Concepcion, Monday

Mon 1255 At Papa Pollo (Caupolicán 576); search of Google Maps earlier revealed a largish cluster of restaurants in this area. Few too many people touting outside but this seems OK price and will do.

Slept fitfully, esp from 8ish when first woke... salad (undressed) arrived unexpectedly so write more later

1327 Food not bad if not amazing; decent quantity of chips :-) and though the onions were a bit oddly sweet quite nice. Getting a coffee now, then will wander and maybe inhale a bottle of water from a supermarket or something given how little liquid I drank yesterday.

Actually got up something like midday, showered, shaved, cleaned teeth (v brief hello to host woman as acquiried gas lighted from kitchen to turn boiler on)

1354 Instant coffee but not too bad. Had quick flick in 2012 guide book. Nightlife area is Plaza Peru near universities or Plaza Espana. V little in way of sights, mainly Parque Ecuador (think saw that last night but may head over this afternoon) and a free arte museum south of it. Based on that quick flick I may go to Chillan next; it may be possible to get the train, it's a couple of hours on bus and I think - though would need to read up more later - there is scope for walking round there.

1522 At Cafe du Marc on Plaza Espana. I came round PE last night, now I see it again. Parque Ecuador nice enough, saw Parque Cerro Caracol but it's shut Mondays - prob go back tomorrow for that and maybe do city history museum nearby too. Wandered generally, walked round a shopping pedestrian street with a few fancyish cafe places on but wanted to try here; this isn't so fancy and Plaza Espana doesn't seem to have many open places but hopefully it's cheap. Offered choice of espresso or nescafe; dithered and took latter as fancied a longer drink. Seems to be practice here to give you hot water and a jar of instant coffee to add to your own preferred strength.

1945 Lots to write up but trying to top up phone and don't want to do it just now. Anyway, AFAICT from web, the train here in Concepcion is only local-ish (may be worth experimenting with as a novelty on another visit, but prob won't this time - rather go to Caracol tomorrow and leaving day after) but it may be possible to get a train from Chillan to Santiago, which may be novel/useful when I return to Santiago in a bit. Quick poke on airbnb suggests some tolerable accommodation options in Chillan so while bit more research wouldn't hurt, I may well just take a punt and get the bus over there day after tomorrow.

Need to write some notes/thoughts on my research re trip to Brazil but not critical. Wish the fucking phone would charge while I am using it; no idea why it doesn't, but it's a wonderful Android black box so can't do anything to investigate.

Had a Spanish lesson from room. Gonna head out and try to have a few quiet beers soon-ish but batt only at 60% so give it a bit longer.

2004 Apparently there's been train service Santiago-Chillan since 2001. So as long as I've known the song "Tren al Sur" there has actually been such a service I could have taken, and I had no idea. Oh well. I'll have to do so another time, and it would be cool to do the journey northbound this time anyway.

2026 Let's head out. Batt 81% which prob be fine.

2055 Fuck me At Cafe Callejon just off Plaza Peru. Getting a 500ml schop (Inés; a US possibly craft beer - says American Pale Ale) for CLP3000; this is the cheapest beer they have. Fuck me again. Tried nice-ish looking Verde Secreto round corner but altho beer was slightly cheaper/same, was told they could only serve beer with food. Did a little circuit round area, a few moderately lively places, some so busy was reluctant to go in as not sure would get a table and a smidge intimidating. Modulo prices seems an OKish area. See how it goes, may accept this price for a few here rather than wander but dunno.

Tastes OK anyway, very hoppy (I think).

Wondered if should have worn fleece but didn't. Just been wearing long-sleeved T-shirt all day, felt fine/pleasantly cool. Feel pretty much same now but slightly worried will feel colder later; can always go home I guess.

Can't remember if mentioned before but did see trains at Estacion Central in Santiago when walked past the other day (went in for a quick look) but didn't recognise any of places on route map and assumed it was a suburban service.

2107 Been given small bowl of chips, which is a nice-ish and unusual IME gesture.

Weather forecast on phone says its 17C now, with low of 12. So hardly freezing, except in comparison to what I finally got used to a few days ago. Mild breeze but really quite pleasant.

(Half wonder if these chips are to skirt some kind of "you must have food" licencing law. But I have no idea.)

Address is Diagonal Pedro Aguirre Cerda 1269.

May have a look for a hostel in Chillan before booking airbnb. If - and I really don't know this yet - it's a possible base for "treks" of some description, I might be able to get chatting to some other tourists and/or it might be useful if they offer any tour services.

Did see a bar on Plaza Espana with karaoke tonight but it's Monday night, it's a bit of a trek and not really in mood. It feels a bit dull here but reluctant to move. Meh.

2141 Waitress v proactive and got another beer. Poking at guide book on phone, Chillan doesn't seem super promising re trekking, even tho guidebook says it is a "gateway" and then gives little info. I am feeling Talca and the near-ish national park is where I'm looking. However, Talca is north of Chillan on the train, so given I'm not in an ultra rush (even tho the Brazil side-trip puts a tiny bit of pressure on) my feeling is I'll go to Chillan for a few nights, see what it's like and get the train north from there to Talca where I can hopefully get some hiking in without too much difficulty; because it is on the train north to Santiago this is also heading (perhaps a hair too soon, but probably not) in the right direction to return to Santiago for maybe 4-5 days before flying on to Brazil.

If anything it's getting quieter here. I think I'll take this beer slow-ish, get bill and leave and hopefully go somewhere else but if not no huge loss, it saves some alcohol budget for tomorrow or later. (Not ideal to be out tomorrow when have to check out Wed morning but it's not going to be til 10 or 11am, it's a short 2h bus ride to Chillan and it's not like I'm going to be out til 2am here on a Tue night, I think.)

Given the above guide book pokery I will probably go for an airbnb in Chillan, tho maybe worth a quick look on booking.com anyway to see what hostel options are.

I think very roughly I want to be arriving in Santiago in about two weeks. So if I have 2-3 nights in Chillan, that gives me - if I want it - well over a week in Talca and environs (if there's a variety of hikes - and there are some 7 day ones, though that sounds a bit extreme for me - I am quite happy to spend that long visiting the park) and if I don't want that long I'm sure there's somewhere worth seeing for a few nights between Talca and Santiago on the train.

Actually feel quite pleased to now have some kind of plan, having been slightly directionless since rapidly abandoning my "stay in Concepcion a few weeks and try to study Spanish if only via cheap conversation classes" plan. (Nothing wrong with "wandering" slightly aimlessly. But with the need to fly to Brazil putting a kind of "must be in place X by time Y" deadline on well ahead of the nominal end of trip (X=Buenos Aires, Y=shortly before Easter) I haven't been able to feel completely relaxed about wandering at random.)

I did feel some temptation to head down to Torres del Paine and see if I can hike the W trail I felt too scared/inadequate to do last time (2010 IIRC), but it's too far to do comfortably without rushing in time before Brazil. Another trip - maybe next Jan/Feb if finances permit. I'd like to do it but if I die before I do it it's not going to feature on my top 10 list of regrets.

FWIW - and I haven't thought this through too carefully - I think it gets dark so late in Chile partly because (duh) it's midsummer and partly because even though it's "natural" time zone would be 70 (longitude west)/15=4.5 hours before GMT, it actually uses a 3h before GMT timezone. To me as a non-morning person this (if true and I haven't got the adjustment the wrong way round - this is why I say I haven't thought this through carefully) is a bonus, as it gives me more light in the evening when I'm awake to enjoy it.

2206 There is a blackboard which suggests (just done "no hablo mucho espanol" routine with well-dressed-ish probably beggar, tho truthfully didn't understand him) as it's Mon Ines is only 2500. But still, it's sufficiently dead will get b (and another - well spoken - studenty "beggar" who I did speak to in Spanish but told him wasn't going to give anyone any money and didn't want to waste his time, and a woman leaving a peppa pig card on table) ill and go elsewhere - if nothing else am being begged ragged here. If can't get in or whatever no big deal, saves alcohol budget. 

2215 A guy has set up a mic stand and is playing/singing not bad blues. Torn. If he's just a temp busker will definitely go, if he's a pseudo-fixture (the inside of this place is microscopic and *everyone* is outside - if I had fleece on would be super comfortable out here, I think this is London summer night temperature) not sure, could stay, could go.

Busker? was singing in Spanish about "estaba fumando buena muta (?)" before but is now doing Heartbreak Hotel in English. Pushes me mildly towards going. Got maybe quarter of this half litre left.

He's now doing that Doors (?) "when you're strange" song (in English, natch).

2223 No, he's off - I put 500 in his hat - so I will get bill I think. Will give midly generous tip.

Got bill. Think - due to my itnernational bill gesture - waitress thought wanted to pay on card. 5k plus 10% suggested tip (well seems to be 5555 IIRC) so going to pay that plus 100 or so mild bonus - if you suggest a tip to me I basically pay it, in this case they'd have got a bit more had they not.

2235 Was going round corner to some other busy bar had seen but passed "Bar de Tapas" (can't really be its name?) and "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" is playing and it has a union flag on a plaque for some reason) so come in here to see what happens. 

OK, think place is called Malabar but not sure. Since price seems same (and not cheap) for michelada - most places charge 500 more - ordered michelada with Becker (2700), waiter asked me somthing about it's composition so I hazarded a guess and said "salsa inglesa" and he seemed to accept that. Not my proudest linguistic moment but meh. Sitting outside but it's semi-covered and a tiny bit warmer (not that it was intolerable anyway) than outside last bar.

Yeah, from a language learning standpoint I should have queried the waiter there, but WTF. Still waiting for drink but fingers crossed it will be OK.

Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" now. None of these songs sound quite right but prob my imagination.

Michelada arrived. Is OK but not sure it's really got Worcestershire sauce in; looks a bit light coloured, but whateves, after clearing salt from rim it tastes OK. Really can't help thinking this - non-live - music is strangely decent and near-real-thing covers - but it doesn't quite sound like the real thing. But why would anyone do that? Probably I'm imagining it.

I know there are variations but this michelada is a million miles from the ornate red cocktail-esque concotions I had in Guatemala and the dark brown things I remember from Mexico (tho it's been a while).

I think this michelada is predominately lemon juice. I don't have excellent sense of taste and I may  be wrong. Menu said best micheladas in world. Meh.

We've now got a (not that I'm a major fan) similarly weird sounding version of Stairway To Heaven. Maybe they're all original bands recorded live or something and thus sound weird to me, used to the studio recordings. Fuck know. 

Shazam initially failed to identify and then identified it as "Going To California" by Led Zeppelin. Shazam evidently sucks; I downloaded it to try to ID the song from Cerro San Cristobal but if it can't even identify Stairway To Heaven it's clearly useless.

2300 Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way" . I think. This sounds a bit less weird, but - gah, I'm probably losing the plot - still slightly.

Spaces after quotes courtesy of Blackberry Keyboard.

2305 "Every breath you take" . I think I heard the audience at the start of this one. But what do I know?

I noticed earlier I have a fortune-cookie sized slip of paper in my pocket. It says "Revisa las bases vigentes del club y completa tu registra en mayorista10.cl" . Gut feeling is it was a perforated piece on bottom of receipt from hypermarket where I bought cheap-yet-refrigerated agua con gas earlier, but still seems mildly odd.

2312 Skorpions "Wind Of Change" . Crowd singing along on this one. (I like to imagine the Martian singing "down to Bushey Park" .) So maybe it is indeed all live versions by original artists.

Nearly finished beer. Feel a bit ill at ease but prob got one more.

2314 They're shutting at 12, but WTF, get one more and go. A strange night somehow. Not really bad strange, nor exactly good.

2320 Just been for piss. Mildly faded-elegant but empty inside. Waiter had brought bill 5940 I think, feels there's some weird tip thing I don't get with handing over 10k bills here. Had second beer when got back from bog. Only one other table occupied, doubt they've drugged it.

OK, 5400 but it has suggested 540 tip so will keep all the 4000 change and leave the shrapnel. Again, they'd have got more had they not suggested but having suggested it annoys me I feel tight for not tipping more.

Will walk past bar originally had in mind on way home but won't go in (airbnb worries if nothing else) but worth seeing if it's open this late wrt possibly visiting tomorrow.

2326 Feeling compelled to neck this a bit. Feh. Had no idea would be like this. Wondering if should pick up or leave the teensy non-notes change. Either way could seem rude. F it, will leave it. Think am last person here.

2331 About to neck last fifth of beer. Double F it, taking dregs of change, prob less offensive. 

2348 Home. Rammed-earlier bar (Honolulu) was shut. Secreto Verde and sushi bar next to it had quite a few ppl there but prob for all I know not open much longer. No issues or fears walking home. Peculiarly cheered to see a) bus 80 to Las Galaxias b) a tyre garage I remember passing on way out tonight still open.

Feel mildly drunk-hungry but can indulge tomorrow. Let me clean teeth and go to bed. As last night think hosts have gone to bed earlyish, but maybe I'm wrong.

2355 Cleaned teeth. Wanted to say that walk home felt cold but not shivering. Do wish had gone out in fleece but at same time wasn't terrible and in a way walk home was refreshing and not "fuck me I'm so cold" . Don't have thermometer but weather forecast on phone says is 16C now. Am sure having got semi-used to 30C+ in Santiago/Mendoza/BA plays a part. Not a problem anyway.

FWIW here in my bedroom it is pleasantly warm, maybe just the tiniest smidge too warm. This is not a Xela nights situation.

Am in bed. Hard to be sure but having looked at calendar am thinking three nights in Chillan is fine. That's the day I arrive written off and two more days, yes I need to buy a train ticket to Talca but that's 0.5-1 days, and it's not like there's anything specific I want to see. Three days also leaves plenty of time for Talca and Santiago before I fly to Brazil.

Noticed on Wikipedia earlier while looking re trains, the full name of this town (city; maybe the second largest city in Chile, not sure) is almost comically long; it's Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz.

Oh, and the pedestrian shopping street earlier had patronising posters with slogans of the form "Soy mujer; soy lidera/valienta/etc" . Good to see this patronising shit everywhere, not just back home.