Day 2 of weekend super-awesomeness-fun-fest 2009

So... We arrived in the morning on Friday after a short 9 hour bus trip. The Hostel was called La Swisandina, as you know from keeping up with your reading. We were allowed to put our stuff in our rooms even though it was like 8 am, the place was georgous, the air was clear, and the rooms were comfortable.

This is a view from the front porch of our hostel dorm building, toward the main house.
I could not help it... This sign was posted on the outside of our building, I guess they don't want cats inside.
We inquired about a hike. Normally when being asked "Wayne, How far is it to River Ranch?" I respond with, "about 4 miles" When we asked "How long is the trail?" The response we got from the Once-Ler was 8 hours. The people that ran the hostel didn't know any distances, only time, which is interesting. (I'll address this later) They gave us awesome directions, and sent us on our way for our '8 hour' hike. Here's some photos, with light words and stuff, because you get more for your money with photos:

Hike photo section:

This is the beginning of the trail, and for those of you that are wondering, that little yellow sign reads 'Wanderweg' which I believe to directly translate to 'Welcome to Dr. Suisse's truffula forest"The ladies: McKenzi, Lia, and Francis

"Now get a shot of me like this"
Jake and grickle grass
Francis, Lia, and Jake
The Truffula trees would open up every once in a while, to these great meadows of grickle grass.
Truffula Trees:
This is a map
"Now get a shot of me like this"

We were looking for brown barbaloots in their barbaloot suits when we came across this sign. I only brought one bottle of water with me, so this sign looked welcoming, except for the fact that there was no watter anywhere around.
Brown barbaloot in its barbaloot suit.
This is volcano Lonquimay, and me, I'm the one on the right.
Me, volcano, truffula trees
Same as before -Me
Hiking

These are sturcturs actually built by the Lorax for us to enjoy the Truffula forrest.



The hike ended in a small town called Malalcahuello, and by small I mean small.

I was under the impression that we could go to the market and pick out what we wanted to make for dinner, and get all the ingredients. I was wrong, but not necessarily disappointed. As some of you know, I really like cooking, and with the program, we aren't exactly allowed to set up Iron Chef competitions in our host family's house. So, I told everyone I would cook for that night. After a look at the market my plans of a 5 course meal, with silverware, crystal wine glasses, and fine china, were taken down a bit. I decided fried rice would be our dinner, with a tomato and avocado salad. We bought the stuff we needed, jumped on a bus back to the hostel, and dinner was under way. It was delicious. I forgot to take pictures of the meal. It was early bed, because we were exhausted.

For those that didn't get it, watch this, and it will all become clear