Today was the ultimate test of patience and perseverance. Last night we found a perfect solution- an overnight bus to Arica and from there we would catch a 40 minute flight to La Paz that would put us there only 5 hours later than we had originally planned (a miracle, considering we were getting so desperate we started looking up flights back to Santiago...)
Sounds perfect, right?
Problem #1: We couldn’t book the tickets for the bus online because our cards are foreign. Imagine that, foreigners in Chile wanting to travel and book a bus from a hostel computer? The audacity! Nevertheless, we ran into similar problems in Santiago, and always resorted to going to the Tur Bus office to pay in person. Luckily we knew there was a Tur Bus office in San Pedro, so we were able to go right there to pay. Okay, fine, problem solved.
Problem #2: SKY (a South American airline based in Chile) ALSO wasn't accepting our cards BUT we used this airline to book our Buenos Aires trip that was less than a month ago. Some people in the hostel lamented that they had similar problems, but we couldn't figure out why! Calling them via the hostel phone wasn't an option because, apparently, they can only call in the San Pedro region. The girl working at the front desk overheard us though, and was nice enough to let us use her personal net-book to Skype call SKY. From this we learned that after 72 hours prior to the departure date- you cannot pay for a flight with a foreign credit card online. So, basically, if you are a foreign traveller like we are, and have to make a quick plan B (SKY has by far the cheapest rates!) you are screwed unless you can get to an actual SKY office. Thankfully, we were able to get to one by bus....two hours away in a town called Calama.
Problem #3: We made it to Calama fairly painlessly and with sufficient time to return back to San Pedro and pack before we had to catch the overnight bus. But when we went to pay for a return ticket to San Pedro,there was only one left. You have got to be kidding me. Deirdre bought it anyway as we knew the overnight bus stopped in Calama on the way to Arica. We figured I could wait here and she could somehow find a way to lug both her stuff and mine on the bus (a difficult feat- I was relatively packed but my bag is HEAVY...I'm still practising this whole "packing light" thing.) Seeing our panic stricken faces as we approached the bus, a worker approached us. We explained the situation- hoping we could plead our way to convince him to let me on the bus, even if it meant standing. He told us not to worry and relax (an increasingly common response from South Americans to us stressed out gringa's). He assured us that it wouldn't but a problem because the buses never fill up and that when the ticket collector comes around I can just pay in cash. I was still a little hesitant, but boarded anyway, and sat in an empty seat. Twice I had to move because I was in someones actual seat, and I held my breath as I moved in to my third seat which also happened to be the last empty seat on the bus. I breathed a sigh of relief once we exited the town- I assumed we wouldn't be picking anyone up in the middle of the desert.
And that has kind of been the theme of this entire trip, and in general, how I try to cope with stress in my life: just get to the next step. One step at a time.
Thankfully when the ticket collector came around he was more than happy to take cold hard pesos, but motioned that he would be right back, as he continued collecting tickets from the back of the bus....but he never did. When I exited the bus upon arrival he was nowhere to be found. I guess my luck was starting to turn around!
We made it in time to catch the overnight bus and we smoothly transitioned to the airport, which is where I sit now, scribbling in my notebook because reading when I am tired (whether it is early morning or late at night) puts me right to sleep. We should be in La Paz in a matter of hours, and I hope this city will bring us luck for the rest of our trip!
South of the Equator
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Day 4: Back to San Pedro
Unfortunately, Deirdre was still in no condition to roam through the desert, so we pleaded with the guides to bring us back, and after some confusion/reorganization, they very kindly obliged.
Such is life though- you can have everything planned to a tee and things can always come up. You have to roll with the punches, but also be your own advocate for your health, especially when you are travelling, and especially when you are, quite literally, in the middle of no where, miles and miles away from any sort of medical facilities.
I don`t know if this was the culprit for D, but keep in mind elevation when travelling. It is also essential to always have bottled water, tissues, medicine, and plastic bags, just in case!
We are working on Plan B tomorrow that will hopefully put us back on course to La Paz!
Such is life though- you can have everything planned to a tee and things can always come up. You have to roll with the punches, but also be your own advocate for your health, especially when you are travelling, and especially when you are, quite literally, in the middle of no where, miles and miles away from any sort of medical facilities.
I don`t know if this was the culprit for D, but keep in mind elevation when travelling. It is also essential to always have bottled water, tissues, medicine, and plastic bags, just in case!
We are working on Plan B tomorrow that will hopefully put us back on course to La Paz!
Day 3: On the road, er, desert, to Uyuni
So far no peanut butter in Uyuni but then again, we havent exactly been in civilization. Essentially, I`m writing this from the desert where it is FREEZING cold right now.
Yes, I`m under several blankets, but of course, like always, my feet, despite the two pairs of socks I`m wearing, feel like icicles. I`m starting to think they have a personal vendetta against me. Yes, I get it, my entire body weight is on you all day, but you were covered in two pairs of socks and rain boots! (And yes, the irony that I was wearing rain boots in the desert was not lost on me, but it was easier than shoving them in my duffel). If anything my hands should be cold- they were exposed all day- but they`re nice and toasty.
I got so desperate I pulled out the hand-warmers (see feet, they`re not even for you!!!) that are at least five years old, as that is the last time I went skiing, which is a whole other kind of depressing...
Also, I`m not 100 percent sure if this IS the desert, because all we have seen so far.... is lakes. But maybe that is why they are special...they are oases? I think I read that somewhere...I really should know more about my current location...
...whatever, I`m blaming my memory loss on the altitude.
ANYWAY, we have seen many beautiful lakes and mountains but the real attraction will come at day 3 of the tour- the salt flats in Uyuni. Which means wifi and hot water! It also means the lovely 135 USD reciprocity fee we have to pay, as Americans, to enter Bolivia. If you ever plan on travelling to South America, be sure to check out how much it will cost you to enter each country. It is killer if you are American, but travellers from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have to fork over some cash, too. Here is how/why/how much: http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3272.html
Deirdre isn`t feeling well at the moment, but I am praying it is just altitude sickness and she will be better tomorrow!!!
....and then this happened:
(photo coming soon!)
Yes, I`m under several blankets, but of course, like always, my feet, despite the two pairs of socks I`m wearing, feel like icicles. I`m starting to think they have a personal vendetta against me. Yes, I get it, my entire body weight is on you all day, but you were covered in two pairs of socks and rain boots! (And yes, the irony that I was wearing rain boots in the desert was not lost on me, but it was easier than shoving them in my duffel). If anything my hands should be cold- they were exposed all day- but they`re nice and toasty.
I got so desperate I pulled out the hand-warmers (see feet, they`re not even for you!!!) that are at least five years old, as that is the last time I went skiing, which is a whole other kind of depressing...
Also, I`m not 100 percent sure if this IS the desert, because all we have seen so far.... is lakes. But maybe that is why they are special...they are oases? I think I read that somewhere...I really should know more about my current location...
...whatever, I`m blaming my memory loss on the altitude.
ANYWAY, we have seen many beautiful lakes and mountains but the real attraction will come at day 3 of the tour- the salt flats in Uyuni. Which means wifi and hot water! It also means the lovely 135 USD reciprocity fee we have to pay, as Americans, to enter Bolivia. If you ever plan on travelling to South America, be sure to check out how much it will cost you to enter each country. It is killer if you are American, but travellers from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have to fork over some cash, too. Here is how/why/how much: http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3272.html
Deirdre isn`t feeling well at the moment, but I am praying it is just altitude sickness and she will be better tomorrow!!!
....and then this happened:
(photo coming soon!)
Day 2: San Pedro de Atacama
As I scribbled away in my notebook writing this post, I had the following saying in my head as I wrote "desert": only one "s" in desert, because you only want to go there once. two "s"`s in dessert, because you always want seconds! While I`m always up for dessert, it`s funny, I would certainly love to go back to this particular dessert.
We drove through this beautiful desert on the bus the way to San Pedro and to my surprise, promptly pulled into a bus station. We`re here!? It looked like a site for a tour, much less a town. Seeing no taxi`s, we lugged our gigantic duffel to our hostel- San Pedro Backpackers. It was hard to believe any type of establishment could exist in these small adobe-like buildings, but we found our hostel with no problem.
Check in was not until 12:30, so we locked up our stuff (travel tip: invest in bike locks to secure the duffel/backpack/suitcase to a larger nearby object, such as a bed, and use a gym lock for the zippers to close the bag. Look for ones with codes to memorize so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of keys).
We then walked into town to change money. Can you believe we spent nearly two hours trying to find Bolivianos (Bolivias currency, which we would need for our next step of our journey) in Santiago with no luck but nearly every place in teeny tiny San Pedro sold them.
We walked around an artisan market which never fails to suck me in. The colors! The wool! The ALPACAS!!! It is incredibly difficult not to buy every gorgeous hand made product you lay eyes on. Some of you though will reap the benefits of my shopping spree!
We got settled in our rooms and had a delicious salmon lunch followed by ice cream. I chose a flavor called chañar, mainly because it was the closet thing that resembled chocolate. However, I later learned at a museum that it was a very useful fruit for the indigenous people of the Atacama region.
We booked our three day tour to the salt flats of Uyuni that would commence the following day. We purchased the necessary supplies: toilet paper and three 10 galleon jugs of water (that`s right, we`re not in Santiago anymore- no drinking the tap water here!) and to my outrage what do I see but PEANUT BUTTER. Are you kidding me?!?! Do you know how hard we tried finding it in Santiago?! We eventually found it and stocked up before the trip, but I never imaged in a million years to see several giant sized Great Value brand peanut butter here.
If I see it in Bolivia I`ll just die.
We drove through this beautiful desert on the bus the way to San Pedro and to my surprise, promptly pulled into a bus station. We`re here!? It looked like a site for a tour, much less a town. Seeing no taxi`s, we lugged our gigantic duffel to our hostel- San Pedro Backpackers. It was hard to believe any type of establishment could exist in these small adobe-like buildings, but we found our hostel with no problem.
Check in was not until 12:30, so we locked up our stuff (travel tip: invest in bike locks to secure the duffel/backpack/suitcase to a larger nearby object, such as a bed, and use a gym lock for the zippers to close the bag. Look for ones with codes to memorize so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of keys).
We then walked into town to change money. Can you believe we spent nearly two hours trying to find Bolivianos (Bolivias currency, which we would need for our next step of our journey) in Santiago with no luck but nearly every place in teeny tiny San Pedro sold them.
We walked around an artisan market which never fails to suck me in. The colors! The wool! The ALPACAS!!! It is incredibly difficult not to buy every gorgeous hand made product you lay eyes on. Some of you though will reap the benefits of my shopping spree!
We got settled in our rooms and had a delicious salmon lunch followed by ice cream. I chose a flavor called chañar, mainly because it was the closet thing that resembled chocolate. However, I later learned at a museum that it was a very useful fruit for the indigenous people of the Atacama region.
We booked our three day tour to the salt flats of Uyuni that would commence the following day. We purchased the necessary supplies: toilet paper and three 10 galleon jugs of water (that`s right, we`re not in Santiago anymore- no drinking the tap water here!) and to my outrage what do I see but PEANUT BUTTER. Are you kidding me?!?! Do you know how hard we tried finding it in Santiago?! We eventually found it and stocked up before the trip, but I never imaged in a million years to see several giant sized Great Value brand peanut butter here.
If I see it in Bolivia I`ll just die.
Day 1: Bus to San Pedro
Annnnnnnd.....we`re off! After weeks of late night planning, our backpacking adventures through South America finally arrived!
First step: 24 hour bus ride.
Last time I did one of these I was a young and sprightly sophomore in college, on my way to do Katrina relief in Biloxi, Mississippi (ironically, the connections from that trip is what got me here). I was ready to be social the whole time, getting to know my fellow volunteers. This time, I had a different "s" word in mind: sleep.
And oh did I sleep!
It was like the past four months of running after buses and exerting energy not to explode while on crowded subways finally caught up to me. We were off on an amazing adventure and I knew lack of sleep would soon be in my future again, so I caught as many z`s as I could.
I partially saw the following movies: Jack Reacher, The Hobbit, and two others that I don`t remember. Definitely no the most exciting day, but it was a much needed break.
First step: 24 hour bus ride.
Last time I did one of these I was a young and sprightly sophomore in college, on my way to do Katrina relief in Biloxi, Mississippi (ironically, the connections from that trip is what got me here). I was ready to be social the whole time, getting to know my fellow volunteers. This time, I had a different "s" word in mind: sleep.
And oh did I sleep!
It was like the past four months of running after buses and exerting energy not to explode while on crowded subways finally caught up to me. We were off on an amazing adventure and I knew lack of sleep would soon be in my future again, so I caught as many z`s as I could.
I partially saw the following movies: Jack Reacher, The Hobbit, and two others that I don`t remember. Definitely no the most exciting day, but it was a much needed break.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Buenos Aires
BUENOS AIRES
I’ve heard its been said that Buenos Aires is “the Paris of
South America.” I can’t fairly judge that statement because I’ve never been to
Paris but I can say that it was both a gorgeous and amazing city. My first
impression upon arriving was that it reminded me a lot of Santiago: typical
urban metropolitan with lots of traffic, tall building, and small parks amidst
the roads. However, this view was also at about 5 a.m when we were on our way
to our hostel, so my observational skills at the time were minimal at best.
When we awoke from our “nap” around 8:00 a.m, we had the beautiful view of the
Capitol building nearby to remind us, we certainly weren’t in Santiago anymore!
However, exploring the city had to wait until that
afternoon- as we had a very important adventure to attend to. Nearly 3 months
ago, Deirdre’s sister Erin sent her a link on Facebook about this absurd zoo
that lets you pet, yes pet, lions and tigers. It seemed like such a long shot
at the time, yet here we were: tickets in hand, on our way to Lujan Zoo. To pet
tigers. And lions. And feed bears. Have I mentioned that I used to be afraid of
dogs? And that I leave the room when my house cat looks at me weirdly?
Needless to say, my heart was pounding when we were in line
to pet the tiger. But then I remembered that animals can sense your fear, and
that inspired a whole new wave of panic. My internal conflict sure made time fly
though, because before I knew it there we were. Petting the tiger, and posing
with it for pictures like it was the Easter Bunny.
With adrenaline pumping through me, we headed to the next line- this time snow tigers. It wasn’t as scary because they were asleep, but that also required kneeling down, and the images I had in my head of accidentally tripping, falling on them, and the subsequent sounds of teeth sinking, flesh ripping and screaming weren’t pretty (I have dreams, no, nightmares about these things as it is!!). Thankfully my feet didn’t betray me and I left the cage alive and well.
With adrenaline pumping through me, we headed to the next line- this time snow tigers. It wasn’t as scary because they were asleep, but that also required kneeling down, and the images I had in my head of accidentally tripping, falling on them, and the subsequent sounds of teeth sinking, flesh ripping and screaming weren’t pretty (I have dreams, no, nightmares about these things as it is!!). Thankfully my feet didn’t betray me and I left the cage alive and well.
Next up was the lions, where we strolled with Mufasa and
posed with Sarabi. The wait for this one was super long, and the crazy thing
was, that by the time we did such strolling and posing, the novelty that I was
touching these animals, let alone in an enclosed space with them, began to ware
off. It felt pretty routine at this point. Okay Deirdre you go first, then
switch cameras, Amy your up. It stopped feeling like we were doing anything
remotely dangerous, but I guess to everyone else, the pictures speak for
themselves.
We had a bit of a reality check with the baby lion cubs
however. They were much less willing to cooperate, and thus many of our
pictures included a worker coaxing the lion to sit still by offering it a piece
of chicken. One of them actually tried to take a little nip at Amy, but other
than some snot on her sweatshirt, she was completely fine. Gross- but how many
people can respond to the question “What’s that stain?” with “oh, just some
baby lion boogers.”
Baby tigers were next, and they were every bit as cute and
slightly more cooperative. We also were able to feed a BEAR and elephant, and
ride a camel. Llamas frequently strutted their stuff past us, and the geese
serenaded us with song (aka screeched constantly).
We had some time to rest and explore a little before the
next event: a tango show! Our original show had to be canceled but the company
we booked with got us tickets with an even nicer (and would have been more
expensive!) venue and we were charged nothing extra. We also received dinner
before the show, which consisted of an appetizer of our choice, delicious steak and steak fries, dessert, and complimentary wine!
I wish I could have taken pictures of the show, because everything, the
dancers, the music, and the singers was beautiful.
With music still playing in our head, we set out to find a
“Milonga”- essentially a tango club where everyday people come to dance the
tango. Unfortunately the leads we had from the hostel weren’t open that
evening, and though we found a 40+ club, we settled for a typical dance club
(that we were oh so generously allowed to enter in for free, #gringaprivilege)
that was OPENING at 1 a.m as we were passing by. We took advantage of a few two
for one specials and danced the night away.
The next day we slept in a little and did a walking tour of
the city at 11 a.m. We saw some great historical sites including the Capitol
and Casa Rosada (the “pink house”- the equivalent of our white house).
Our tour guide was great- if you ever travel abroad definitely look into whether there are free tours. These guys operate solely on tips and are always great; I’ve only done a few but I’ve yet to be disappointed! It was interesting in particular how proud yet humble our tour guide was about Argentinian’s. For example, she talked about Avenida 9 de Julio- supposedly the widest avenue in the world. However, she told us with a smile the Brazil has the actual widest road, but added jokingly, that it’s a highway so it doesn’t count!
Our tour guide was great- if you ever travel abroad definitely look into whether there are free tours. These guys operate solely on tips and are always great; I’ve only done a few but I’ve yet to be disappointed! It was interesting in particular how proud yet humble our tour guide was about Argentinian’s. For example, she talked about Avenida 9 de Julio- supposedly the widest avenue in the world. However, she told us with a smile the Brazil has the actual widest road, but added jokingly, that it’s a highway so it doesn’t count!
After the tour I stopped for a bite to eat, and then went to
the Museo de Bellas Artes (fine arts museum). It was much smaller than I though
it would be, but had some great pieces (no photos allowed though, sorry guys).
We ended the day with an evening night tour. This one went
to a few more sites in the city, but focused heavily on quirky cultural
facts. Some interesting facts include:
-The people of Buenos Aires are called “porteños”, because
it is a “port city”
-Their health care system offers the option for private and
public health care (hmmm, imagine that!). Interestingly though, the private
companies offer a host of benefits – among them, one free plastic surgery a
year. I’m sorry, what?! On a more practical note, they also offer free
psychological services, so the stigma about going to shrink is nonexistent,
since everyone goes to the psychologist. Interesting. I’d love to research the
effects/benefits of this. No wonder people seemed so happy there!
-The story about Evita’s body….is too gruesome to post here.
It’s a pretty twisted story, but I’ll gladly tell you when I’m home!
-Going out for coffee is a social event- not something to
take to go. Our guide guaranteed us that if we saw someone with a coffee in one
hand on the street, he or she would either have a map or camera in the other.
And this is exactly what Amy and I had done the previous day. No wonder all the
vendors kept approaching us offering tours!
-If you want a hot chocolate, ask for a “submarino”. You
receive a glass of warm milk and a little chocolate bar shaped like a submarine
that you dunk in the milk. So much cooler than Swiss Miss and their fake little
marshmallows.
-There is a clock tower in Argentina nicknamed by some “little Big Ben”, because it resembles, though to a much smaller degree, Big Ben, and was given to Argentina as a gift from the British
-If you drink from a fountain that was given to Argentina from Spain, you will supposedly return to Argentina
-There is a clock tower in Argentina nicknamed by some “little Big Ben”, because it resembles, though to a much smaller degree, Big Ben, and was given to Argentina as a gift from the British
-If you drink from a fountain that was given to Argentina from Spain, you will supposedly return to Argentina
-This one I found out the previously night, but wine is
ridiculously cheap- even cheaper than Santiago! I purchased a bottle for around
the equivalent of a dollar.
Before we called it a night, Deirdre and I couldn’t help it-
we wanted to see a gosh darn Milonga….even if it meant watching 50 year olds
dance. But man, they were good! No one missed a beat- they started together,
stopped together, and watching both the men and women subtly and silently
communicate their desire to dance with each other was like watching an
animalistic mating ritual. And every single woman was wearing heels. They
certainly put me to shame, sitting there in my flat boots with visions in my
head of curling up into bed. But I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It is certainly
something you seldom see in America, but I think that’s quite unfortunate
because it was beautiful to see such culture incarnate. Plus they all just
looked so happy.
Our last day in B.A we were up bright and early, ready to
explore El Tigre, a tourist town located on the Paraná Delta. We had signed up
for a tour that included a boat tour, an asado, and two “adventure activities”
of our choice (for us- horseback riding and rowing). There were some
complications throughout the day in the form of misinformation/scheduling (the
boat “tour” was actually just a boat “taxi” [which on another note, is kind of
cool. It picks people up along a river and takes them to whatever dock or port
they need to get off at] to get to the site, and left hours later than we thought
it would), but we made it there and back in one piece. As cheesy as it sounds,
it was so nice to get away from the city for a day and just enjoy nature.
Having grown up in a suburban/rural area, I’ve been dying to live in a big
city. And while I’ve enjoyed Santiago immensely, it was nice to have a touch of
home.
We took another little “nap” when we got back, got ourselves
up and to the airport by 4, and made it back to Santiago by 8:30 or so, and
still made it to our classes on Monday. What can I say, we’re pros.
Having said that…check in with me after 28 days straight of traveling that commences in ONE WEEK…and
then I’ll reevaluate that statement again!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
PUCÓN
PUCON
We were up bright and early to catch a bus Saturday morning
for Parque Herquehue. It is a rather large park and consequently long hike, but
with beautiful forests and views of lakes. We didn’t do nearly all of it as we
wanted to conserve some energy for the Volcano the following day, but we still
had a great time. We saw lots of animals along the way too, and had to exert
great strength not to take these three little kittens home with us. Luckily
John was there to be the heartless soul who scarred the cats enough so they
would eventually give up following us and return home.
Weekend trip #3: April 11th to April 14th.
Deidre and I kept our trend of taking a weekend trip every other weekend
(though this trip also concluded that trend, when our bank accounts told us to
calm down on the spontaneity and adventure- for another month or so at least).
One day at the office, we heard a group of girls talk about their amazing trip
to a place south of Santiago called Pucón. I hung on to every word as they
recalled how they took amazing hikes, soaked in natural hot springs, and
climbed a VOLCANO.
This volcano, in fact. |
I looked at my friend Amy- and we were sold. We were
originally going to plan the trip for the weekend of April 4-7, but as we
literally just got back from Valparaiso, we figured we should spend a little
more time in Santiago before we traipse off again. That is the great thing
about living in this city though- it is fairly easy to do just that- buy a round
trip bus ticket, book a cheap hostel online, and take off for the weekend. The
bus tickets round trip came to about only $50 USD, and the hostel was super
cheap as well. It was fairly small, but cabin like and cozy and the staff was
extremely friendly and helpful. If anyone goes there, I highly recommend it: http://www.hostalelrefugio.cl/en.
They had two options for sleeping: either in the dorms or double rooms (which
were a little pricier) or tents outside (the cheaper option). Feeling
adventurous, Deirdre and I opted to stay in the tent. We consulted with the
girls who went before us and they recommended it. In addition, one of the girls
from our company actually WORKED at that hostel before finding a job with TLC
(the lang. co) and she assured us that we would be warm enough and our
belongings would be safe there. They had lockers in the tent and there were
multiple down comforters on the bed, and they gave us a hot water bottle to
use! For someone who is ALWAYS cold at night I was worried, but it was actually
really comfortable!
To get there, we took an overnight bus with the company Tur
Bus. So on Thursday night around 10, Deidre, Amy, Amy’s boyfriend John (who was
visiting from Canada) and I took the metro about 8 stops or so. The bus
“station” was literally connected to the subcentro, so we waited right there
for a little while until our bus rolled in at 11. This was also quite a
comfortable experience- they had “semicamas” (cama=bed), which meant the seats
reclined a great deal. The bus also had T.Vs that aired a movie, and breakfast
snacks in the morning. They even had someone come around and place a pillow
behind our head and a blanket on us, stopping just short of tucking us in.
South America- I’m impressed!
We rolled into our hostel around 9 but unfortunately
couldn’t check in our rooms- er, um, tent- until the afternoon. However this
gave us time to talk with the staff and plan our weekend. We originally wanted
to hike the park Herquehue Friday, climb the Volcano Saturday, and relax and
soak in the hot springs on Sunday. This didn’t quite go as planned. We were
unable to make the bus that left for Herquehue in time, so we had to push that
to a later date. Also, the hostel runs the tours for the Volcano, and they only
do it when the weather cooperates. Unfortunately this meant we had to do the
Volcano on Sunday, our last day in town. We decided to do Herquehue on Saturday
and check out the hot springs that night. We hopped to go horseback riding too,
but alas, that tour was already full.
So we explored the town a little and took in the fresh air
our lungs so craved after being smoggy Santiago for so long. The town is so
quaint- it reminds me a lot of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. We stopped
for lunch at a restaurant that was recommended to us by the staff, and ordered Cazuela- a typical Chilean soup. It’s
made with a light chicken broth, beef, lots of veggies (a quarter of a corn on
the cob, carrots, potatoes, and others). Oh, and cilantro. Lot’s of cilantro. A
little much for my liking, but other than that the soup was good. Not my
favorite dish ever, but in that moment it hit the spot. We also had sopapilla-
fried delicious bread- then, which sparked a subsequent (though unfortunate in
regards to how my jeans have been fitting!!!) obsession.
Our journey to the hot springs was interesting. The bus
driver didn’t quite know where we were going, despite our attempts to explain.
We certainly ended up at a beautiful location with hot pools of water- but the
fact that it was more expensive than we were told it would be and the presence
of lockers and showers pretty much indicated that it was a spa. But hey- who’s
a girl to turn down a hot tub?! And MAN was it HOT! It was almost a little
unsettling at first, but once I adjusted I absolutely loved it. There was a
nearby pool that was a little cooler, so when it did become a little much with
the sun beating down too, we would switch back and forth.
After we arrived back at the hostel, Deirdre and I began our
quest for one of our favorite things- finding somewhere to go out to dinner. We
asked several people where we could find good salmon- yet we were so hungry we
literally stopped at the first Italian restaurant we saw. Hey- it’d been a long
time since we had good pasta- ya know, higher quality than the cheapest brand
of spaghetti Lider (aka Chile’s walmart) has to offer. It was a really cute
place- clearly a family run business as two teenagers brought us to the table
and picked up their pace when their adult family members returned. They even
had Friends on the TV! Dinner itself was a little strange though. We were
literally the only ones there, on a Friday night at 8 p.m. Thus, we could hear
the microwave ding. Yes, you heard that correctly, they heated up our food in
the microwave, and unfortunately, you could tell. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no
chef, but when you go out to eat you just don’t expect that. Then after they
served us, the entire large family proceeded to sit down and have something
like a family dinner of their own. It led us to wonder if they were really
open, and we felt a little bit like intruders.
When we returned to the hostel we played some cards with Amy
and John, which I recommend that no one ever do if you want to retain any ounce
of dignity you have, because, as everyone in our program knows, Amy is a hardcore
CARD SHARK! It’s always the quiet ones…. But seriously, when I stopped her from
“shooting the moon” or doing something dangerous and complicated sounding when
playing Hearts I though this seemingly sweet little French Canadian girl was
going to cut me!!!
Copihue- Chile's national flower |
We had a meeting at the hostel in the evening for everyone
who planned to climb the Volcano the following day. It was a little nerve wracking,
as we essentially had to sign our life away in case anything happened, but the
instructors seemed very friendly and gave us detailed instructions about what
would happen the following day.
Basically we had to get up at the crack of dawn and meet in
the hostel lobby to wait for the tour guides to arrive. Then they handed out
gear, and we tried our shoes and backpacks on to make sure everything was a
good fit. We loaded up our snacks and water in our bags, and hit the road.
Nearly everyone slept on the way there, but when we finally arrived, the
majestic sunrise over the mountains woke me up, and a rush of adrenaline
replaced the butterflies that were previously fluttering away inside me. Here
we are, let’s do this.
We made our way to the base of the Volcano, and here came
the first fork in the road: take the chairlift for 7,000 CLP ($14 USD) or an
additional couple of hours up the steepest part of the mountain. Several people
we talked to about the Volcano advised us to just take the chair lift as the
energy we would save would be well worth it. So while a few of the fitter
members of the group opted to climb their way up to meet us, Deirdre, John,
Amy, and I enjoyed a nice smooth ride up a significant part of the mountain and
the beautiful views it allowed. Okay, perhaps that was a little generous. We
basically sat as still as statues with our gear on our laps, because unlike
normal ski lifts, this one did not have a safety bar, so one wrong move, splat,
you’re a volcano pancake.
The view from this point was even more beautiful, but we had
little time to enjoy it as our guides were eager to begin the hike. After
resituating a little, we began our ascent. For the first hour or so we made a
couple stops periodically, and I thought to myself, okay, so far so good, this
isn’t bad at all. However, we later learned this was definitely not the
precedent for the rest of the hike, it was more of an opportunity to adjust
clothing as the weather conditions changed rapidly.
The last leg of the hike was by far the hardest. We hiked for what felt like hours, though in reality it was probably little more than an hour straight. The wind made it especially difficult- people were literally blowing over and falling down (my knees were scarified many times because of this). Several songs were running through my head at time, among them “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” and “put one foot in front of the other”. It’s amazing how a task like this focuses you. While the wind was blowing at my face, my nose was incessantly running, and my stomach was starting to rumble, the entirety of my mental capacities was focused on doing exactly what those songs said. Keep going. Left foot, right foot. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally stopped for a lunch break. Everyone huddled around some large rocks to sit while they ate- but frankly, the ten extra feet to get to said rock was out of the question for me. I literally plopped down and sat on my backpack in the middle of the snow. No Amy I don’t want to come over and sit with you to eat. I love you, I’m sorry, but I’m NOT moving!!! No tour guide I don’t care that my snow pants are getting wet!!!!
The last leg of the hike was by far the hardest. We hiked for what felt like hours, though in reality it was probably little more than an hour straight. The wind made it especially difficult- people were literally blowing over and falling down (my knees were scarified many times because of this). Several songs were running through my head at time, among them “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” and “put one foot in front of the other”. It’s amazing how a task like this focuses you. While the wind was blowing at my face, my nose was incessantly running, and my stomach was starting to rumble, the entirety of my mental capacities was focused on doing exactly what those songs said. Keep going. Left foot, right foot. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally stopped for a lunch break. Everyone huddled around some large rocks to sit while they ate- but frankly, the ten extra feet to get to said rock was out of the question for me. I literally plopped down and sat on my backpack in the middle of the snow. No Amy I don’t want to come over and sit with you to eat. I love you, I’m sorry, but I’m NOT moving!!! No tour guide I don’t care that my snow pants are getting wet!!!!
Once I had some peanut butter in me, my mood improved, and
after readjusting my gear I took and posed for some great pictures. I’m sure
you’re tired of hearing me say how beautiful the view was, so rather than try
to consult a thesaurus in vain, I’ll just show you:
Everyone stopping for a much deserved break. |
Some random commercial or marketing company also tried to
interview me, once in English then again in Spanish, both of which we equally
interesting, seeing as how I still had difficulty walking and breathing.
However, after I was fed and rehydrated my adrenaline perked
back up a litte. This was it, I thought, the last part until we get to the
crater! To see actual lava! Okay then, why aren’t we going? Why are all the
tour guides just standing there talking. When I asked why we weren’t going, he
sighed exasperatedly to indicate his frustration at my apparent lack of
listening (okay- did he not realize the necessities of wallowing in my
exhaustion/eating/drinking/posing for pictures? Those were very time consuming
activities.) He pointed to a man at the top of the mountain who literally was
billowing in the wind.
This pretty much said it all- no ascent to the crater today. The weather conditions were such that it wouldn’t be safe to do so. Not only was it extremely windy, but apparently it was also very icy at the top. Seeing my disappointed face, he said with annoyance that it is a serious matter and that people have died before when the conditions weren’t safe. Clearly I had the utmost respect for their abilities and knowledge, and I had no interest in falling in a crater, but I couldn’t deny my disappointment. Those who have reached the top described the views and experience as unbelievable. And we just climbed up for hours up this mountain, only to turn around now. But, such is life. I reveled in the view and the amount we had already accomplished that day and resolved I would find another mountain to climb, start to finish, that may or may not include a crater at the top.
This pretty much said it all- no ascent to the crater today. The weather conditions were such that it wouldn’t be safe to do so. Not only was it extremely windy, but apparently it was also very icy at the top. Seeing my disappointed face, he said with annoyance that it is a serious matter and that people have died before when the conditions weren’t safe. Clearly I had the utmost respect for their abilities and knowledge, and I had no interest in falling in a crater, but I couldn’t deny my disappointment. Those who have reached the top described the views and experience as unbelievable. And we just climbed up for hours up this mountain, only to turn around now. But, such is life. I reveled in the view and the amount we had already accomplished that day and resolved I would find another mountain to climb, start to finish, that may or may not include a crater at the top.
When we got back into the shuttles to take us back to the
hostel, I couldn’t believe it was only 1 pm. Are you kidding me?!? We were only
hiking for a couple of hours!? While it was a huge slice of humble pie to learn
this, it was nice to know we had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy the
town before our overnight bus took off. Our tour guides asked if we would like
some adult beverages on the way back, but I thought they were kidding as no one
really responded. However, they certainly came through. After we returned our
gear at the hostel we saw several one liter bottles of Escudo, a popular
Chilean beer, on the picnic table. Well don’t mind if I do! It was pretty cool
of them to provide this for free, and after the hike we had we certainly
deserved it!
Some of our awesome guides! |
We spent the rest of the day relaxing, and watched the
sunset on the lake. If anyone reading this ever goes to Chile, I can’t
recommend Pucón enough! It reminds me so much of the Adirondacks, and after
spending so much time living and working in a big city, it was great to get
away.
….just kidding!
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