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!