Belated Sandwhich Weekend Blog



This past Sunday, my family and I along with our host, Raul, Paolina, and Sofia, voyaged to Shangri-la, a hiking area north of Chillàn where I spent two days of the long weekend. I should start by saying that I am not a hiker, but was willing to take on the challenge. Now that I have had a few days to reflect on my adventure, I share them with you now.



We began our hike by crossing a gated area, which was a bit concerning, but I joined the stream of people squeezing past the gate posts, some with bicycles. Gratefully, we hiked on flat land for the first 20 minutes of our adventure, for which I was thankful, as it has been a minute since I have worked out. The colors of fall exploded around me. I must have been a curiosity taking pictures of random trees and bushes, but we don’t have autumns like this in Louisiana. 







As we progressed on the hiking path, Sofia and I representing the back of the back krewe, we began climbing, which was a challenge. Part of our trail must be an old lava bed, because the rocks are piled up quite high. A hiker who passed us with walking sticks flew by at 50 miles an hour and he had my prayer. I don’t quite know how one would be able to manage rock piles so quickly and carefully. There were numerous children who passed me up, reminding me why I need to workout more! It also shows how Chileans view physical exercise and nature as an integral part of life. The trail was entirely clean of rubbish, too. 





We stopped for a much-needed snack break by a refugio, a refuge, which was once used, yet is now in a state of disrepair. It is a nice spot for pictures or to sit down, as it has a wonderful view of the mountain. While we were resting, the volcano starting “breathing,” as Sofia nicely worded it, and it was an awesome sight to behold. Thankfully the hike back was shorter and easier than the trip up, at least it felt that way to me. When I finished, I felt the exercise high of a good walk. I also felt rather brave because I climbed a (small) mountain. I am also grateful to Patricio, Raul and Sofia for helping me along my journey.


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