Week 28
Updated: Oct 29
Day 198 / September 11, 2026
On Friday when Cathe, Eiber and I arrived to lab, we got straight to working measuring the remaining plants while listening to a rotation of reggaeton, romantic music, and hip hop. Once the plants were measured we packaged them up in brown cardboard paper and stored them in the freezer (mistakenly forgetting to weigh each one beforehand).
By 5:30pm we were done and closed down the lab for the weekend. At home I changed then made a bean salad appetizer to bring with me to the mini fonda at Elias and Cami’s house. I arrived there right around 9:00pm and caught up with Cami and Elias about their weeks so far. After a short while, two of Elias’s colleagues arrived alongside Cristobal, Coni and her partner, Felipe and his partner (whos' names I am blanking on). We chatted and sipped on terremotos until 12, at which point we headed over to a neighbor’s house for a birthday party / fonda hybrid. The other guests in attendance are all members of PF’s legal team, the largest food production and distribution company in Chile specializing in meats. That’s to say, the asado that night was amazing!! We were talking about all the Chilean things leading up to the big dieciocho celebration. Mote con Huesillo was brought up again as the delicious cold peach and wheat berry drink often consumed in the summer time. Cami happened to have the ingredients in the fridge and kindly took some out to share. We jokingly mixed in a bit of pisco and made a new name for the cocktail: apagar la tele. Translating to 'turn off the TV', this phrase is used to describe inebriation.
By 3:00am I was all danced out and hopped in an uber home. As my luck would have it, I was paired with Talca’s very own disco uber featuring funky lights and groovy tunes. If you ever need a ride, you can also contact them directly though their Instagram account.
Day 199 / September 12, 2026
After a late night and just 6 hours of sleep, I was certainly feeling groggy on Saturday morning. No rest for the wicked as they say, I quickly made breakfast got dressed in my red Universidad Autonoma shirt. This weekend, Fundación Maule was hosting the Chilenidad en Familia event just 30 minutes away in San Clemente. The FuncPoly Lab had a stand at the event to share about our research and other opportunities available at Universidad Autonoma.
Catha and her dad were waiting at the curb outside my apartment right at 10:00am. I walked over, with the lab microscope in hand, and hopped in. We picked up Cathe on the way and continued on to San Clemente.
We arrived right at 10:30am and carried the supplies over to the Universidad Autonoma table that we were sharing with the Pedagogía en Educación Básica reps from the U. On our way over, we passed a curious cow steering competition. After dropping off our supplies at the tent and quickly setting up, I asked if I could go and watch the event for a bit.
Local teams of horse-mounted farmhands created groups of three and had to correctly and quickly sort cows of a certain number into a smaller corral. Approximately 20 cows were in the larger pen and all had a number painted on their rears. A judge would call out a number and then the teams were allowed to start. I stayed for just 10 minutes, enough time to see two teams tackle the challenge. One of the teams was a sibling trio, two sisters and a brother, that must’ve been around 11, 12, and 13 years old. I was so impressed!
Back at the stand, Catha and Cathe were still waiting for further instructions from the rest of the team. We realized we had some time on our hands so went for a walk together around the various artisan stalls. Cathe spotted a pink poncho (also called a manta or chamanto) and tried it on. It was meant to be! The shopkeeper handed her a pink chupalla adorned with a colorful scarf and the combination was undeniable. I have never seen a quicker transaction.
We continued along the fair grounds passing a very impressive but also scary knife stand (they were SO sharp). Further along we came across a stand selling pins and, with the 3 for 5 mil promo, we each picked one out and split the cost. It was 11:30am at that point and we were expecting Aparna to arrive with the rest of the supplies at any moment so we headed back to the stand.
As we were waiting, I watched the Campo Noble stand set up. This famous gourmet meat company had a grill booth and it was right next to us. I spent the rest of the day salivating with the constant sight and smell of premium asado just inches away.
Aparna, Cynthia, Estibaly, and Shrabana arrived at 11:50am and we helped them to set up the rest of the stand. We had petri dishes with various bacterial cultures and a microscope on display alongside the posters for the various ongoing projects in the lab. Then there was a round table with 10 chairs to provide a space for anyone who wanted to learn how to play Micro Heroes.
The traffic was pretty slow to begin with so we spent most of our time taking promo photos for the U with Pumin and sipping some tea while chatting. At 1:30pm we were ushered over to pick up our complimentary lunch, an empanada, from a nearby stand.
By 2:00pm, we had a card game started at the table as well as several visitors asking about the lab and the bacteria on display.
In the low moments when there were no visitors, we took turns exploring the fairgrounds. While the others mostly spent their free time shopping, I stayed starstruck at the rodeo show. There were dances, races, and games modeled after Chilean and Mapuche traditions. At the back of the large procession, there were five men dressed in what I would assume was intended to be Mapuche attire. They were mounted on horses with modest tack when compared with their Chilean huaso counterparts. Interestingly, Mapuche ancestry is broadly represented within the general Chilean population, accounting for 25% of the overall national genetic makeup. With that being said, the five men in the procession had wigs and head bands on. Maybe it was just me, but something in particular about the wigs made the whole presentation feel a bit disrespectful? I can't really explain the feeling I had that something about it was wrong. Even with the best of intentions, hair for a lot of indigenous groups is far more than a cosmetic accessory. The spirituality and culture associated with it means that integrating a wig thoughtlessly into a costume is both undermining that history, and turning their appearance into a caricature. Worth noting as well, that the cost of entry ($6.000 CLP per person, kids under 10 and adults over 70 free) and distance from Talca (requiring a car or more expensive micro to access) meant that the event had a rather 'cuico' or posh attendance. While not always the case, cuico or higher socioeconomic classes in Chile have higher European genetic ancestry. That is to say, this group is even less likely to have ties to the Mapuche tradition. Not really sure what my takeaways from this are, but I just wanted to share those thoughts here. Worth questioning, is this a form of cultural appropriation or appreciation? How does intent, hopefully positive, compare with impact?
At 5:00pm we closed down the stall for the day, storing all materials onsite for the day to come. Cathe, Catha, Ismael, and I ventured to get some big anticuchos before heading to the car. Ismael kindly agreed to drop us off at home. En route, we agreed we should enjoy the long weekend to the max by going out together later in the evening.
I quickly showered and changed at home, then met Catha and Ismael at Bar Estado. We shared a pizza and some mojitos then ventured over to Gitana for some dancing. Natalia Barsotti was headlining for the special themed night 🇨🇱LA CONSENTIDA🇨🇱 which translates literally to “the spoiled one” and is a reference to famous cueca song by Jaime Atria in 1961.
In theme for dieciocho, there was also an asado at the discoteca!! Free choripan alongside delicious cuts of beef for all club goers. With another long day of work at the fair planned for the next day, we decided to go home at 3:00am to sleep.
Day 200 / September 13, 2026
Sunday was very similar to Saturday. I arrived with Cathe and Catha at 11:30am, this time we picked up Eiber along the way. Set up went way quicker today with all the supplies already onsite. By 12:00pm we were munching on the free choripan from PF and waiting for visitors to walk by.
Today felt even busier than the day before. We were playing repeat games of Microheroes, showing the bacteria cultures in the petri dishes, and guiding visitors to see the bacteria under the microscope.
At 3:30pm it was our turn for a break, so Catha, Cathe, and I went for a walk around the fairgrounds. First we stopped by the PF tent, this time to play the Rayuela game they had set up. Recognized as the national sport of chile, players throw heavy metal discs (tejos) from a set distance to land on a target box containing dirt or clay, aiming to hit or land closest to a center string (lienza). Cathe showed us some serious skill when she landed within the box on every throw. I on the other hand, was all over the place.
Moving along, I tried my first proper mote con huesillo and wow was that a life changing moment!! Falling somewhere between a dessert and a drink, ‘huesillo’ are dried peaches simmered in water with cinnamon, orange peel, and sugar or unrefined cane sugar (chancaca). Mote consists of cooked, husked wheat berries that sink to the bottom of the cup and are eaten with a spoon. It is served cold immersed in a sweet liquid resembling a sweet tea.
While we were making our way around the stalls I came across a plain, brown, cropped manta and had to try it on. Now I have a piece of dieciocho tradition that I can work casually into an outfit with jeans when I am back home. I am still in search for a chupalla hat!
Finally, we stopped at La Hermanas Trapensas de Quilvo, a stall with jams, pickles, and preservatives made by nuns at a nearby monastery. I immediately thought of my grandmother Oma and was sold. We tried a few of the various samples and I ended up purchasing the promo 3 x $5.000 CLP tomato sauce, a blueberry jam, and Ají cristal (a curious spread made from a yellow Chilean pepper that is both sweet and spicy).
When we arrived back at the stand, everyone seemed content sitting for a while, so Eiber and I decided to go and watch the rodeo show once again. The dances featured Rapa Nui songs, and the horse stunts were even more spectacular than the day prior and we stood mesmerized in the corner.
It was time to close down the stall. We took various trips carrying the chairs, tables, and supplies to the parking lot. Somehow during the process, Alex, Cynthia’s 5 year old son, followed Shrabana to the parking lot. Cynthia couldn’t find him and asked all of us to start looking. We stopped what we were doing and searched all over for Alex. As minutes passed, we all grew increasingly panicked. Somebody contacted the event security team and suddenly a huge search was on. Luckily, Catha headed over to the parking lot and saw Shrabana standing with Alex in the distance, neither realizing the chaos that had started. She called the group chat to let us know that he was okay and that they were on their way back to the stall. Catha walked back with Alex holding her hand and a teary Cynthia dashed over to give him a hug. We all let out a sigh of relief and continued with our packing.
Already in San Clemente, Mauri picked us up and drove us the remaining distance to Cruces Vilches for waffles. Cathe, Eiber, Catha, Mauri, and I enjoyed a sweet treat with the sunset to end the weekend.
As we were driving back to town, we received an alert on our phone that a prisoner had escaped from the jail at the center of Talca. He had jumped from atop the 8-meter high wall and hobbled down the street. Caribineros caught up to him quickly and fired in his direction. He died in hospital as a result of gunshot wounds.
The long day and crazy news meant I was very happy staying inside for the evening. I got cozy and focused on packing for the adventure to come!
Day 201 / September 14, 2026
To celebrate Fiestas Patrias, the University was closed all week. Taking advantage of the time off, Ismael, Catha, Cathe, Mauri, and I decided to go on a lil vacation down to Corralco. Through the Indy pass (thank you Val!) I had two free days of skiing at Corralco and when I mentioned my plans to head down, the others shared they were psyched to join too.
Mauri and Cathe arrived at my house at 8:00am and we loaded the skis on the roof using two folded blankets and some ratchet straps. We then headed around the corner to Plaza de Armas where Ismael was waiting and onto Mall Go Florida where Catha was stood ready to go. By 10:00am we took our first pit stop in Parral to have some food and a bathroom break.
Back in the car, Catha and I fell straight to sleep in the back seat. By 3:00pm, we had driven through the small town of Curacautín and had started on a dirt road up to the Airbnb.
I had found and booked the place and hadn’t thought about the road conditions at all. It was a hike!! The others joked this was standard for Chile accommodation en el campo ‘in rural places’. By 3:15 Mauri had expertly steered the car up the treacherous roads and into the driveway of our house.
The house was gorgeous. Super private, with loads of windows and beautiful wood siding inside and out. We brought in all of our things and settled into our rooms. Mauri and Cathe were upstairs in the loft, Ismael in the front bedroom, and Catha and I sharing the room with twin beds under the stairs.
Understandably, Mauri and Cathe were pooped after a long drive so they settled in for a nap. Ismael and Catha similarly wanted to chill for a bit but I was bouncing off the walls so decided to go for an adventure. I continued down the dirt road until the end passing two waterfalls and some beautiful houses under construction.
On my way back I decided to take a path that veered into the woods. With a lot of overgrowth spilling onto the trail it certainly started to feel spooky! I hit a dead end five minutes later and decided to turn around. Just as I was about to connect back to the road I heard footsteps in the brush behind me. My heart dropped and I immediately assumed the worse: a crazy person or a puma was about to jump me. Luckily, a fluffy white dog poked its head out instead. She came over for head pats and I happily obliged. She followed me home darting between the front yards of the adjacent properties making impressive leaps through the wired fence of each one.
By the time I arrived back home at 5:00pm, the others had stirred from their naps and were waiting in the living room. We talked about what we wanted to do that evening and agreed it was worth it to head into town for dinner. We loaded up the car and made the 20 minute drive down the rocky road connecting to the main road. By 5:50pm we had arrived back in Curacautín, parked alongside the Plaza de Armas, and started walking towards some restaurants.
We ended up in Cafemania. After a quick glance at the menu, we all knew what we wanted and proceeded to place our order of everything. I got a mint and ginger lemonade while the others got juices. Then I ordered a chacarero and split a chorillana and sopapilla sureñas order with Catha (interestingly sopapillas down south don't use 'zapallo' pumpkin?!). Mauri and Cathe had chicken with a side of fries, and Ismael a sandwich too.
We were stuffed when we wobbled out of the restaurant. Plans were still up in the air for tomorrow. Though I was certain I wanted to ski, the others were less sure. As well as being hard to learn, it is incredibly expensive. Understandably they were weighing the cost of gear rental, purchasing snow clothes, and tickets to the resort. Walking around town we came across a second hand store and the reasonable prices changed everything. Suddenly everyone was on board.
Though we didn’t purchase anything then, we made a plan to leave early and pick up gear en route. After stopping for a quick chocolate soft serve (duh!) we were back in the car heading home.
After several failed attempts lighting the fire, we gave up and resorted to warm cups of tea. Cathe and Mauri had brought a board game called Got Five! and we played a few rounds. Cathe whipped out her special popcorn making contraption and whipped up some kettle corn to snack on too. We headed to bed by 11:00pm agreeing to wake up and leave before 8:00am the next day.
Day 202 / September 15, 2026
We woke up at around 7:00am the next day and slowly started getting our things together for a day of skiing. Unfortunately the proposed 8:00am departure time very quickly turned into 9:30am as we all took turns having a quick morning rinse in the shower. We arrived at our first destination, the ski and snowboard rental in Malalcahuello, at 10:30am.
Ismael and Mauri were sized for snowboard boots and boards while I helped Cathe and Catha try on ski boots. The total for boots, snowboards/ skis (with poles), helmet, and goggles for the day was $35.000 CLP ($35 USD). By 11:00am we were strapping gear onto the roof of Mauri’s car and driving the short 1 minute over to a ski clothing store. Once everyone had the essentials, and two sleds as a backup activity, we proceeded to Corralco.
Mauri sniped an excellent parking spot close to the lodge and we started gearing up at the car. While the others took time figuring out their new equipment, I wandered up to redeem my Indy pass. It was so easy! I asked the guy at the desk how many people had it made it down that year, and he said only 5 or so come up to the desk each year. That’s not many at all!
On my way back to the car, Ismael was purchasing his ticket at the window. For $80.000 CLP, and only three more hours of lift access, it certainly wasn’t cheap. The others opted not to buy lift tickets and instead do some laps together at the base. I helped them carry their skis up to the snow and gave Catha and Cathe a 30 minute mini lesson while Mauri figured out his snowboard too. Importantly, I wanted to make sure they knew how to fall safely, click in and out of their bindings, and stop.
They were making excellent progress!! It is so so so much harder to learn as an adult. Even though they kept falling, they all kept getting up and laughing through the process. By then it was 1:00pm and I was itching to get some laps in. I said goodbye and headed on my way.
It was a beautiful day; blue skies, no clouds, and 50F temps… hot!! The early afternoon snow showed it too. It was slushy and heavy. I headed up the Cornisa lift and linked the Pudúes green down to the Volcán Express lift. My goal was to get as high and as far away from other people as possible. I took the short traverse to the Cumbre poma lift which reaches the highest part of Corralco at 2400m. Though there is great terrain for free-riding above, I had no time to tour and wanted to lap as many runs as I could.
The view at the top was excellent and I could clearly see a chain of 5 snowcapped volcanoes in the distance. The heavy snow cooked my legs instantly. I did another full top to bottom run, then decided to lap some shorter segments for a minute. At 3:00pm, hunger set it from a long morning with no food. I went down to the lodge planning on grabbing a quick bite, but bumped into the others and ended up having a lovely longer sit down instead.
I got a fried chicken sandwich and some mini empanadas to share while the others shared salchipapas, fries with hot dog chunks on top. They told me all about their morning and shared videos of Cathe successfully doing a longer run stopping without falling! The zipper on Ismael’s new snowsuit had broken during his first fall and he had attempted to duck tape the pant legs shut. Mauri had taken a tough fall and was resting his back a bit. Ismael had bought the ticket but hadn’t gone out for a run yet so I agreed to go up on the lift with him. We finished up our lunch and headed back out at 3:15pm.
Ismael had previously worked a ski season in the US and had snowboarded a bit then. However, it had been a few years since his trip and he was slowly getting back into it. We boarded the Cornisa lift without issue and talked about our first snow related memories on the way up.
We were at the top by 3:30pm and Ismael started clipping into his bindings. We opted to head down the Libre Este green trail where there were less people. Knowing absolutely nothing about snowboarding, I just took some videos and cheered him on as he got back into it.
After a few falls, I said I would meet him at the bottom to give him space. I headed over to Cathe, Mauri, and Catha. As I was taking some photos of Catha, I could see Ismael flying down the hill in the distance.
He caught an edge and fell hard! He stayed down for a few seconds as I started thinking about putting my skis on to head over and check on him. Luckily a father and son duo stopped and I could see he gave them the thumbs up. He slowly stirred and walked over to us. That was his day on snow done.
Cathe had made the most progress compared to the others and if Ismael wasn’t going to use his pass anymore, I asked if she could take it to do a lap with me. He happily obliged and we headed over to the lift. As we were just 20 feet away, the liftee signaled to say it was closed for the day. Nooooooo!! So close. We grabbed our things and loaded up the car.
On our way down from Corralco we stopped in the Reserva Nacional de Malalcuehuello Nalcas containing a flourishing forest of Araucaria araucana trees (also called pewen, monkey-puzzle tree, pehuen or piñonero meaning Chile pine). The trees can grow up to 40 meters high with a trunk diameter of 1-1.5 meters. The distinct needles (technically modified leaves) are best described as stiff, thick, scale-like, or awl-shaped, and sharply pointed. These needles also grow along the trunk and branches, providing the context for the self explanatory nickname, monkey-puzzle tree.
After a few spikey tree hugs, we continued down the mountain road, returned the rental equipment, and headed towards home. The Airbnb came with a tinaja, hot tub, and we had planned for a post ski dip and asado. The owners asked us to share what time we were going to use it so they could get the fire warmed up (a very kind offer!). We responded to say around 9:00pm later that evening and they confirmed that the fire was blazing. With additional time to spare, we stopped at the Unimarc in Curacautín to get some groceries. More meats, avocado and bread for breakfast, and some marshmallows for hot cocoa too. After our grocery trip we all stopped for some soft serve and ate it in the parking lot.
Back at the Airbnb, we bumped into the owners in the driveway who asked how everything was. We thanked them for a beautiful stay and they replied with something along the lines of “don’t forget to see the waterfalls!” I mentioned that I had wandered that way the day before, and they asked if I had taken the trail before the bridge. I hadn’t! Apparently there was a beautiful swimming spot there. We thanked them for the advice and continued into the house.
The sun was setting by the time we unpacked the groceries at 7:15pm. Everyone quickly threw on some sneakers and we went to check on the trail. Puma, the white fluffy dog that had jumped out of the woods the day before, heard us coming and joined us on our walk. We walked for ten minutes down the main road, arrived at the bridge, then turned onto the hidden trail. It was gorgeous!! I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it!? Just two minutes doing some slight bushwhacking through the overgrowth brought us right to the base of a massive waterfall. We all stared jaws dropped at how stunning it was.
Though the water was cold, we talked about potentially coming down for a picnic and a swim before our long drive back to Talca the next day.
Back at the house, Ismael, Catha, and I changed and got ready to use the tinaja. The stars were out and so so beautiful! We had been instructed to stir the water with a big wooden spoon before entering to bring all the cold water to the surface. Even after warming up for a few hours, it was still quite chilly.
At 9:30pm Ismael hopped out to start a fire on the grill for our asado and to restock the woodstove heating the tinaja. By 10:00pm, I was hungryyyyy. I hopped out and started to add wood to Ismael’s fire at the grill. It was clear it was going to be a while before we ate.
Cathe and Mauri sat inside snacking on some asparagus, I had a few nibbles with them then at 11:30pm I opted to make some pasta. Crazy how much even some noodles and red sauce can help! My 'h-anger' was finally curbed! I brought out some pasta for Ismael and Catha who were intently monitoring the grill. Mauri and Cathe said good night and headed to bed while Ismael and Catha taught me how to play the game Piramide, guaranteed to result in some sips.
By 1:00am the meat was talking off the grill and we happily munched on malaya spritzed with lemon and salt, and some beef. I did some washing up then headed to bed shortly after.
Day 203 / September 16, 2026
The next morning we slept in until 9:00am then got to work cleaning up the Airbnb and packing the car. By 12:00pm we started the 6 hour drive back to Talca (made longer by rest stops along the way). We started the drive with a lot of energy from our big breakfast and that soon turned into a game of pillado, or tag. We tapped each other and the game moved throughout the car. While I was saying “tag you’re it!” someone said “pia” and someone else said “pío,” leading to a light hearted debate about the correct phrasing.
When everyone settled into the journey and started napping, I had a very interesting back and forth conversation with Val over WhatsApp. He had been thinking about math, more specifically what math is and why humans choose to solve it. At one point he said, “It’s all a made up world of problems and puzzles. It just so happens that those problems model so so much in the actual world.” To which I replied, “Or is it the other way around?! I always interpreted math as a means to understand the natural world in a quantitative way?” This led us to stumble on the paradox of self-reference: humans are a product of nature, yet they create mathematics to model and measure nature. That’s to say, chicken or the egg here. Are humans capable of producing new math, or are they simply stumbling across existing patterns and putting names to them? I would love to hear your thoughts here!
At 5:00pm we arrived at scenic rest stop, Saltos de Laja, a collection of waterfalls carved into basaltic rock formed by the Antuco Volcano in the Bío Bío region of Chile. We enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs under a bright blue sky. The spray from the falls hit our faces from where we were standing on the path. As we continued along, the sun arrived at the perfect position to form a rainbow. It was magical!
On the walk back, we passed by the artisanal stalls and Ismael mentioned I needed to try charqui de caballo, horse jerky. Always psyched to try something new, I happily agreed. The others all expressed their concern and mentioned they were not a fan of the texture. I took my first bite and wow was it salty! The meat also had a number of fibers that made the texture almost hairy? Although it wasn’t necessarily bad, I just know jerky can be so much better. After that we each grabbed an empanada and soft serve ice cream then hit the road.
We arrived back in Talca shortly after 9:00pm. Mauri kindly dropped off everyone at their respective homes, and I ended up at mine at 9:45pm. After catching up with Val over the phone, I went to bed.
Day 204 / September 17, 2026
Almost the big day!! I slept in until 10:00am, had a big breakfast, and headed out to Cerro Peñon for a wander at 11:00am. It was beautiful out!!
After arriving home and showering, I got ready to head over to Diego S’s parents’ house for a pre-dieciocho asado with some other climbing friends. First I ubered to Cristobal’s house where Kari and David were already there waiting. We loaded up the car, then made a quick stop at the nearby corner store to pick up some drinks. There was a fluffy lil french bulldog mutt waiting outside the store and he proceeded to follow us around and try to jump back into the car too.
We arrived at the asado along Ruta-K353 right at 3:00pm. Cristobal called to share our arrival, and a few moments later, Diego F appeared on a motorcycle to open the gate. It was quite the entrance!!
We made our way down the long private road dotted with beautiful houses and big yards. Cristobal pulled up behind some other cars where Diego S was already waiting with a chonky lab mix doggo by his side. We said our hellos then followed him to the backyard which had a big table lined with all kinds of snacks and drinks. Coni and Rodrigo were there with Nael and Flor, Seba with his son Rai, and Francisco too. We sat around the table in the sun chatting, watching as Diego S and Rodrigo took turns on the home climbing board in the yard. Meat was put on the grill, beers were passed around, it was lovely. Eventually Valeria and Rodrigo M arrived too.
At 5:00pm, after a considerable amount of snacking, Diego S handed out yellow bags to everyone. At first I was a bit confused, but then it became clear we were going to have a sack race, carrera en sacos! They decided we would have a race for the men, and follow that with a race for the women. The guys headed over to the back of the yard and Diego pointed out the course would be from the edge of the pool to a tire he placed in the grass, and back. Roughly 60ft round trip. The guys lined up, we gave them a countdown, and they were off! A few different strategies were on display: no hands, one hand, staggered hops, synchronized hops. They charged across the field in a race of very high intensity! David even fell. It was a close one, but Cristobal pulled off the narrow win followed by Francisco, and Diego S.
The women were up next. As Kari’s foot was still in recovery, it was just me, Valeria and Coni. The sisters are arguably the two strongest women in all of Talca, so I knew from the start that I had no chance. Nonetheless we lined up and got to hopping. Coni took the win with Valeria following closely behind. I trailed off somewhere in the far distance ...
We settled back into our chairs before another game was brought out, emboque. A ball was attached to a wooden handle via a string and each person had three attempts to make the connection. The Chileans nailed it?! Everyone made the connection for at least one of their three tries, and most made multiple. I absolutely failed. The group collectively coached me on the technique afterwards and I slowly started to get the rhythm.
At around 7:00pm Pachi, Pauli, and Cami arrived too! They each took a turn at emboque as well.
I headed out shortly after, around 8:30pm with Cami as we both had plans later that evening. We shared an uber and got dropped off at our respective homes. Catalina came over to my house at 9:30pm so we could get ready to go to Club Talca, the historic building just a block away, for a techno event. We sipped on some terremotos together then headed out at 11:00pm. When we arrived, the space was empty. The lack of bodies acting as acoustic dampeners meant our ears were being absolutely hammered by the loud speakers. We didn’t stay for too long, and ended up leaving at 1:30am.
Chau for now!! :)
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