Boda de mi hermana Andrea

Last night my Chilean sister got married to her fiancee, and family from all over Chile came to Coyhaique, so it was a real pleasure to meet all them. Here are some pictures of the celebration.

Andrea and Misael cutting the cake

My lovely parents, Enrique and Lili, on the dance floor

The day started with the entire family visiting the grave of Rodrigo, the oldest brother, who died in a car crash two years ago. The saddest part of this whole story is that, although he never knew it, his girlfriend was pregnant with his child at the time. Now Benjamin, his son, is 2 years old, and is a beautiful reminder of the presence of Rodrigo in their lives. His son looks just like Rodrigo, and lives with his mom in Chiloe.

The grave of Rodrigo, my Chilean brother that I never knew.

Rodrigo's son, Benja, with his mom Venesa

Benjamin with his grandpa, my Chilean dad, who he calls "Tata" which is the Mapuche word for grandfather

These are some assorted photos from the last few weeks, which have been sunny and beautiful, with a few days of snow and rain.

A snowy Cerro Macai, or as I like to call it, Ancient Majestic, towering above my school.

A more detailed pic of the snowy Macai

Although Chile is a "developed" country (what ever that is supposed to mean) there is a ton of trash everywhere. Definitly one of my least favorite things. Almost every scrap of earth is covered with cigerette butts, bags, bottles, etc

This is what almost every scrap of land looks like in Coyhaique, very sad. It depresses me everyday that people can live in such a beautiful place and just trash it.

Another view of the trash of Chile, I get to walk past this everyday on my way to school, what a pleasure.

Campamentos , the equivalent of the projects, which I pass everyday on my way to school.

Macai- The Ancient Majestic

The other day, I decided to go for a walk and see if I could take some pictures from La Piedra el Indio, a beautiful rock outcropping that I can see from my window, that towers 100 or so feet above the Rio Simpson. This little walk reminded me of how nice it is to just amble, to walk around with out a direction or purpose, just soaking up the surroundings.

When I arrived it was cloudy and grey, but after a few minutes sitting on top of the rock platform the sun burst through the clouds iluminating the beauty of the place. I had an amazing view of the Cerro Macai, which I have nicknamed the Ancient Majestic, and the Rio Simpson, which as of now doesn't have a nick name. It was a beautifully stagnent moment, I stopped and breathed, had a quick meditation session, and all of the sudden I could see the world much more clearly. I could hear the birds in the woods that surrounded me, the river murming and gurgling below, I could smell the snow on the wind, I could feel the energy of this amazing, and powerful place on the globe. For the first time the thought crossed my brain: I am Patagonian.

The first picture I snapped of Macai, the red circle is my house, which has a very ideal position in the world

A panoramic shot of Macai, I wish it had more detail on this page, but there is a limit to the resolution. The original shot is really quite breathtaking.

Walking down to the Piedra de Indio, it is a sharp knife of a rock that juts above the river, and is rumored to be the most popular place for suicide in Coyhaique.
The view of the Rio Simpson and the Piedra del Indio from my window. There are worse views in life.
This is a picture I took from the back of my classroom of the ancient magestic after a brief, but intense snow storm. Global warming has screwed things up down here, it has snowed more recently (spring) than it did all winter.