I went back to Valle Nevado today for another day of skiing. This time, I swapped out goggles and fleece for sunglasses and sweatband. It was another blue-bird day on the mountain, but this time I knew what to expect. I also feel a little chummier with the staff. Daniel is the driver, and one other guy Reeve is also staff at La Casa Roja and goes on the ski trips. I skied with the two of them all morning, even hitting a few jumps that they were trying. There was a freestyle competition at the neighboring mountain, El Colorado, and we could watch the contestants from our mountain, but they mostly just looked like tiny moving dots. The two guys have vouchers for the staff cafeteria and invited me to eat with them, so I brought my bag lunch and hung out with them. They wanted time to digest, but I wanted to hit the slopes for as long as I could. I went off on my own, and loved it. With my music blasting and the sun shining, I couldn't help but smile, even just sitting by myself on the chairlift. One difference here in Chile: singles don't often ride together on the chairlift. I have attempted to join groups of 2 or 3, but they end up letting me sit alone and they catch the next one. Of course there are a few exceptions, which make for nice conversation and Spanish practice. Daniel found me in the afternoon and showed me an area that I hadn't hit yet that was the closest thing to powder I have found. It was a little heavy as it melted in the sun, but I still got that wonderful floating feeling as I lifted all of my weight onto my downhill ski and let the snow turn me. Mom, don't get scared, but I have been "jumping" a little bit more. What I mean is, when I go over a lip or an edge, I make an effort to get a little air. Harmless fun in my mind. But, at the very end of the day, I did something to make Rael proud.
They have one real jump set up with an enormous inflated air bag where you land. You leave your poles at the top, then take off and no matter how you land you don't get hurt. I had watched it from afar all day, and finally decided: now or never. This is a trip about pushing my limits, challenging myself, and taking advantage of every opportunity. My first time down, I just went straight forward and landed kind of on my face. Both skis came off and I slid along the big pillow until plopping off onto the snow. The next time I tried to tuck more and landed better, keeping both skis on but still kind of face-planting. Even if I wasn't attempting 360s or summersaults, I was happy to just jump. All day, I was just sooo happy. I truly am living a dream.
Tomorrow I am going to Valparaíso, a sister city to San Francisco that is famous for colorful houses perched on steep hills, nice beaches, and being home to some of Chile's famous authors and poets. I probably won't blog until Sunday or Monday when I return to Santiago, then I will be leaving again on Tuesday to go to Chillan (another mountain hopefully with more snow) until Thursday.
Besos!
One more thing: I'm adding a few photos per post, but I'm adding lot's more to Facebook. I think anyone (meaning family without accounts) can see the album by following this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051981&id=1055040014&l=168f0e72db
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