Go Take a Hike...

What do you do when you don't want to make lesson plans and have been in a city of 6 million inhabitants for over 7 days?
Go take a hike.
Exactly, that's what I did by taking off to the Andes. I decided to explore Cajón del Maipo.
This morning after leaving Marie Jose at her bank, I boarded the Metro and then switched to a collectivo, and finally got dropped off in San Gabriel, where I thought I'd be able to simply walk up a mountain, or find a path. A collectivo is like a taxi, but they have pre-determined routes and cost much less. My ~30 minute ride was about $5. After 30 minutes or so of walking up a dusty dirt road with huge trucks passing me, I decided to turn around and walk down towards Santiago until I found a picnic area to enjoy the day and the rushing river. On the way up I saw a bunch of places, but I guess I forgot I was in a car with a driver going faster than he should, so there I was with no real plan, walking down the road.
But I didn't really care, it was quiet, the flowers smelled sweet, the river was on my right, and the air was clear, free of smog. What more could I want? Maybe a travel companion? Or an idea of where I was or how to find a trail head? Probably, but I was content. I only had one time where I felt my heart race when a large dog jumped at me(luckily there was a fence to protect me) at the same time a double bedded truck zoomed past me about 2 feet away. But after about 20 km, and a little over three hours I was ready to sit down, eat my ham and cheese sandwich, with avocado and peach that I packed in the morning. When I finally found a place to picnic in San Alfonso, I was in heaven. I enjoyed my sandwich and proceeded to take a nap for a little over an hour near the river.

I think I'll try to go back and do the hike the park offers. It looks like a nice hike and there is a cool looking waterfall to find on the other side of the river. By the time I got there, my feet were not ready to pedal me uphill.
All in all, it wasn't what I expected, but it was nice. It was peaceful, especially once I found the relaxing park. Next time I'll either buy and bring a book with hiking routes, or try to coax someone with a car to bring me to the sights. There is a glacier and thermal springs in that area.


Another view from the afternoon hike.

On Sunday I took a walk around the city, and decided to take a picture of my school. So if you were wondering what my school looks like, here is it.