Good term in Termas

So I ended up going to Chillan. I figured when you have a ride in a car with someone who had been there before, it's too good to pass up. Last Wednesday we woke and packed 1 Spaniard, 2 German girls, and myself into that little VW with snowboards, skis, and all the fixens...needless to say, it was a bit ridiculous.

After stopping at an Ethnic restaurant, Applebees for some much need Fajitas we headed for the Alameda Market in search of ridiculously cheap beanies and all the colors of the rainbow and more. So after weaving our way through the crowed market streets and in and out of shops, we found the holy grail. Beanies by the dozen for cheaper than I want to tell you....it was some kind of toboggan heaven~

Now, we could finally head south into the night. After to many 4 dollar toll roads we arrived in Chillan and started the ongoing, never ending search for the famous Empanada. With no luck we settled for the Chilean burger...none the less, it was satisfying. Our last 80k leg of the drive was in front of us and left us arriving around 2am. We parted ways with the Germans and Gabriel and my self proceeded to open doors in a hostel trying to find an open room....Well that didn't work so well. We ended up walking in on people...whoops. So, we headed to plan B, which turned out to be the best thing we could have done. This huge hostel in the woods was basically ours...emptyness.

We stayed here for 6 nights and got laundry for free, internet, a few dinners, Empanada delivery, bikes to use, and some real estate info for my Spanish friend looking to buy a casa here. Each day we woke up really late and drove up to the base this chain of volcanoes and skied for free. Clipped tickets 2 days and just rolled on the lifts with and Hola and a smile. Ate 2 for 1 in the lodge with our charming skills, and made a bunch of good friends in town. The days where also filled with a few parties, BBQs, hotsprings, empanadas, and choosing what color beanie to wear. Which when u have 16 different colors WITH you like Gabriel here....it can take a while. We are leaving today feeling like locals and I will for sure remember the first time I went to Valle de las Trancas. If FOR SURE wont be the last.

Today I am headed back to the city to satisfy a growing addiction for beanies (for friends) and head up to Farellones.
Tomorrow is registration for the Freeski World Tour stop # 1 for the 2010 season. I have a Media Pass and will be writing up a little something on the event. I look forward to a big storm that's missing us :( and shredding with my old friend Mr. Reff at La Parva~~~

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