Safe And Sound In Valdivia!

Well, after an 11-hour bus ride I have arrived to my destination in the south - a German town called Valdivia. The bus departed at 11pm last night. It was my first true bus trip - traveling alone to a distant, unknown territory. I had a semi-bed and thought I would be able to sleep but, oh no! It was quite difficult given I was in seat numero 1 right behind the drivers, the road was very bumpy, and I was surrounded by snoring men. Where is my Tylenol PM when I need it?! I sat next to a Bolivian man in his 50s named Fernando, who has lived in Mexico for 20 plus years. He is now a Mexican citizen and in South America for two months visiting family and friends. Fernando was very nice and spoke quite clearly in comparison to Chileans. He talked very highly of Mexico saying that business is strong and that the drug war is really a war between the government and drug trafficers. It is not a war involving civilians. Outside of the current drug war, there is not much violent crime like in the U.S. He also said that he was surprised at how cold Chileans are in comparison to Mexicans who are happy, warm and dance in the streets. He actually opened my mind to consider Mexico as my next destination.

After wandering the streets in search of a hostal I finally arrived at one that I like. Of course, it was mentioned in Lonely Planet - my bible!! I swear I would be lost without it. My girlfriends - Lore and her cousin Kaat - who I met at my language school arrive at 3pm. They are both from Belgium. Both speak English but we communicate in Spanish. Lore lived in Peru for 6 months and met her Chilean boyfriend. They did long distance for two years and she then decided to move here for a year to see how things go with her beau. Lore, like me, is in love with the Latin culture. Lore and Kaat are traveling in the south for a month and invited me to join them. So, I´m here for about 8 or 9 days! We are spending the next couple days in Valdivia and then continuing further south until we reach the island of Chiloe. From there I will return to Santiago on my own and depart for Buenos Aires to meet Nikki and Tiana for a week before returning to the U.S. I can´t believe it´s almost that time!

The south of Chile is predominantly Germans who settled here in the 1800s after Chile conquered the land. In an attempt to occupy the new territory with a higher class race (in quotes - I can´t find the quotations on this computer) the Chilean government did major recruiting in Europe and elsewhere setting up tourism offices in every corner of the world. I have been told the people in the south are the kindest and warmest in all of Chile. The Germans have also brought their beer crafting talents and one of the most known local breweries is located here. And, German food is everywhere! Quite the mix...blond haired, blue-eyed Germans speaking Chilean. I love it!

The weather and landscape of the south is the polar opposite of the north. It is green, lush, chilly (in the 40s right now) and rainy...but beautiful. And, the south is famous for its seafood. I am so excited to eat!! I´m sure I will return with more pictures of food than people. Ha!

Day 3: El Tatio Geysers, Thermal Springs, And Land Of The Cacti

I was just hitting my REM when the alarm went off at 3:30am. Like a zombie I walked outside with one eye open to our shared restroom and brushed my teeth. That was the extent of my preparation for our big day to El Tatio, the world's 3rd largest geyser field after Yellowstone and another in Russia. El Tatio is also one of the world's highest-elevated geysers sitting at over 12,000 feet above sea level.

The goal was to reach El Tatio for sunrise. Our tour guide knocked on our door at exactly 4am. Yes, 4AM! The van proceeded to the next hostal and after gathering the other 13 foreigners, the entire group fell asleep as we made our two-hour trek up the mountain. Half way through our journey Jake and I were jolted awake as the van attempted to roll up and over huge rock piles. We looked through the window and saw only darkness. There was no road. Thank GOD we didn't rent a car!! You would have seen CNN news flash: Two Americans gone missing, last seen renting a mini-Yaris...

We arrived to El Tatio at 6am. As we stepped out of the van we were instantly numbed by a bone chilling -9 degree (Celcius that is) breeze. We had been warned about the potential for elevation sickness but I was so cold, I couldn't feel anything. We wandered through the geyser field as our guides prepared our breakfast - Chilean style of course...bread with lunch meat and cheese, cookies and tea. Jake and I explored the geyser field for about an hour longer, taking extreme acrobat photos while the other American tourists looked at us like we were from Mars.

If you ever visit San Pedro de Atacama, do not pass the opportunity up to visit El Tatio. Despite the bone chilling temperatures and crack-of-dawn departure, El Tatio was the highlight of our entire two-week trip. It is an adventure you would make once (maaaaybe twice if you dare to brave the extreme conditions again) in a lifetime. The natural essence of the geysers' beauty is absolutely breathtaking.

Two hours later, we piled back into the van and drove 10 minutes to the hot springs. After the chilly long morning, soaking in the natural springs was absolutely perfect. After 45-minutes of bath time, it was time to head back to San Pedro. On the way back, we had a few unexpected surprises. First, a pack of vicuñas, Chile's national animal which is part of the llama/camel family and can only be found living in the Alpine area of the Andes; and then, a random field of grazing llamas.

Our final stop before reaching San Pedro was to hike through a field of 700-year-old cacti. Who would have thought that at the end of the dry land of cacti we would stumble upon a waterfall?! We arrived back to our hostal at 1:30pm, showered, had lunch at a cool hippy Venice/LA-esque restaurant, napped, then woke up to eat yet another exquisite meal with a bottle of Chile's famous Carmere.

Can I please live every day of my life like this?

Here is the 2nd mini-album!

Chile Qualifies For The World Cup!

Santiago is wild tonight! Chile played Colombia at 6pm in a fight for a seat in the 2010 World Cup. Chile hasn't been to the World Cup since 1998. Chile historically has not played well so making it this far is a huge deal. All Chile had to do was tie to qualify and they won 4-2. Needless to say, Chileans are ecstatic!! Chile now joins Brasil and Paraguay as part of the five qualifying South American teams that will advance. The win tonight reminds me a bit of our beloved Red Sox who won the World Series the first year I moved to Boston after an 86-year losing streak. I MUST be a token of good luck.

I was dying to watch the game somewhere to share in the excitement with the public. None of my girlfriends like soccer, therefore, I called my new Chilean buddy Jorge who I met on Thursday at my language institute's weekly exchange. He's a fanatic as every Chilean, or South American for that matter, is for soccer. All the local hole-in-the-wall joints were full so we popped into a more established bar since it was easy to find a seat and had a nice big screen TV. The score was 3-2 with 12 minutes left in the game. Everyone sat on pins and needles as the timer ticked...THEN...the TV went out!! Boos proceeded. We got the check and booked it to the street. There was no need to ask who had won because horns sounded and "Viva Chile!" chants resonated on the street.

Jorge and I followed the crowd towards Plaza Italia where Chileans gather to celebrate after every soccer win and riot after every loss. Armed police forces lined the street. Chileans jumped up-and-down singing the national anthem and chanting their fight song. The energy built, mosh pits formed, kids lit fireworks, and I decided to retreat to my warm, safe apartment before the police stepped in. I practically was the only person walking away from the rally. Ha!

I Am Alive!!

I'm sorry I have been so out of touch! The last two months have been a whirlwind. I am officially back on board with updating my blog! My personal goal is to update twice per week since my days left here are getting fewer by the second!

Jake was here for two weeks and left Wednesday, the 24th. Since his departure I've been roaming the streets of Santiago, perusing all the menus and salivating at 2-for-1 happy hours wishing I were a party of two to indulge. It's never as fun to drink alone. Do you feel sorry for me yet? It's taken me a week to acclimate back to reality. I'm now trying to figure out how to retire at the age of 31 to travel the world starting by touching every corner of the South American continent. The Latin American language and culture has officially infused my soul. I can't get enough! Therefore, I enrolled in a Spanish institute today. I will be taking 3 hours of classes five days a week for the next month. I'm so excited! Today was my first day. It's great to learn from the Chilean school of thought. It is completely different and much easier than they teach in the U.S.! They teach more practically - as you would speak in your every day life.

Time to reminisce...Jake and I took our two weeks by storm! Where do I even start? From the driest desert in the world in the north; to my girlfriend's farm in the south to celebrate Chile's Independence Day; to the quaint cobble-stone roads of the coastal town Valparaíso; to the hidden San Antonio wine valley, five miles from the ocean, known for its Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Noirs, and Syrahs.

If you're like me, the desert sounds completely unappealing. I prefer lush greenery and oceans. But, San Pedro de Atacama transformed me. Don't envision Texas or Nevada. Instead, imagine flamenco reserves in the middle of the world's 3rd largest salt flat (the first is in Bolivia and the second is in your truly Utah!), geyser fields, thermal springs, and sunsets of bright hues reflecting off the faces of volcanos.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, we have about 800,000 words to bless you with. Jake brought his old school 35 mm super-duper camera and we both had digitals. At the risk of giving you a stigmatism we are in the process of editing. In the meantime, I will roll out small groups of photos in a beautiful chronological order just like I like them. ¡Bienvenido OCD!

We spent the first six days in San Pedro de Atacama. This desert is so dry that nothing can self-sustain - there are no rats, no snakes, no insects...nothing. It is the most popular tourist spot in all of Chile. But, it's not annoyingly touristy. I found it pleasantly touristy - quite the oxymoron - because of the lack of Americans. We met Brasilians, Sweeds, Australians, French and Moroccans. The town of San Pedro is an adorable, quaint town, elevated at about 7,000 ft., with unpaved roads barely wide enough to accommodate a car. The dirt roads are lined with adobe, little stores and restaurants, and most either walk or ride bikes. The climate is perfect - low 70s the entire time we were there. San Pedro instantly transports you to a state of relaxation. And, calls for Pisco Sours... :)

We had initially planned to rent a car until my boss subtly advised otherwise. "Um, you know most of the roads are unpaved and not on the map. If you get lost, you're screwed." The first day we made ourselves at home in our hostal and hit the streets to book tours for the days to follow. We went with Lonely Planet's recommendation of Cosmo Andino and set up a three day back-to-back circuit starting Sunday with Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) and Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). Valle de la Muerte was originally named Valle de Marte (Mars Valley). As I've mentioned before, Chileans have terrible pronunciation of words. "Marte" sounded like "muerte" and as they came to realize that "Death Valley" created a bigger tourist attraction, they changed its name.

We started our journey by running down a giant sand dune in the middle of Valle de la Muerte followed by walking through the Cordillera de Sal (salt mountain range). It hasn't rained in San Pedro for eight years, since El Niño. Therefore, the mountain salt range is covered in clay that the high winds have blown through during the night. When the temperature drops in the late afternoon the salt retracts and you can hear it cracking. It was erie! Our guide assured us that although we heard cracking, there would be no landslide.

From there we drove 5 minutes to Valle de la Luna named after its lunar-like landforms eroded by eons of flood and wind. We climbed to the top of a thin mountain range fighting for a spot among other tourists and awaited the unforgettable sunset.

Here is the first mini-album!

First Two Days Of My New Job

Day 1

Intended Means Of Transportation:

Bus

Plan B Transportation:

Taxi. I had to switch buses and my 2nd bus never came!! I ended up sharing cab with a girl heading in the same direction.

Lesson Learned:

Chilean bus system is not reliable.

Day 2:

Means Of Transportation:

Bike

Pros:

I made it to work seamlessly.

The ride got me energized to start my day.

I got to explore the city.

Since I had to ride past my gym on the way home, I had no choice but to go in.

Cons:

The trip took much longer than I thought! It took about 30 minutes.

My legs are not in bike-riding condition. I was exhausted when I got there!

The building I work in does not have an elevator so already exhausted, I had to carry my bike up flights of stairs.

Lessons Learned:

Leave earlier tomorrow.

Always wear my helmet because the Chilean buses are aggressive!

Chileans don't use bike hand signals. Come to think of it, do Americans even use them?? In slight fear for my life I asked myself if I should bring back the hand signals we learned in grade school. Or was that high school driver's ed class?

I moved in to my new apartment this weekend with a friend named Alejandro. Although my bedroom is much smaller, I love the location of my new building! It is much more centrally located than my other apartment - an easy walking distance from great restaurants, bars, and the metro. I did enjoy the last days in my old apartment and took photos of my final beautiful sunset there.

Trip to La Serena: Part 1 (7/17-7/20)

Last Friday, I decided to take a trip to La Serena which is six hours north of Santiago. I wanted to take advantage of my free time during the day these last couple weeks before I start my new job. Therefore, Pio and I met on Thursday, which was another religious holiday, instead of Friday so I depart on Friday. I rented a car, hit the road in the afternoon and arrived to La Serena at 10pm Friday night. It is expensive to travel in Chile compared to other South American countries. There are three levels of accomodations in La Serena – hostal, hostal with your own bathroom, and hotel. I’ve never done the hostal thing and still wasn’t feeling ready to share a restroom with someone. But, my friend Teresa had stayed at the hostal Maria’s Casa recently and said although “budget”, it was clean and Maria was incredibly friendly. Due to my “budget,” I called Maria. She was very nice but unfortunately, had no rooms available. Her sister did have an apartment I could rent but it was twice as much. Lonely Planet has listed them as “our pick” for the last 5 years so Maria has quite the booming business. Her son told me they are looking to get government support (money) so they can add on to the house and have more rooms to rent. I ended up making a reservation at the nicer hostal where I would have my own bathroom. When I pulled up to the hostal, I could not bring myself to stop. It looked scary!! And it was dark, which made it look that much scarier. It’s amazing how the dark adds a dimension of fear to EVERYTHING. Especially, when you are traveling alone.

It was now 10:30pm. In a state of desperation, I headed to Maria’s. I would rent her sister’s apartment. There is something about the name “Maria’s Casa” that is very inviting. It sounds comforting; as if my mom would be the one to open the door and welcome me with open arms. Maria’s son Andrés greeted me at the door. He said some other American girl had come just before me and taken the apartment. They thought she was me. I went to use the restroom, nervous as to where I would go next. When I walked back out, Andrés told me that his mom’s friend Anna lived across the street and had a room she could rent me. Whew! I can’t describe the relief I felt. Anna was SO nice. I would guess Anna is late 60s/70. She is one of 11 children but now, it is only her and three siblings left. She has lived in this house for 50 years. The front door opens into her entryway. To the left is her TV room; to the right her living room and bedroom. At the other end of the entryway is another door that exits into a courtyard. To the left is a door into her dining room and then another door into her kitchen. The courtyard almost felt like the middle of an apartment complex because the upstairs perimeter had four separate rooms, each with its own door. She had four rooms to rent. We walked upstairs to my room. It had two twin beds separated by a night stand, a TV, and a small stand alone closet. The upside was that I had my own bathroom. The downside was that there was no heat.

After I dropped off my stuff, Andrés offered to walk with me into town to get a bite to eat and a drink. The “downtown” area looked a little seedy so I accepted his offer. La Serena is the second-oldest city in Chile. It looks run down with graffiti covering its walls. The city is very small – you can walk from one side to the other in about 10 minutes – so it astonishing to me that it has 29 churches! At the bar, Andrés wrote down sites I should see as he puffed down cigarettes like a mad man after claiming he’d quite three years ago. The conversation turned to politics, which it typically does in Chile. He passionately shared his and his mom’s opinion of Pinochet as a Chilean guy on a stage attempted to sing an American tune. I was exhausted and ready for bed. When I got home, my room was so cold that I couldn’t bring myself to remove the clothing from the upper half of my body. I slept in my shirt, wool sweater, and down-feather filled vest.

It was a rough night of sleep. I heard my neighbors arrive at 3am; more noise at 5am; then a group up and out at 7am. At 9am, my room was surprisingly warm and my bed felt like heaven. My room had revived itself, and in doing so I felt more secure about my surroundings. With the sun pouring in, I peeled myself from my bed. I only had two full days for this vacation and therefore, I wanted to get the most out of them. The beauty of La Serena lies outside its center. Two miles to the west lies the ocean and to the east the Elqui Valley with quaint villages and sprawling pisco vineyards. I was craving the ocean. I had not seen the ocean since I had left California. Half asleep, I drove to the beach, walked out onto the sand, and sat down. It was 11am and there were more people on the beach that I had expected – mostly families, some couples – walking around the non-functional lighthouse; lying in the sand; taking pictures. I stared out into the ocean, listening to the sounds of the waves, admiring the beauty of the mountains to the north, and wrote in my journal. I felt serenity. I took in the fresh air and felt my soul cleansed.

It was about 1pm and I still hadn’t had caffeine. I was in dire need of coffee before my drive through the valley. I drove down the coast and found a cute spot on the beach. Espresso please.

I headed into Elqui Valley, first hitting Vicuña 62 km/38 miles east of La Serena. It is the biggest of the valley’s tiny towns, and after driving around the plaza twice in two minutes without finding a parking spot, I continued on. I was on a mission to Pisco Elqui. When I got to the pastoral village Paihuano, the road turned to cobble stone and stretched an entire 1/8^th of a mile. There is something about cobble stone that is so endearing. I had to stop and take a picture. Next, I hit Monte Grande. This was the birth place of the poet and Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral. She and Pablo Neruda are the two Chilean literary figures to win Nobel Prizes. Both were Communists. Pio’s opinion is that you have to be a Communist to win. I stopped only briefly because my destination for this entire drive through the valley was Pisco Elqui.

Lonely Planet notes that local legend tells that in the 1930s the former president Gabriela González Videla personally changed La Unión’s original name to Pisco Elqui to undermine Peruvian claims to having originated the famous Pisco Sour beverage. The big attraction is the Disteleria Mistral which distributes the premium brand of Mistral pisco. I wanted to do a tour and tasting. Tours ended at 6pm. I FINALLY arrived at 5pm and with a big breath let out a “Eureka!” I got bundled up because it was freezing. We were literally butted up to the mountains so the temperature had dropped by 15 degrees. I walked inside to sign up for my tour. They told the last tour had gone at 5!! Really?! “Qué triste!!” I told the girl. L I hadn’t eaten all day trying to preserve my time for the pisco tour. I was starving. I found a cozy restaurant with a fire and had some warm asado. I took a video.

By the time I got home Saturday night it was 10pm and I was exhausted. I went into Maria’s Casa to check my email and then headed across the street to my bed.

Day Trip to Quintay and Casas del Bosque Vineyard

I got a part-time job offer from Liz Caskey Culinary & Wine Experiences which I am really excited about. She and her husband coordinate trips throughout Chile, Argentina and new this year, Uruguay. To give me a first-hand taste of the type of trips they plan, Liz invited me to join a "Wild Wine Day" tour Wednesday. The clients were two friends flying in from Texas and Arizona. This was their third time touring with Liz. The one started coming to Chile 10 years ago. They met each other for the first time years back on a hunting trip to Argentina. Argentina is the #1 destination for hunting doves. They were scheduled to arrive in Santiago yesterday at 7:45am. We were supposed to leave via van at 9:30am. Unfortunately, their flight was delayed so the day was cut short. Regardless, it was an incredible day of breath-taking ocean views, the freshest seafood I have ever eaten, and wonderful wine.

We left from the Orly Hotel where the clients were staying at 12:30pm to the coast. After an hour and a half drive which ended with a steep decline on a road of switchbacks, we arrived at the bottom of the hill to Quintay - a small fishing town (which was so small you really can't even call it a town) - to have lunch. Liz had shot a show for PBS there in the past and I vividly remembered how quaint and special this place looked. It was an absolutely beautiful day filled with sunshine and warmth. We parked and walked across the sand to the restaurant. This hidden gem serves seafood that is literally fresh off the boat. The boats dock on the beach only steps from the entrance of the restaurant. We started with a delicious Santa Carolina Carmenere and fresh warm bread while taking in the ocean breeze. For lunch we had abalone (locos) served with salad, razor clams (machas), baby eels (angilas) which was a daring choice but I was game, and a rich crab pie (pastel de jaiva) accompanied by a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. I took a little video to catch the cook in action.

At 4:30 we finished lunch and left to Casas del Bosque vineyard for a tasting. The vineyard was very pretty and surprisingly contemporary. We tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot, and Syrah. Everyone liked the Sauvignon Blanc best. The clients were exhausted after a long flight and full day of food and wine but very content. We headed back to Santiago and were home by 6:45pm.

Here is the video I took in the kitchen of the chef preparing our fabulous lunch.

A little plug for Liz: she will be on the Travel Channel on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" show Monday night at 7pm PST.