Week 8
- May 4
- 9 min read
Day 57 / April 23, 2026
This week started out SO strong as I finally got my RUT card! YAY!!! The Rol Único Tributario, or RUT is a national identification number used for almost everything in Chile. You need it to open bank accounts, purchase Wifi, pay utilities, sign contracts etc.
After collecting my card at the Civil Registry, I headed straight to Entel to purchase Wifi for home. Within 10 minutes I had selected a plan, filled out the necessary forms, and scheduled the installment for later in the afternoon!
At the lab, I sent Eiber photos of his cultures from the day before, worked on my paper for a bit, then met Aparna and Shrabana for a coffee. We talked about all things family, Chile, music, and more! Then honed in on work-specific considerations. We are planning on attending the 2026 Chilean Microbiology Congress (SOMICH) in La Serena in November. This means we need to submit an abstract for any proposals we wish to present by August. Now, I officially have a deadline to work with!
Just as we were wrapping up, I received a call from Entel that they were ready to install. I rushed home and met Mario who did the install. He is from outside Talca and drives an hour each way everyday to get to work. He told me a bit about his carabinero brother (police officer) and his doctor sister while the modem started up. Shortly after, it was all set and ready to go. I headed back to school to collect my things while catching up on the phone with Val then made my way to the climbing gym.
I did one of my workouts as prescribed by Coach Nick, then met Elias and Cristobal for post climbing beers and to watch various YouTube climbing videos including Jorge Díaz-Rullo Calvo climb Cafe Colombia in Margalef, Spain. Damn! What a route! Camila arrived home shortly after with a selection of Volka chocolates she received from a client. They were so yummy!
Day 58 / April 24, 2026
Friday in the lab I worked with Nicolas to plan for the following week. We will be testing the antagonistic activity of our 40 ambient bacteria against 12 bacteria stocked at the University for teaching. With replicates for each run, Nicolas has estimated that we will use over 600 plates across 3 months that we plan to run this experiment. Safe to say, a lot of careful planning and organization will be needed to ensure smooth, timely data collection.
After lab I had a lovely long phone call with Harshini… she is running an Ultramarathon on May 9th, everyone wish her luck!!!
With another climbing weekend on the docket, I did a jog to the Mall Plaza Maule to buy a tarp to protect my rope, two slings, and a camping stove. I dropped the goods at home then headed to Jumbo for food. As I am still getting used to carrying lots of groceries by hand, the 1 km walk home was slowwww but nothing was dropped!
I meal prepped some chicken fajitas, fruit salad, and guacamole for the weekend, packed my bags and crashed into bed.
Day 59 / April 25, 2026
At 8:30am I hopped in an Uber to meet Elias and Cristobal to drive to Valley of Condors. We stopped for a quick breakfast churrasco then hit the road. It was foggy! And cold! Still cloudy 30 minutes into the drive I was increasingly skeptical that conditions were going to improve.
Fortunately, I was wrong and the sun poked through as we passed through Vilches. We spent the journey listening to some reggae songs (Ready, Aim, Fire by Pablo Moses on repeat) while Elias practiced his english. Both Elias and Cristobal loved the phrase “twist my arm” and it was used throughout the weekend.
We arrived in the Valley just around 11:30am and the rest of the crew was sat around Paulina’s trailer enjoying a camp-style breakfast brunch for the birthday girl Pachi! The boys headed off to work on their projects in the Huasamacos cave and I joined the girls and Pichelemu surfer, Checho, for some dabbling in the Grand Pared area.
It was an awesome day with beautiful weather, great company, and perfect rock! I repeated the routes I had previously done with Val (Don Toco, Enchapa la Pachala, and El Suizo) though this time on lead which was great practice. I still need to work out the kinks, e.g. placing the rope through the carabiners the right way, planning sequences in advance etc. but poco a poco! Little by little!
As the sun was setting we returned to the camp zone. Paulina and Tío Ramón (real name Matias) started a campfire. Everyone gradually made their way over sharing food, drinks, and stories from the day. Pachi whipped up some fresh churassco dough and handed out warm sandwiches with guacamole made by Camila. The stars were on bright display!! Linda, a slender golden pup belonging to one of the climbers cozied up next to the fire too. At around 10:00pm people started to head back to their tents. At 11:30 I did the same and went to my sleeping bag in the tent I was sharing with the two Camila’s.
Day 60 / April 26, 2026
It was COLD! My toes were not getting warm at all and the face opening of my sleeping bag felt like it was a gaping hole letting more cold air in. I am still very much a camping newb so I am hoping my systems will be a bit more dialed for future excursions. After getting up for the bathroom at 1:00am, I was able to eventually nod off and slept until the sun was up at 8:00am or so. I left the camp for an early morning wander down by the river where there was ice on the rocks! The temps had dipped to 30℉ and it showed.
As I returned to the campsite at 9:00ish I could see some other folks stirring and getting breakfast started. At the same time a Huaso passed through on horseback with his two dogs steering a herd of cows. An incredible sight!
Cristobal and Elias enjoyed some scrambled eggs with leek while I hoovered down two fajitas. After a quick game with the frisbee, we got dressed and packed our bags for the day.
Our first stop was La Cocina Norte. Here I tried Mano Morena and Porotos con Mote. A bit of confusion on direction contributed to some slight delay while on the wall. Just another reminder I should be spending more time planning my moves in advance.
I received a message from Val on InReach that two people ran sub 2 hours at the London Marathon?!?! Incredible!! As I was writing back two condors swooped down…they were so close! They circled for a few minutes as we packed up our stuff and headed to Huasamacos.
The approach is slightly more treacherous with rocky footing and steep drop offs but wow is it worth the journey. The cave is a huuuuuge 45° overhung and it sits lower in the valley with a stunning waterfall backdrop. There were only five people in the cave when we arrived and at most ten people throughout the day making it feel like quite the remote spot. It was awesome to watch Diego, Coti, Elias, and Cristobal work on their respective projects.
New faces too! Fabian, an 18 year old from Puerto Montt had travelled 10 hours on bus to Talca then somehow made his way to the valley for the weekend. He was very friendly and so so psyched!
At one point Coti came over and asked if I wanted to try anything. She then pointed me towards a climb at the end of the cave and said I should pull on for fun. This 7c+/8a Creative Anarchy was something I had no business approaching but I figured hey why not and gave it a go. Wow. Truly a humbling experience. I could not even pull on with the initial hand holds being so far apart and already so crimpy. Cristobal heaved me up past the first bolt and I tried from there along a really nice crack. Although there were so many great spots to hold, I was very nervous about committing to clipping and running out the rope already so close to the ground. Although the overhung cave makes the climbing especially safe with falls straight down, the bolts closest to the ground are still a bit concerning at least for me. After several takes I had managed to wiggle my way up to the 4th bolt and was ready to call it a day.
The others gave another go on their projects and at this point Pachi, Camila, Camila and some others made their way down to the cave. We were chatting and laughing and snacking and sipping on mate until the sun started to set. We made the rocky journey back to the cars and started en route to Talca. Fabian, Elias, Cristobal and I loaded gear into Cristobal’s van. Cristobal drove solo up to the main road maneuvering over the unpaved sections with ease. At the top, the rest of us piled in and reflected on the day chatting about routes, then pets and home life.
We enjoyed a quick beer stop at Elias and Camila’s house (N/A for Fabi) then Cristobal dropped Fabi at the bus station and me at home. Valley weekend are tough to beat!
Day 61 / April 27, 2026
Today Carlos Vasquez, a PhD candidate in Dr. Luis Morales lab at U Autónoma defended his doctoral thesis: “Effects of Methyl Jasmonate on Fruit Quality, Bioactive Compounds, and Antiplatelet Activity of Blueberries Subjected to Water Deficit // Efectos del Metil Jasmonato Sobre la Calidad Del Fruto, Compuestos Bioactivos y Actividad Antiplaquetaria de Arándanos Sometidos a Déficit Hídrico”. My lab team attended the presentation and especially enjoyed the reception afterwards.
I spent the afternoon working with Nicolas to prepare plates and media for the week, completed my homework, then went to the climbing gym.
Day 62 / April 28, 2026
MINA GRADUATED TODAY!!! Four long years including two amazing co-ops, DZ leadership experience, Ski Team, welcoming Jula, and lots of hard work along the way. Just as Mina has lived and learned from her time at Northeastern, I just know the school has changed for the better as well. It goes without saying I am a very proud sister every day, but I am especially proud of her today! <3
Class with Dr. Charles focused on translation this week, the crucial step in the central dogma whereby RNA transcribed from DNA, is then translated into proteins. Everyone in the class received a worksheet describing the respective codons of each amino acid which Dr. Charles likened to the Rosetta stone.
After class I went to the lab and inoculated 28 plates with 7 different bacterial strains then performed Antibiotic disc tests using the G-2, G-11, G+2, and G+15 discs from HiMedia.
I did a quick session at the climbing gym then made some salmon bowls.
Day 63 / April 29, 2026
I had my weekly check-in call with Coach Nick. I confirmed the workouts I completed and chatted to him a bit more about what objectives I should be setting for outdoor projects. Accountability and impartial guidance have been a refreshing change, I am feeling stronger each day and hoping to see that reflected in my climbing!
I printed flyers to advertise a line dancing event next week May 5th then proceeded to post them around campus.
Then of course I had to get to work in the lab measuring the halos of inhibition from the plates inoculated the day prior. In the afternoon we received a new Ultrasonic Cell Crusher Noise Isolating Machine from Biobase which should improve the sonication process for EPS samples! Very exciting!
It was then time for my 5:00-6:30pm lab practical class. We completed a worksheet on cell translation and drew a diagram to represent the loss of dystrophin from faulty translation processes in DMD.
As I returned to the lab to collect my things, I saw Eiber was still very bogged down with work. I helped him wash and prepare his control group of seeds for his bean project. Selfishly, I enjoy learning whatever I can in the lab. It is clear that this experiment is going to be a process indeed.
I arrived home just after 7:00pm and was confused why the lights were off. The elevators were working fine and the hallway lights were on too. I went down to ask the front desk and was handed a HUGE stack of bills. Oh boy. My fault for thinking I had everything under control when it turns out I definitely did not. I pay rent and gastos comunes each month which I wrongly assumed covered utilities as well. Adding to the fact I have not once checked my mailbox. Nobody knows my address and therefore I wasn't expecting mail. Lots of lessons learned. I headed back up to my dark apartment and got to work figuring out how and what to pay. All is well that ends well.
Chau! Thank you for coming along! :)
Your blog is bacan! Such great pics for all to enjoy. 🙂 You are muy brave camping in 30 degree weather. At least it wasn't windy and raining. The landscapes are so wonderfully foreign to me. The sunrise, or was it sunset?, photo looked like it was from another planet. So happy to see you living in this wonderful dreamscape... if just for awhile. Your group looks so cool walking up to the rock. Looking forward to your next update. Cheers!