hidden gems

Temuco revealed more of its specialness to me today. I went with my coworkers, Natascha and Francisco, to Cerro Nielol for a little hike. It's the only real park in town and is a forested hill with paths that lead up to a lookout point. At the top you can see the whole city. It was so nice to breathe in the fresh eucalyptus scented air, read the signs about native plants, and swing on some swings! After descending the hill we went to the municipal cemetery which is beautiful with its rows of mausoleums and plots that look like amateur gardens. I had never been to this part of town that the park and cemetery are in and found it to be really charming and pretty distinct from the other neighborhoods. It has older buildings and cobblestone streets and an edge-of-town ness that allows for wild things to still be present. There is also a monument to the disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship. Judging from the one bum sleeping on a bench beside the stone structure with a few hundred inscribed names, it is as if this period of Chile's history had never happened. We walked home on quiet streets with thunder and rain clouds beginning to chase us. I got back to my house with literally one second to spare before the rain started falling on the clothes I had left out to dry earlier in the sunny day.