thaughts from a swimming pool

i am in a hostel in santiago called "la casa roja". it is a really excellently designed. its one of those super hostels that provides you with everything you need, a swimming pool, all night bar, internet and so on..

everythin you need in fact to never have to actually go out and meet any local people. and the truth is that most travellers are indeed perfectly happy that way.

this hostel does have a charm though, i too have been stuck here for a few days catching up on sun tan which i feel is quite justified given my "daz-white" skin.

i have met many good people here. from such places as england, australia, canada,israel, brazil and last but not least ..ireland.

just like lima, cuzco and la paz there are certainly no shortage of irish here.

i teamed up with a group of Irish lads who knew eachother from buenos aires and we went out to nightclubs for a few nights. i didnt want them to miss the action in santiago but it was hard for me to motivate them come out early because they are used to doing things a little different in buenos aires. apparently the nightclubs just get going at 2.30am over there and the party virtually never stops. i must verify that when i get there... it certainly makes the 1am to 5am time frame in chile seem quite conservative.

james(mayo), ross (antrim), paddy (dublin), tom (mayo) dan (dublin). and little Natalia from Brazil in the middle.

being in a large group, deciding where to go was an exercise in diplomacy. someone didnt like techno music, another few didnt like drum and bass, there was no way anyone was going to chance their arm at salsa and all of them were unanimous about avoiding reggaeton at all costs. personally i think avoiding reggaeton in south america is like trying to avoid rice in china. but how and ever we did find one style of music that kept everyone happy.

80`s music

and we discovered that santiago really is a place with a niche for everyone, we went out to some seriously eighties nightclubs for a couple of nights in a row. one nightclub known as "blondie" was notably full of drag queens and such. its not uncommon for groups of travellers in their quest to avoid latino music, to unwittingly end up in a gay club. so it is worth noting (if your interested) that, terrifying as it may be for us gringos to dance to latino music , you can be reassured that its quite hetrosexual for the most part. everyone had a really good few nights though. and i was reminded just what a hurricane it is to party with a few irish again.

on the sunday the main group of people in the hostel decided to stay around the pool for drinks while brazilian natalia, irish tom and myself decided to go out. this time i excercised my 33% vote to get them to come along to a salsa club.

Marcela from Chile gives Tom his first introduction to salsa.

heres some colombian salsa that they played in the club that night

(ctrl & left click to open in new window)

Guayacan - Oiga mire vea

.

latinos have their own 80's music too

click the link to check it out.

(ctrl & left click to open in new window)

Chayanne - Fiesta en America