The Good

Sometimes I forget how much weather can affect my mood. Today was a good reminder.

For all my grumps about cold and rain last night, today dawned absolutely clear and full of ocean sunshine. The metro to Valpo in the morning was warm and almost cheerful as the stoic chilean commuters watched the bright houses on the hills and the beautifully blue ocean and sky. After lunch, BC, RF, EM and I used our free hour to find a way to get to the beach. Roughly 6 minutes by foot from the ISA office, we found the boardwalk. The sun was warm enough to take off our jackets and we wandered and lazed around on the long pier, sunning ourselves like the sea lions on the nearby rocks.

The best part? I'm 80% sure we saw some penguins! They were small black birds with white belly stripes, and they swam and dove, surfacing far away and playing in the waves. When I told my brother, he said it's possible. Apparently, a weather system here has driven cold currents higher along the coast, taking with it the animals who enjoy it. For now, at least, I'm definitely considering it to have been my first penguin experience!