International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Chile!

[Eleeski]

Ok, it's spring in Chile right now so maybe not a timely snow ski report. But the Senior World Championships are in Chile this year (actually, Miranda's in San Bernadino, just south of Santiago). I might have some time between rides so I'll try to recon the snow ski hills if I can. Wineries for sure.

Off to Chile!

It gets international right away. Tijuana Mexico is practically a suburb of San Diego. Flights to Chile from TJ are about half from San Diego and don't require a drive to LAX. There's a nice tunnel across the border straight to the Tijuana airport. Actually, carrying some heavy bags that don't roll that well makes it a pretty long tunnel (the USA side check in wasn't up yet). The airport is pretty new so the multitude of shops were all under construction. Except the wine tasting shop! Baja has some decent reds.

This is all happening at 1 on Saturday. Friday we went to the lake for a last set. Long drive (should have flown, the weather was better than forecast) so we are tired from so much seat time in the car. Hmmm, 1 on Saturday is not right after noon to the airlines. Airlines use a 24 hour clock. So 1 is just after midnight Friday. Short leg to a connection in Mexico city means there is no real sleeping.

Arrived in Chile on time (Aeromexico/American was good) at night. I think that if you drilled straight down from the USA you'd hit Chile. Long flight to the other side of the world. Staying at the airport tonight - updates on Santiago and the site tomorrow.

Eric

 

[coskigirl]

Looking forward to your reports from my beloved Chile!

 

[Eleeski]

Airport Hilton = 10 hours sleep! It's been years since I slept 10 hours. Might be worth not sleeping on the plane and the airport hotel tab to get that kind of sleep. Didn't Michael Jackson die seeking sleep? Missed the morning bus to the rental car. OK.

At least we rented from Santiago Chile not Santiago some other country. IMy friend and crew did get a car. Ski bags in lines are pretty obvious.

Americans are pussys. Foreign rental cars have manual transmissions. Sweet! I do need to remember to push in the clutch before turning the key.

Last trip, my wife's phone GPS was under Satan's control. We used paper maps. She got a new phone for this trip and the GPS lady guided us perfectly to the site and our hotel. Nice but no good stories.

Lunch was interesting. Roadside cafe which was pretty busy so we felt safe. Drank the diet coke out of the can - not that safe. I think they speak a different language than US Spanish. Our order was good and correct when we looked at the menu but not what we talked about. They were very concerned when the credit card machine went down until we opened up our wallet to show the Chilean money. They understand when it matters.

Checked in to our funky hotel in Pirque. Really busy for such an out of the way spot. The German waterskier Hans talked to me. How's his English so good? Oh, he lives in South Carolina. My Spanish sucked but my wife got us checked in.

Too many people in the pool so we went for a drive. Head east to the snow ski resorts. Satan is still messing with the phone. It's not 9 miles or kilometres to the ski resort. Beautiful drive though. Lots of snow left but not enough to ski on. We turned around to get dinner before making it to Lagunillas. My Epic pass didn't work there anyway.

Latish dinner at a local authentic Chilean restaurant. The wild farm raised boar was great. Good local wines. Nice dark beer brewed onsite.

Pisco is the find of the trip! Brandy but better.

Practice tomorrow.

Eric

 

[dbostedo]

the Senior World Championships

Waterskiing?

 

[Eleeski]

C

That's all that's left of my brilliant post. I'm not sure exactly how I deleted it. This tablet is a pain. I'll try to recreate it and add some pictures on the laptop.

Practice at Miranda's went great.

@dbostedo Yes, waterskiing.

Eric

 

[Eleeski]

More excuses. Internet/computer problems plus a cold. I'll keep trying.

Team USA assembling for the opening ceremony.



Eric

 

[Eleeski]

Chile is an interesting place. Weird that the prompt on the smart keyboard to "Chile is" was "not a third world country". A little sensitive? But really it's not third world. The hotel has a fancy instantaneous hot water heater. But the water pressure sometimes (often) isn't enough to turn it on. Maybe it's just the small community water system but it happens to the fancy Santiago hotels also.

Everyone we meet is wonderfully friendly but there's high fences and razor wire around the houses. There is real poverty hidden in the shanty shacks and the protests (not Pirque fortunately). Society is quite stratified.

Feral dogs everywhere but vets and pet suppliers are common in the area. The amable grande negro perro watchdog is obviously loved and well cared for (he could use a bath) but wanders off leash. Different pet managements.

Doors that are beautiful but not square. Loud single pane sliders. Not enough plugs. Not enough towel hangars. No self space. No closet. Crappy Wi-Fi. Easy fixes with some forethought.

The water hasn't made anyone sick- the bottled water is fine.

Roads and drivers are recognizable but a bit scary. GPS works but has a terrible accent. Manual transmissions on everything (fantastic!). Tiny roads, cars and parking spaces.

All of this exists in the USA. But it's so visible here. Definitely not third world but not what we are used to.

While railing against injustices, darn WADA. No Sudafed which would end this cold.

Eric

 

[Eleeski]

OK, Chile is a third world country. Darn shower was cold before bed! Grrr and brrr.

And why is someone running a chainsaw at 11 at night?

On the other hand, I'm not sure that there's as many wonderful restaurants anywhere else. Great (safe) food and wine at every place we've been.

Rant over, it's just the cold talking. I did get some sleep. Chile is great - it just needs a little help.

Eric

 

[Eleeski]

Made the finals! I've been skiing pretty well in training and was thinking that working on a watered down run wasn't the best plan. This darn cold changed that. I was able to zombie my way through the easy run. Spent the time between passes coughing and panting. The driver gave me a nice long set down (worried that the old guy might die on him?). Rocked the toe pass back home. I was a little worried that I'd watered things down too much but almost everyone else did also.

Except Mike Morgan who really put on a phenomenal performance. Which mattered because he was on the team and the first round score is the score for the team scoring.

Skiers from the USA tricked really well. Jimmy Siemers had the top score of anyone (I think - I didn't see the final scores). It was cool to have him there in the younger division. Gives real credibility to a world championships to have the best skiers there.

On a similar thought, jumping today might be interesting with Scott Ellis. I overheard him talking about the challenges of the senior speeds and ramp height. It's not easy even for the stars.

The Mirandas, the officials and all of Chile are making this a great tournament.

Eric

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Pics?

 

[Eleeski]

I'm having computer, internet and sinus issues. Treating the cold with alcohol (WADA acceptable) and it's getting better.

So I can try some pics now.

The road to La Parva
View attachment 59488

View from the road while stopped for construction (Santiago obscured by smog)

 

[Eleeski]

OK, the road to La Parva

 

[Eleeski]

The proper way to negotiate the road.

 

[Eleeski]

 

[Eleeski]

Nekkid mountain.

 

[Eleeski]

Our new place?

 

[Eleeski]

View from the only trees around - in the only café around!

 

[coskigirl]

And why is someone running a chainsaw at 11 at night?

That's like our 8 at night here. It's not uncommon to have dinner at 10pm. Los Chilenos are night owls. The two times I've been back as an adult I tried desperately to keep my body on mountain time because it helped me deal with their normal hours.

 

[Eleeski]

I ski tomorrow. Stopped by the site to check things out. Bumped into Raoul from Chile who I met in Italy at my first Senior Worlds. Cool to see old friends but I should have come earlier to visit.

Watched some quality slalom skiing. I want to get back into slalom!

I'm getting over the cold but still needed treatment. I've hit lots of the wineries so I felt like I should mix it up and tour a Chilean brewery. So it's off to Szot.

Szot is a beautiful garden spot and a converted hacienda. We had a nice pizza and a spectacular flight of beers. From amber to California style. My IPA connoisseur friend would love the hazy IPA. The Brandywine was nice. My favorite was the stout. It's rare to get a varied flight and like them all but Szot did it! Hopefully they will export.

Dinner concluded the beer tasting with another local stout, Mestra from Santiago. Nice dark beer but not as good as the Szot. Since I'm being beer snob, the dark beer brewed onsite at the La Vaquita Echa restaurant was quite nice.

Staying off the beaten path in Pirque was really nice. We got to enjoy a different part of Chile and improve our Spanish.

Focus on the skiing tomorrow.

Eric

 

[Eleeski]

Worst morning ever! Competition is fun - when you are good enough to play the game. A zero score is not fun or competitive. I don't mind losing a good game but competing for the lowest score is not fun.

That opening trick has been solid. Sigh. I did need my best run but the title was within the points in my practice run. OK, Mike as top seed could see that his closest challengers hadn't had great runs so he went intelligent and scored a winning run. Congratulations to Mike.

At least I didn't get hurt. Wait, my pride, self confidence and general outlook are devastated...

Hopefully I can try again in a couple years.

Eric