My 7 links

A slight digression from my usual posting topics as I appear to have joined the world of the bloggersphere by being tagged in this '7 links' thing that's doing the rounds.

Thanks to Rob W of the South America Blog (this is the chap who runs Woodward language school which brought me up to a passable level of Spanish, Chilenismos and all) I have to rifle through the archives of my blog for 7 posts that are the most beautiful, popular, controversial, helpful, surprisingly successful, lacking the attention they deserved and that I am most proud of.

This actually turned out to be quite a fun task, as I got to rediscover stories I'd forgotten about and I enjoyed feeling incredibly proud of my blog and realising what an interesting historical record it is for me. So without further ado, onto the 7 links.

My most beautiful post

Difficult to define a beautiful blog post. Although on the whole I am pleased with how I write, I'm not sure any of the posts are exquisitely crafted literary masterpieces. So if we take beautiful to mean photography and subject matter, it doesn't get more perfect than A sprinkle of magic - the story of Frutillar and one volcano that made a last minute appearance to give us the most phenomenal setting for a pastel coloured sunset.

My most popular post

Judging by stats alone, this award goes to The most beautiful place on earth about our visit to Bariloche in Argentina, before it got covered in ash from Volcan Puyehue. A worthy winner. That said, I never tire of this view has been hanging around at the top of my most visited list since I wrote it way back on 20th October, so I think it deserves a mention too.

My most controversial post

I don't really do controversy on this blog, but I guess that Civil unrest is the closest I've come to any kind of political statement, or for that matter, to writing anything negative about my experiences here. 

My most helpful post

My very first posts, First impressions and A day of small victories stand out for me simply because various friends I have met here have told me that they felt reassured reading about my rather wobbly experiences in Chile at the beginning. So I'm nominating these for helping people know that they weren't alone in feeling adrift in this strange new place.

A post whose success surprised me

New heroes was the first time I received feedback from Chileans about my blog, with many of them in agreement with my admiration for Michele Bachelet. This was a turning point for me, where I discovered that my blog was being read as much by my new friends here as by my old friends back home. The amount of attention my Food post got was also a genuine surprise - it seems eating is what my readers are really interested in!

A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved

Looking through my archives I found it difficult to find a post that didn't get attention, but eventually I opted for Museum of Memory and Human Rights because I don't remember getting much direct feedback on it. Maybe the subject matter was too painful for some, or maybe the history is too distant for others. Either way, I thought this post would get more of a reaction than it did.

The post that I'm most proud of

Trying not to sound too cheesy, I can honestly say that I am incredibly proud of my entire blog. I only started writing it because I fancied having a go at blogging and a couple of people had suggested it might be an interesting thing to do. But as I said at the beginning, it's turned into fascinating record of my time here; I love reading it and I hope others do too. Selecting one post, therefore, is pretty hard, but I think I'm going to plump for Immigration. Partly because it made me and a lot of other people laugh, partly because I enjoyed writing it and working on getting the humour across, and partly because I'm really proud of what I achieved that morning!

So now I have to pass on the tag to five other bloggers. So 7 links on their way to:

1. Callie Mills - Ruffle Your Feathers
2. Carolina Leseigneur - GoodCatt's Random Musings
3. Pepe's Chile Adoration Page
   
   Next was going to be fellow Chile blogger Angie Clifford with Angie's life, but she's already been tagged so instead we change topic to...
   
   
4. Ruth Lund - Cherry Coloured Twist
5. Emma Fassio - Emma Fassio Knitting

Tango

Buenos Aires. City of my dreams. You did not disappoint me.

I don't remember when it was exactly, but at some point during my childhood/adolescence I got the idea into my head that I wanted to experience tango in Buenos Aires. Somewhere between seeing the musical Evita and watching the original 'Come Dancing' I imagine it happened. A little seed lodged deep in my brain that as I grew-up I guess I never really thought would grow to fruition.

But this is a time in my life where childhood dreams come true and I finally had the opportunity to visit the Argentine capital. And oh what a magnificent city you are.

Tango 'graffiti'

Tango is simply everywhere in Buenos Aires. It oozes out of window panes, is splashed across walls and sparkles in shop windows adorned with shoes. The city is tango. A red and black sultry haze that burns into life as night descends.

We spent an evening at one of the many tango show and dinner places that litter the city. Taconeando was our bar of choice, located in San Telmo, one of the oldest and most historic barrios or neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires. We entered a small, dimly lit room, furnished with plush antique rose fabrics and tables for dining surrounding a low central stage.

Dining came first. An entrada (starter) of very tasty pate, followed by, of course, a massive steak and chips. Dessert of a choc-ice filled with chocolate, caramel and vanilla ice cream had just been served as the lights went down and the show began.

Tango at Taconeando

The show covered the history of the tango, beginning with two men dancing in a rutting stag-like stand-off, followed by moves through romantic, fun and flirty and seriously sexy moods. The dancing was interspersed with singers performing tango classics (including audience participation) and backed by a brilliant quartet of piano, violin, double-bass and bandoneon - the accordion-like instrument that gives tango its signature sound.

It was an electrifying hour and a half of tango, where we were so close to the action that at times we had to duck to avoid being kicked in the head! A marvellous display of a beautiful dance that was simply a joy to behold.

More tango

But our tango experience did not stop there. Oh no! The next day, I was rather overexcited to discover that the world tango museum, which was on my list of things to do, was actually located within the national tango academy of Argentina! You can imagine my squealing.

We entered the 150 year old building, with its art nouveau style architecture, and found the museum on the first floor. It tells the chronological history of the tango, with various artefacts - from manuscripts, to records, to dancing shoes - to illustrate the different periods in the dance's life. It also demonstrated that tango is very much alive today, with the academy itself offering lessons at 30 Argentine pesos a go (that's about 4 quid) to anyone who wants them. Something for my next visit I think.

The bandoleon

After the museum, we headed on to another of the oldest tango buildings in Buenos Aires - Confiteria Ideal. Dating from 1912, the cafe / ballroom boasts more luscious art nouveau architecture, and judging by its website, seems to have been used for the film version of Evita starring Madonna. We supped a cafecito in the historic surroundings, while the sound of the afternoon milonga drifted downstairs.

More Taconeando tango

And more Taconeando tango

If there was just one reason to come to Chile...

...it would be hot springs.

The most incredible thing I have done so far in Chile is to swim in a naturally heated swimming pool, outdoors, up in the mountains, while it was snowing. With an incredible bunch of girlfriends too.

Way, way back before Carlos and I had our southern Chile trip, I had my first taste of life outside of the metropolis at Nevados de Chillan.

Me and the girls exploring the winter wonderland.
Photo thanks to Bárbara Hermosilla

Nevados de Chillan is reported to be one of the best ski resorts in Chile. I wouldn't know because I have no intention of ever trying skiing, wobbly knee and all, but it certainly has a beautiful resort, spa, pool and restaurant complex up in the mountains - much more my style!

Chillan is reached from Santiago in five hours by train, I think still classified as being in Chile's central valley. The countryside is agricultural and apart from the spine of the Andes, very flat. It reminded me a lot of Lincolnshire (in a good way!)

Morning swim in the snow

The I Love Chile girls and I spent four days relaxing (and working a little!) in this paradise. The food was excellent, the jacuzzi was fun and the view was amazing, but by far the best thing was the pool. I'm talking naturally heated water, direct from volcanoes and other geological phenomena, that have been harnessed by man for bathing up in the mountains.

The night-time dip in the falling snow followed by a early morning swim as the sun rose on snow covered mountainsides I don't think can ever be beaten.