a very deceptive mountain and Presidente Piñera

It´s election day, which means nothing is open. Here in Chile if you sign up to vote but do not go they will charge a HUGE fine, so it is a great idea to make voting on a Sunday.

Michelle and I decided to hike the mountain you can see from her backyard. From there it looks large, but definitely manageable. As we walked out of the house her dad gave us walking sticks (ski poles) which we thought were unnecessary. Boy, we were wrong.

After about 15 minutes I was already pretty winded. Considering the heat difference from home and my lack of physical activity I was OK with it. But the farther we went the steeper it got. The mountain was covered in yellow grass which made it look rather flat. My feet knew differently and the poles were used pretty soon into the hike. Once we reached a flat portion there were half a dozen horses just grazing at an overlook of the city. Absolutely gorgeous.

Another water bottle later and lots of rests under tiny brush trees we made it - almost to the top. At that point I was so hot and slipping that I let Michelle go ahead, but after a short lunch break she also decided it was not worth it. The view we got was still unbelievable - we could see her school fields, her neighborhood, and part of the city. It´s understandable how fog gets caught as these mountains surrounding the city are gigantic. The Andes makes the Rockies look miniscule.

When we got back (very dirty, I might add) we started watching the elections. Most of Michelle´s friends were rather conservative, voting for Piñera, but the other candidate, Freí, represented the socialist party that reigned for the past 20 years. It was awesome watching them count the votes up, every area with a tiny margin difference. Piñera pulled it out. Freí made an interesting speech about the beauty of democracy and the flourishing economy in Chile. After he resigned his candidacy, he drove to Piñera´s camp and joined him for a personal handshake, photos, and a speech. I could tell by the Benjamin´s faces that the entire election, and switch to a conservative president, was a big deal. Chile has a lot of great things going for them and hopefully this business and outward-minded president continues to encourage that.