31 July 2010

Hola!

Saturday in Copiapo this week was relatively simple and really enjoyable for being simple. Not that being busy or having a packed agenda is bad, but today it was nice to just potter about without any need to be anywhere or do anything in particular.

Last night involved a long walk around the local area of town after dinner. I'm feeling a bit nervous about the day of skiing next weekend and am now going to get some last minute exercise into my legs to strengthen them a little for the skiing. I know it is futile and that I should've been doing it for weeks, but I hope that some is better than none! The walk was good, something I did a lot of when I first arrived, but has been dropped off through the last month or so as it's got really cold at night.

Every time I go, I see new things that I wonder about how I've missed them previously. Most recently I've discovered two different lots of tennis courts and I'm now wondering whether I included my tennis racket in my gear being sent over. I have a suspicion that I left it in storage, which is a bit of a bummer. Assuming I can find anyone who is interested in playing, I'll have to buy one here. Tennis is (I think) something of a secondary sport in the country, following well behind football, but still quite popular, such that when a recent Davis Cup tie featured Chile, it was played live on one of the TV channels here.

Another very happy discovery was a Mexican restaurant, which I'll look forward to trying some time. I can't recall how much I've banged on about the relative lack of variety in restaurants around town. Perhaps a reasonable amount of that is my relatively limited circuit of walking around the town centre, but following the many Chileno take-aways and small restaurants, the next most common cuisine appears to be Chinese. I'd recently confessed my surprise at how few Chinese (let alone other Asian) restaurants there appeared to be - there were 3 that I was aware of - but I've subsequently had about another 5 pointed out to me. Apart from the one Japanese sushi place, other "international" type restaurants are in short supply. The advertising board of the Mexican restaurant seems to promote the different types of Mexican drinks, but hopefully they'll have something a bit different.

So, after a late-night long walk, I've had a long sleep-in, pottered around the flat, gone to the shops 3 times (leaving the flat with the intention of collecting my dry cleaning, but coming home with other foodstuffs and NOT the dry cleaning).

Having finished random nothingness, I guess it is time to fire up the bike and take it for my first decent spin. I decide to head southwest out of town on the Panamericana, mostly because it has a very long uphill run and I'm interested to see how the bike performs. Very pleasing to report it goes VERY well, with the exhaust note being extremely satisfying as I open up the throttle to pass some slower cars and trucks going up the hill. This is good!

Over the crest of the hill, the next choice is where to go next. There aren't too many choices for a nice blast south of Copiapo that are less than a few hundred kilometres in length and I'm not kitted out for that today. Apart from turning around and going back the same way, the only real option is to cut across to Tierra Amarilla past the Candelaria mine. There is another choice further south that cuts across to Nantoco, but it's a bit longer and I'm hoping to fit in a siesta before heading out tonight, so the Candelaria route it is. The road runs right along the edge of the mining operations, and in one place between the pit and tailings dam and given the day is so clear, I hope for a better opportunity to see what it is like. Diligent readers will remember that when we visited the mine, the whole place was clouded in dust!

The road is dirt, but very well maintained, and just the sort of road the KTM is designed to tackle. I'm having a ball zooming up and down the road, still excited by listening to the roar and crackle from the exhaust, when I come up against road maintenance. Bummer. A long length of road being graded and watered means that zooming is not really and option, aside from the fact of the road being slippery, I'd get the bike covered in flicked-up mud, and that isn't really an option for a ride on Day 2 of ownership. I'll be keeping it pristine for another week or two!

Once past the area being graded, I ride past Candelaria and cannot see any dust whatsoever. Possibly it is Saturday afternoon and the pit isn't operating? I can see that there are a very large number of trucks parked up in the distance, which seems surprising, but perhaps that is how things go here? The opportunity to see much more is unfortunately ruined by the very large windrow/berm along the edge of the road, complete with very large signs advising passers-by NOT to be climbing on it. I try standing up on the pegs to see if I can get a slightly better view, but alas, it isn't to be. From then on, it's all downhill into Tierra Amarilla.

As I trundle through town, it seems that they don't get too many KTM's rumbling through here, as the majority of people walking on the road stop to stare it it once they hear it coming. I'm not sure whether to feel like a minor celebrity, or whether they're just thinking "Wanker!" (in Spanish of course, which I think is "Pajero" - I've seen one of those Mitsubishi 4WD wagons here today and it was called a "Galloper"!).

Back at my apartment's parking bay, I finally remember to take a few photo's, this time without the panniers, then I'm off for a siesta before heading out tonight to a magic show by the "Magic Twins".

The show is being held at the casino and I'm seated in the C-section. I arrive to find that it is maybe 30m from the stage, but on the aisle down the middle, so the view of the stage isn't too bad (binoculars not necessary!). Despite being in very rapid Spanish, I find it very easy to follow the gist of what is going on with the audience banter, right up to the point where I was asked by one of the lads to confirm whether it is a real knife or not. "Si!" is the required response so I give it, and yes, it looks and feels very much like a real knife.

The show was very well done and a lot of fun for all involved via lots of audience participation. Despite it being over in just over an hour, it's been very enjoyable and I'm glad to have made the effort to come along.

Another lap around the streets when I get home, and it's off to bed in readiness for tomorrow.

A