even stopped at a prison (now a cultural center) for a discussion about the Pinochet regime.

The city is built up the hillsides, with houses crowded on top of one another. Crazy houses, sidewalks and staircases everywhere. But beautiful and colorful: houses are painted bright colors and there is graffiti and wall murals everywhere.







Lunch at a nice restaurant recommended by our guide. The fog had lifted by now and we had a great view of the city and the ocean.

Then we walked through the more usual tourist areas (noticeably better sidewalks) and up and down several hills trying to find a specific fabric store (which we never found).

Then we walked to the maritime museum (fantastic view of the city and the harbor here) and explored the museum.

The stone book at the Navy museum has only one sentence. "Navigation is necessary."

A post shared by @ okansas on Apr 17, 2018 at 4:13pm PDT

That was enough for the day, so we took an Uber home through crazy rush hour traffic and enjoyed the sunset from our balcony.

We wanted to get outside the busy city, so we headed to Penuelas Forest Preserve for some easy (flat!) hiking. When we arrived, the park ranger asked us if we could give another man a lift to the end of the park, and we said yes. Juan didn't speak English and our Spanish is pretty weak (Mike) or non-existent (Mary) so we had some fun trying to communicate. We got to a fence that send "prohibito" and I figured this is where we should drop him off, but he jumped out and opened the cattle gate and we drove through. We got to the end of the lake, he said thank you and left. We parked and started our hike.

We thought we were on the park map, at the very end. I looked for the banos that should have been there, but didn't find them. We followed a logging road and enjoyed the beautiful day (even saw a fox!) But then the trail petered out and we were getting way too close to the highway. We followed some "trails" for awhile, but things were not making sense. Mike stopped and pulled out his phone and looked at aerial photos, and figured it out. Juan had taken us way past the park boundaries, and we were not where we thought or should be. So, we hiked back to the car, drove back through the fence and closed the cattle gate behind us.

This time we knew we were at the right place (saw the banos!) and we started our hike again. We followed all sorts of side trails (which were well used) and enjoyed just exploring. We saw all different kinds of cool trees (including a "tunnel" of branches) and just had a great day. We finished back at the lake, where Mike enjoyed some more bird watching while I relaxed in the car.

Drove back to the city and had a leisurely dinner at home. Tonight there was no fog, and we were able to glimpse the Pacific down the hill.

Slept late, breakfast at hotel, then back to the airport to pick up the rental car. It was hot and sunny in Santiago. We drove up into the hills for a short hike.

It was beautiful area, above a deep blue river (maybe color from the copper mines nearby?). But it was incredibly steep, again. I can handle going straight up (slowly) but the contouring around the hills made me extremely nervous. Is there a phobia name for "fear of steep hillsides"? Once again, I had to stop at a certain point (Mirador de Vacca). I sat in a little piece of shade we found while Mike continued on for a little bit.

Here is an example of the steep hillside (and click through for some other photos):

Today featured a steep hike and checking back into an urban environment. If it weren't for the haze, we'd have an ocean view.

A post shared by @ okansas on Apr 15, 2018 at 2:31pm PDT

And here is an example of the lovely view:



When we finished, we had a nice chat with the park ranger about places to go hiking near Valparaiso.

Then we drove on to Valparaiso and our Airbnb apartment. It was nice to have a place to stay for 4 nights, with laundry and a balcony! We went grocery shopping, cooked dinner and relaxed.