The "Fiestas Patrias" + the Coast

It almost doesn't matter where you are in Chile, you can be sure of two things. You are never far away from mountains, usually the Andes, and you are never far away from the coast. Although I have not yet been too far into the Chilean Andes, I recently got the opportunity to visit the coast, more specifically, the house of Pablo Neruda. I was there with my class, more specifically my 

View from the house

Humanities class. We got to see the inside of the house, short doorways and staircases confirmed the authenticity that a Chilean had in fact lived inside, along with the tomb of Pablo Neruda, which is in the backyard facing the Pacific Ocean. After eating lunch on the beach, we left for another monument in the hills. I am so glad to have been able to see this part of Chile already, along with the house of Pablo Neruda.

Empanadas

Like Canada has Canada, Chile has Las Fiestas Patrias. Officially, it is a celebration of Chile's independence in 1810, on September 18. Here its called dieciocho. They warned I would eat a lot. I told them I eat a lot every single day. I had no idea what was coming. During the space of about 4 days of going to barbeques and fondas (al day all night carnivals) with family and friends I ate so many/much empanadas, anticuchos, meat, potatoes, rice, salad while trying to keep a healthy balance between politeness and death. All in all though, it was a great long weekend, and it was a great introduction to Chilean celebration.
Later Days,
Stuart