Extreme Sports por el fin de semana

So can I just start off by saying I love Chile one more time. On Saturday me an four amigos/amigas took a bus to Concon to go surfing. Surfing takes a little practice (trust me its harder than it looks). First you have to swim out to the perfect spot. Then you have to choose your wave. About 10 second before the wave comes, turn around paddle for your life and feel the wave. As soon as you feel the wave taking you for a ride you gotta pop it like a rockstar. Back foot first, front foot next and then hands up, and ride that bad boy till the wave falls down. Takes a little practice and rough wipeouts, but riding that wave is the best feeling in the world. Our instructor was awesome. First we took a long run down the beach to get warmed up ( I didnt understand why he made us run at first; I thought he was just fucking with us cause we were gringos, but we had to get warmed up cause surfing takes alot of energy). Then he taught us how to get up on dry land. Finally, the best quote of the day ´´lets go do therapy´´, and he pointed out to the water. We surfed for about 2:30 to 3 hours. Got up a couple of times and started to become like those professional riders you see in surf magazines. Surfing was freakin gnarley!!! At the end of the day i was so tired I got smoked in the head with my surf board ouch!!! After we finished surfing we ate empanadas at the surfing hut during sunset and then went for a horseback ride on the beach. Anyone who is ever in Chile should definately go to ConCon. The bus ride is beautiful and ConCon is a place with great restaurants, ice cream, and lots to do. The surfing place I went to is called esculas de surf, and their website is www.escuelasdesurfchile.com. You can catch any bus from Vina or Valparaiso that says ConCon on it. The whole day cost less than $50 dollars.

On Sunday we went Canopy (Zip Lining in English). I dont know what was more fun canopy or surfing. Canopy is in the Jardin Botanica on the Outskirts of Vina del Mar. Jardin Botanica is a huge rainforest with over 10,000 different trees and plants nitive to Chile. Plants in the area range from different types of medicinal plants, palm trees, cacti, palm trees, fuchsia. It is lightly dense area with trees and plants, creeks, ponds, and other beautiful surroundings in humid tropical like forest. We got to the park around four oclock and lost our way for about half an hour. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It was pretty dark by then because of the solar eclipse. Canopy in the dark is crazy. By the end it was pitch black and the only way to see the end of the line was the flash of our camera. The instructors there are very careful and you are strapped in at all times. At times we were more than 200 ft in the air (Not recommended for people afraid of heights). We took turns zip lining from one platform to the next. Some of the lines seemed close to half a football field long. When you are zipping between trees and braches in the dark it is super freaky intense. There are about 10 zip lines to do and the course took about 1:30 with four people. After we finished Canapy it was like 7 oclock and we were about to catch a taxi outta there, but none of our cell phones had reception and the guide told us it was unlikely that a cab would come into the national park at that time of night. He told us that they would guide us through the forest to where we could catch buses. Thank fricken god because these guys had head lamps and guided us through the rough terrain of steap and narrow paths with big rocks and streams. There is no friken way we would have made it out of that forest alive with the little light we had with our cell phones. i fell a couple of times into ditches and stubbed my foot on rocks, so I dont even want to think what would have happened without a flashlight. Man, I bet all those guys thought of us as stupid gringos. I don´t blame them. Those guys were muy bacan. I talked to them about the forest. The instructors were all graduates of a program that teaches sociology of the forest. The natural environment is very important to them and they talked to me about sustainability and eco-tourism. They travel to different canopy sites in Chile. One guy told me that his families house was destroyed by the earthquake. His father is rebuilding the house and the new home is almost finished. I would like to volunteer one of my weeks to go help with the reconstuction. Those guys have the best job in the world and their passion for the environment is inspirational. Canopy is another thing people should put on their do not miss list of things to do in Chile. Zip lining costs only $20 dollars and a well  earned tip. We took a collectivo there and a bus back. The website is www.conopysuramerica.com. 
What a great weekend!!