friday.

so, i'm back now in santiago but wanted to share about the last couple of days.

david, a friend that we had met during our first tour, was leaving friday night so we spent the afternoon with him. we had lunch at milagro (more on that in a bit) and then went for a hike near the Quitor fortress. however, instead of paying the 2,000 pesos, we hiked up a nearby hill where we had a beautiful view of the mountains, the small green patch of san pedro and endless sky.

we sat on top of the mountain, the sun shining down and talked about all the things you never get to on a daily business. the bread of life, if you will. it was lovely.

we lingered there in the sun until the wind got too strong and then meandered back to SP. we met up again for drinks later before he left to catch his bus for Arica. we were a bit jealous.

after that, zoe, james, bimbi and i went to the restaurant Quitor for some food and supposedly dancing. the food was tasty (swordfish!) and i was basically sitting in the fire, keeping warm. zoe and james left and bimbi and i hung around in the hopes that the rumors of dancing were going to come true. people began filtering in around 10:30pm or so and finally a band came.

the "bands" of SP are composed of recorder/flute-type instruments, little string instruments that look like tiny banjos, drums, guitar and usually some sort of wind-chime. very folky.

the place finally filled up and the dancing began. our friend Oscar, who had been our guide for both the flamencos and valle de la luna joined us and we hung out, dancing and talking and drinking wine until it closed around 2.

then we went to the illegal party. in SP, they had problems many years ago and have since become hard-core about the no-party law. people aren't permitted to sell alcohol after 1pm, and there are no clubs or anything remotely close. the kids have parties in the desert, and buy alcohol from houses on the outskirts of town where you approach quietly and knock on the window. the curtain parts, you whisper what you want, hand over the money, and receive your sins through the window without ever seeing who lives there. sneaky. i loved it.

the party was just down the street from the restaurant, but as the police passed by SLOWLY we ended up walking a few extra blocks until they turned the corner. then everyone rushed into the backyard of someone's house, where there was a fire and music. the police must know what occurs but are just too tired of breaking up the parties. also, i suppose as long as things are contained, people can't make too much harm...

anyway. fun night, gorgeous stars - i was able to pick out all the constellations from the night before and felt proud...