25Jan14
Chile has a lot of German influence in its culture — beyond the Volkswagens on this clothesline. The biggest wave of German immigrants arrived in Chile in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And with them came an influence on a very important aspect of life: beer.
The photo above was from a beer festival near Valparaíso’s Muelle Barón, a big dockyard. Damaged by past earthquakes, it is now mainly used as a pedestrian promenade and for events.
The festival is still happening right now, but we already spent quite a bit of time there earlier. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I’m able to even write this.
Who’s that borracha? Anyhow, the coolest thing was a bunch of old rail cars where a few of the breweries were set up. A guy in a kilt came up to us and asked us if we were South African, because apparently there were a ton of South African tourists there that day.
All in all, a nice day. Our roommate and friend from Russia is back from a trip to Patagonia. We tried some pastel de choclo for the first time. And Chris got a haircut so we both got to practice our Spanish while chatting up the barber. When we told him we were in Mexico before we came to Chile, he mimed a wild west-style quick draw for us and told us that Mexicans carry revolvers. I didn’t want to know what he thought of people from the U.S.
Lastly, here’s a photo of a performance happening just a few blocks from our house. I took this photo because I liked the women’s dresses.
