Punta Lobos

Ryan enjoying the view from our front door, after our first night of camping; notice he is tenderly holding his first Furgon-made cup of coffee. The beautiful rock formations at Punta Lobos, and the wave.

Hi everyone,
Just a quick check-in to let you know all is well with us.
We spent the last two nights camping out of El Furgon (our van) at picturesque Punta Lobos, which has a famous, but quirky, surf break. The surfing conditions weren´t great, but we had fun camping and exploring the area. The region we are in (Pichilemu) is a prime vacation spot for Chileans and other South Americans, and it is their peak summer right now, so we have been enjoying being part of that experience.
The terrain here is interesting. The beaches have black, volcanic sand. The vegetation is mixed: succulents like in Santa Cruz, Calif., cacti, and also lots of trees of all kinds. The weather, yesterday, was like the Oregon coast in the summer, with a thin marine layer, but also sunbursts. We have been wearing long sleeves and, at night, our Dody caps :). It is beautiful all around.
El Furgon is proving to be a comfortable home and a trusty vehicle. We have gone approximately 250 km, covering first downtown Santiago, then a section of the Panamerican highway, some smaller country roads, and a small mountain pass over the coastal hills. The diesel engine seems to be pretty efficient, and it handles the road gracefully. We feel very good about our purchase.
We have some great photos, so I am a bit disappointed that I haven´t found an internet cafe that has computers compatible with our camera, but oh well. I will keep looking when we are in towns.
Today we will head farther south along the beach, toward Constitucion. We will be looking for good surf and enjoying the journey. We hope you, too, are enjoying your journey.
From the Latin land down-under,
Jess and Ryan

Wheels

The view from our hostal, of the Argentinian embassy.
In the Plaza de Armas: the cathedral next to a modern building.

One beautiful station in Santiago´s awesome metro system. We used it!

Our new home, El Furgon.

Our time in Santiago has been surprisingly enjoyable, especially considering that it is a busy city and that our central task has been to find and purchase a vehicle for the rest of our trip. When I say surprisingly enjoyable, I mean wonderful, really. Today, Ryan said that this is ¨The best city experience [he has] ever had.¨Being here has, once again, reminded us of the fallacy of the myth that suggests U.S. superiority over Latin/South America. Santiago is a very modern-yet-down-to-earth city, with very kind people, beautiful art and parks, clean & efficient public transportation (awesome subway), great weather, views of snow-capped mountains, great roads & signs, etc. Everywhere we have gone, people have welcomed and helped us.
Buying a car has been a fun challenge. Our search has taken us to all corners of the city; at the end of each day Ryan asks, ¨How many miles do you think we´ve walked today?¨and we like to think it´s around 10 (probably a slight exaggeration:).
We have joked that we are in the midst of a Spanish language program and our recent homework assignment is to research buying a car: government offices, forms, very big numbers, car parts, and not to mention getting around the city. Our Spanish is definitely improving, and we are having an easier time understanding the Castillian version of Spanish spoken here. Today we feel like we passed the Spanish final exam. We have officially purchased a Hyundai H1, which is a cargo van. We have named the van ¨El Furgon¨(pronounced fu-GON) because we had to say that word a thousand times to find a suitable van, and because it sounds cool in Spanish, and because it means, well....¨van¨. Ha!
We are sooooo excited to head out of town en El Furgon, and we feel ready--camp kitchen, maps, surf gear, bedding: check! The plan is to go as early tomorrow as possible, and head toward Pichilemu. We will check in again when we find an internet cafe in our next location.
We love you all, with whole hearts,
Jess and Ryan
P.S. After trying to post photos from our camera, using three different internet cafes, I decided to go ahead and post this without the photos, but plan to keep trying...Stay tuned for photos. :)