Post # 6: a world of sport

Sports are very important for life in general. First, when you practice a sport you keep your mind focus on something and you get "disconected" from the common life, forget at least for a moment of your troubles and worries. In my case, I go two days a week to the swiming pool, and practice for about one hour. The benefits you get from it, are too manies, for the social and invidual development.
I think sports are a very good way to keep people away from drugs and alcohol. And also reflects that a nation with many people making sports, is a nation healthy and worried about their future and quality of life.
To encourage others to do sports, I'd tell them that it doesn't exist a better way of feeling comfortable with ourselfs, that making something for your body and your health. There's so many sports to do, and everyday there are more chances to practice them. So if you don’t do a sport, is just a cheap excuse.
About “rodeo a la chilena” I think is not an sport. Yes, is popular, but it can't be called an sport. I have seen in many rodeos in the Central Region of Chile, that the "cowboys" which practice this "popular game", drink alcohol before going on "stage", and what can we say about the damage that cows suffer when they get hited by horses. Fanatics of this "popular game" says that there is no damage caused to the animals, but the truth is other: they end up with fractures and internal bleeding that can send them to death. If people whant to practice "rodeo", they are probably on their “right”, but it should be modified for protect animals involved on this practice.
Anyway, just keep your body moving and in permanent activity, is the better way to avoid obesity and especially to avoid cardiac problems.

Post # 5: WHAT TO DO & WHERE TO GO IN STGO

When you visit Santiago, there are not so many places to go. But there's a few, that you should visit.

Metropolitan Park is one of them, from the top of the San Cristobal hill, you can see (on days without too much polution) almost the whole city, especially the Andes mountain, and is a beautifull landscape. After rainy days, is ideal for see the city and take pictures. Also, the "civic centre" of Santiago, is mainly located on house of "La Moneda". The "Constitution square" is there, and has been historically, the place where presidents gives their speeches to the people, and also where the government receives the foreigns politicians and presidents from the rest of the world. House of "La Moneda" himself represents also the history of the coutry, especially because is the symbol of democracy that was loosed on September 1973, and recovered on 1990. If you want to have some distraction, you can go to take a beer to "Bellavista", because is a lively place, especially in the night. But anyway, if you can't go there in the night, the day is good too. You can eat "completo", something like a Hot-dog, but with more ingredients than just mustard and the sausage.

If you go to Santiago on winter, and yo like winter sports, you can go to "Farellones" or "El Colorado", both are sky centres. To go there, you can take the undergound until "Escuela Militar" station, and then walk like 10 minutes to Omnium, where are a lot of buses going up to the sky centres. If you want to stay more than just the day, you can stay up there, on hotels. They are not very cheap (for Chilean people), but if you are a tourist, I'm sure you'll have enough money to pay.

Finally, if you like Chilean wine, I recommend you to do the "Wine's route", which is a very good way to know something more about the differents types of wines, and the production of this tipical chilean drink. You can select differents routes, and it depends from the location: Colchagua, Maule, Curicó, Maipo Alto. It cost like 150 dollars per person, but includes lunch and a many drinks. As my last recomendation, if you don't like Santiago, I invite you to go to the South, I'm sure you'll find there something that other places doesn't have: peace, fresh aire, green landscapes and good food.

Enjoy your stay in Chile!

Post # 3: Transantiago, before and after

In my opinion, transantiago is better than the pre-transantiago system
because there's more order between lines and routes, and the system is trying to
make a "culture" about public transport. No matter if still doesn't work very well, I think it's normal because we are
on the phase of improving it, and in a few years we will see results. I was reading the other day, that many many decades ago
when the city of London made work the underground system, at the beginning people had to wait long hours to catch the train.
There were complainings and riot, but If you go to London today, you will see that they have a "perfect" public transport working.
It takes years maybe, but it's part of the progress.
Comparing with the "old" system, this one is better, but is not good enough yet.
I think that I'd make pressure (from the Government) to force operators to put more busses on the streets.
Because the main problem of transantiago is that there's not enough busses making the routs, so people have to wait to much.
And the main consecuense of this, is that people prefers underground, and this one is always in "rush".

Places I'd like to ...Bali

There’s a lot of places in the world that I would like to go, but I think the one that it really interest me, it’s Bali. Why? because I think is one of the most exotic cultures in the world. It's and Island far away from here, in the middle of the Ocean near to Asia, so the noise of civilization doesn't get there. About the island, I know that belongs to Indonesia, and they call it "The Island of Gods" because it's specially beautiful. I'd go there, just to rest a lot, and spend time in the beach. If is possible, I'd stay in Bali 6 months, to get my "Inner self" better, to "find the way" something like an Spiritual travel. There, you don't have too much to worry about, so everything would be peacefully and relaxing. Food, landscapes and people I've read that they are just fantastic. They have a lot of rice camps, and it's the main dish, so they make rice boiled, fried, etc. Also Bali is very cheap, so you can stay a lot of time there, without paying too much for food and hostels. Of course the plane ticket it’s a little bit expensive, but I think that will not be an impediment to get to Bali.