Hola! Jon and I have just stuffed ourselves with some fine Chilean cusine. Jon ordered the ´´poor man´s feast´´. A feast fit for royalty complete with steak and greasy fries. I stuck with the really unique paila marina, a soup crammed with all bits of sea life and a few sausages to help fill you out.
We deserved these meals after a 30 hour ferry ride (meant to be 24) along the coast of Chile. We left Quellon, a rough little port town, complete with drunks and bored teens exchanging kisses and cigarettes in the only park Jon and I called home for an entire afternoon. We have had a busy couple of days. The ferry was meant to leave Quellon, on the isle of Chiloe at 4pm, but this being Chile we are of course on ´spanish time´´. 4 really meant 7 which actually saw us leaving the port at midnight! Thank goodness Jon and I splurged on 2000 pesos extra to pay for beds! We really lucked out and had the cabin to ourselves. The views from the ferry were totally romanitc and atmospheric. Misty hills thich with old growth forest, with the tiniest fishing villages popping out along the way. Beautiful views! After 30 hours, and 3 books (one on Nazis and the other about a prostitute), we were going loco and ready to reach land! One French man, riding his bike through South America threatened to get off at one of the villages only to realize that there is no possible way out! These woods are thick!
So yah, 4pm turned into 4am the following day...we arrived dazed and exhausted, and starving (we only brought so much food and had to snack on cookies for dinner). Luckily, the gringos all stuck together and hopped in a broken down taxi whose driver brought us safe and sound to Coyaqhue, the little town where we rest our weary heads now. Tomorrow we head to do some camping in the hills on an organic farm and then we´ll make our way to ARGENTINA to continue our long journey down Patagonia to the end of the world.
I have to mention camping on Chiloe...sorry these mails are so long! It takes forever to upload photos so I have lots of time to kill....
Jon and I hopped on a bus to the national park of Chiloe. We did a 7 hour (supposed to be 5) trek along the coast of the south pacific, saw as penguin in the wild, went up and down the hills, got lost on cattle trails, almost collapsed of thirst and heat exhaustion, meant wonderful locals, and finally arrive the to refugio (beautiful wood cabins in the middle of nowhere), which was closed!!! Luckily we have tents and set up camp on the beach...BEAUTIFUL!!! so remote save for the 2 Californian couples camped next door. We got water from the river, read, wrote, chilled with the pig, 3 cows and 2 horses who kept us company. Jon was awesome after the trek he pulled out 2 surprisingly still chilled beers from his pack!! What a celebration that was.
5 new things I´ve disvovered about Chile...
1. the teenagers are really respectful and helpeful. Especially Santiago from Santiago who set us up with a campsite when we were stuck.
2. When Conaf, the underfunded park administration of Chile promises a site is free they really mean bring money because the farmers who rule that bit of remote land will hunt you down and charge you mucho pesos!
3. The girls here love ´´americano boy´s´and feel encouraged to take photos of Jon.
4. toilet paper really shouldn´t be flushed down the toilet.
5. cold showers rule!!!
Ciao amigos! Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
TOP 10 Castro, Chiloe
1. Dude dressed as Elivis complete with extra shiny silver bling, selling tomatoes and cucumbers out of a wheelbarrow
2. The kids at our hostel/homestay addicted to the movie Blade and hide and seek
3. The German mom and son duo travelling through Chile who shared their wine, fruit and company. Poor mom..we convinced her son to travel more.
4. The yappy princess dog outside our room who cries for her madre all day and night!
5. Reggaeton. What seems to be the national anthem for Chilean youth. The basic beat gets in your head and sticks. We´ve been hearing it EVERYWHERE! ´duh de da duh de day duh de da duh...´´
6. UNESCO churches and warm alpaca sweaters
7. The gym on stilts, which is exactly what I wrote...kinda uneasy looking.
8. Trekking through the muddy leftovers of early morning tides, and cutting feet on shell fish while avoiding the stares of locals.
9. Empanadas and completos (hotdog loaded with guacamole y tomatoes y salsa picante)
10. The sunsets and seals swimmi ng in the distance!!!!!!!!!
Mañana we travel to the Parque Nacional de Chiloe. We had a stressed-out, sleep deprived morning of finding ferry tickets to the mainland to continue our trek down to Patagonia. We had wanted to visit Chaiten but the volcano completely wiped out the town and our port. Big Problem! After a few frantic hours we were directed to a tour booker with two sweet girls eager to help. They got us two affordable spots on a 24 hour ferry with beds and a view of the fjords. We´re happy and had a bottle of wine to celebrate. I must always remember that obstacles only make you want something more. It all works out in the end.
Muchos Gracias!
ps. please ignore all spelling errors! I´m rushing!!
pps. Restaurant in Castro is called Años Luz.
xox
2. The kids at our hostel/homestay addicted to the movie Blade and hide and seek
3. The German mom and son duo travelling through Chile who shared their wine, fruit and company. Poor mom..we convinced her son to travel more.
4. The yappy princess dog outside our room who cries for her madre all day and night!
5. Reggaeton. What seems to be the national anthem for Chilean youth. The basic beat gets in your head and sticks. We´ve been hearing it EVERYWHERE! ´duh de da duh de day duh de da duh...´´
6. UNESCO churches and warm alpaca sweaters
7. The gym on stilts, which is exactly what I wrote...kinda uneasy looking.
8. Trekking through the muddy leftovers of early morning tides, and cutting feet on shell fish while avoiding the stares of locals.
9. Empanadas and completos (hotdog loaded with guacamole y tomatoes y salsa picante)
10. The sunsets and seals swimmi ng in the distance!!!!!!!!!
Mañana we travel to the Parque Nacional de Chiloe. We had a stressed-out, sleep deprived morning of finding ferry tickets to the mainland to continue our trek down to Patagonia. We had wanted to visit Chaiten but the volcano completely wiped out the town and our port. Big Problem! After a few frantic hours we were directed to a tour booker with two sweet girls eager to help. They got us two affordable spots on a 24 hour ferry with beds and a view of the fjords. We´re happy and had a bottle of wine to celebrate. I must always remember that obstacles only make you want something more. It all works out in the end.
Muchos Gracias!
ps. please ignore all spelling errors! I´m rushing!!
pps. Restaurant in Castro is called Años Luz.
xox
Chiloe, Chile
Jon and I have reached the island of Chiloe just south of the lake district in Chile. As we make our way south to Torres del Paine we´re experiencing colder weather, cities replaced by smaller towns, and friendlier faces. Chiloe is a real chilled fishing island with a rich culture of it´s own and the beautiful fishing huts called Palafitos where fresh fish rules!
We are currently staying in Castro for 2 nights to refuel our legs and stock up on food for our trek through the Chiloe national park. We had an amazing dinner last night (deciding to splurge on a 10$ US meal). I had the freshest Chilean sea bass with native purple potatoes and fresh veggies. It was extraordinary! I made Jon walk all over town searching for this place I´d read about in Lonely Planet. Azul Luna. Great great food! Totally worth the wait, and walk.
We had just arrived in Castro after a looong bumpy bus ride from Puerto Montt where we scoured the town for Camping equipment. We need fuel and I had my swiss army knife lost, or stolen. In a lank of treks and camping it has been impossible to find gear. We keep being pointed to shops where they specialize in just about everything, but find only a couple of tents, stylized camping clothes, lawn mowers and bikinis all in the same aisle!! Puerto Montt did not prove totally a waste of time in the pouring rain with our heavy packs...we saw el presidente del Chile, or at least the body guards and Jon bumped into a man he shared some hours with in the Sri Lanka airport years ago. Pretty amazing!
Our heads were also still full of blissful memories of Puerto Varas, the very relaxed town on the sea. We loved this place famous for german style chalets and churches. In our cozy, pine walled hostel we met Mark. He´s an ex stock broker turned Colorado river guide. We spent a few days together eagerly planning the 9 to 10 day Q trek we want to do in Torres del Paine. This trek promises extreme wind and metre deep snow and mud, so I´m happy to be sticking with two boys, one of which is experienced in dangerous situtations. We´re also hoping to do some sea kayaking with him, and life jackets!
Anyway, he´s off to run one of the top 3 rivers in the world, the futulafue (sp!!?) So we´ll meet up in a month or so....
It´s time for Jon and I to search this town for camping gear and a couple of trekking poles for me so I don´t blow away. I´m also hoping to find an alpaca sweater. We´ve already purchased 2 caps hand made for 2000 pesoes, around 3 bucks us. We´re trying our hardest to blend in, but with our lack of spanish (I´still study every day!!) and white skin, it´s proving difficult. The people are lovely and friendly though. Chile is proving to be a comfortable, safe, beautiful country to travel in.
We´ve been staying with a local famiily in their house in Castro. Our room overlooks the sea and we´ve just been stuffed with a breakfast we didn´t know we were getting!
Adios amigos y hasta pronto!
Emilia
We are currently staying in Castro for 2 nights to refuel our legs and stock up on food for our trek through the Chiloe national park. We had an amazing dinner last night (deciding to splurge on a 10$ US meal). I had the freshest Chilean sea bass with native purple potatoes and fresh veggies. It was extraordinary! I made Jon walk all over town searching for this place I´d read about in Lonely Planet. Azul Luna. Great great food! Totally worth the wait, and walk.
We had just arrived in Castro after a looong bumpy bus ride from Puerto Montt where we scoured the town for Camping equipment. We need fuel and I had my swiss army knife lost, or stolen. In a lank of treks and camping it has been impossible to find gear. We keep being pointed to shops where they specialize in just about everything, but find only a couple of tents, stylized camping clothes, lawn mowers and bikinis all in the same aisle!! Puerto Montt did not prove totally a waste of time in the pouring rain with our heavy packs...we saw el presidente del Chile, or at least the body guards and Jon bumped into a man he shared some hours with in the Sri Lanka airport years ago. Pretty amazing!
Our heads were also still full of blissful memories of Puerto Varas, the very relaxed town on the sea. We loved this place famous for german style chalets and churches. In our cozy, pine walled hostel we met Mark. He´s an ex stock broker turned Colorado river guide. We spent a few days together eagerly planning the 9 to 10 day Q trek we want to do in Torres del Paine. This trek promises extreme wind and metre deep snow and mud, so I´m happy to be sticking with two boys, one of which is experienced in dangerous situtations. We´re also hoping to do some sea kayaking with him, and life jackets!
Anyway, he´s off to run one of the top 3 rivers in the world, the futulafue (sp!!?) So we´ll meet up in a month or so....
It´s time for Jon and I to search this town for camping gear and a couple of trekking poles for me so I don´t blow away. I´m also hoping to find an alpaca sweater. We´ve already purchased 2 caps hand made for 2000 pesoes, around 3 bucks us. We´re trying our hardest to blend in, but with our lack of spanish (I´still study every day!!) and white skin, it´s proving difficult. The people are lovely and friendly though. Chile is proving to be a comfortable, safe, beautiful country to travel in.
We´ve been staying with a local famiily in their house in Castro. Our room overlooks the sea and we´ve just been stuffed with a breakfast we didn´t know we were getting!
Adios amigos y hasta pronto!
Emilia
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Adios Santiago
It is hot here! Too hot and polluted.
We are ready to leave. Lounging by the pool, drinking cheap beer and listening to 90s classic rock has been fun and all, but we've already warn every article of clothing we own, and are ready to blend in with our fellow, equally stinky, trekkers.
So tonight (a las noches) we hop on a comfy overnight bus to Puerto Varas, just outside of Puerto Montt in the lake district. We are inching ourselves closer to Patagonia and have opted to spend most of our time in the near future in the Chilean side before trekking up Argentina in the later, less touristy months.
I know this might be lame, but here's my top 10 list of things I've discovered about Santiago...
1/pisco sour really is sour and sweet and leaves you with the worst hangovers. No more...
2/ Santiago is polluted! We climbed Cerro Santa Lucia at 628 m to get a better view of the Andes, but couldn't see past the smog
3/ The men are gorgeous! Especially the mestisos!
4/ the women dress like they're teenagers until they hit 60ish.
5/ the people are warm and patient with our pathetic spanish attempts
6/ no one speaks english! Trying to get our bus tickets was a really riot! Lots of confused faces
7/ beeer is wonderfully cheap and better than water (thanks for your advice mom!)
8/ there are lots of parks here and even more stray dogs *jon has taken on the mother teresa roll for all filthy animals
9. a good way to get to know any city is to spend time in the markets and try all of the amazing dishes even if you don't know what you're eating
10. It is more fun travelling with a friend (: Jon has saved my life more than once. Traffic here is brutal and drivers DON'T stop! It's funny watching locals run for their lives.
Muchos besos! Siempre, Emily
We are ready to leave. Lounging by the pool, drinking cheap beer and listening to 90s classic rock has been fun and all, but we've already warn every article of clothing we own, and are ready to blend in with our fellow, equally stinky, trekkers.
So tonight (a las noches) we hop on a comfy overnight bus to Puerto Varas, just outside of Puerto Montt in the lake district. We are inching ourselves closer to Patagonia and have opted to spend most of our time in the near future in the Chilean side before trekking up Argentina in the later, less touristy months.
I know this might be lame, but here's my top 10 list of things I've discovered about Santiago...
1/pisco sour really is sour and sweet and leaves you with the worst hangovers. No more...
2/ Santiago is polluted! We climbed Cerro Santa Lucia at 628 m to get a better view of the Andes, but couldn't see past the smog
3/ The men are gorgeous! Especially the mestisos!
4/ the women dress like they're teenagers until they hit 60ish.
5/ the people are warm and patient with our pathetic spanish attempts
6/ no one speaks english! Trying to get our bus tickets was a really riot! Lots of confused faces
7/ beeer is wonderfully cheap and better than water (thanks for your advice mom!)
8/ there are lots of parks here and even more stray dogs *jon has taken on the mother teresa roll for all filthy animals
9. a good way to get to know any city is to spend time in the markets and try all of the amazing dishes even if you don't know what you're eating
10. It is more fun travelling with a friend (: Jon has saved my life more than once. Traffic here is brutal and drivers DON'T stop! It's funny watching locals run for their lives.
Muchos besos! Siempre, Emily
Friday, January 9, 2009
Sunny Santiago
Hola!
Jon and I have arrived in Santiago, Chile after what proved to be an exhausting long day and night of travel. We left Jon's place at 6am, arriving at the airport late due to doors being frozen shut. Jon and I had not had much sleep so we were pooped but ready to go.
We knew we would be in for a long flight, with a connection in Costa Rica, but what we didn't know was that our 2 flights had somehow doubled. 4 boarding passes were handed to us in Pearson. The fun was only beginning.
Flight number one was delayed an hour and a half. Eventually we arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador (a country I will visit properly one day). Flight #2 was delayed almost 2 hours due to an earthquake shaking things up in Costa Rica. We eventually made it after a couple of hours in the air. From the airport window Costa Rica looks stunning and I really cannot wait to spend some time there in July. Flight #3 brought us to a large, clean and comfortable Hugo Chavez airport in Lima, Peru. Finally flight #4 arrived us tired and cranky, but excited nonetheless in Santiago, Chile.
4 countries, 3 contenants, 3 times zones and 17 hours later we had a breezy time getting through customs at 330am. We were shocked, however, to learn that the mandatory $55 us entry fee for Canadians had now increased to $132!! A whole dollar more than Americans! Obviously Canada has been making some changes and the Chileans are paying us back!
It was too late for us to book a hotel, or find a taxi into town so we begrudgingly opted to making the best of a couple of chairs in the airport. Horrible, horrible sleep. I woke up miserable, but then looked out the massive airport windows to see the snow capped Andes welcoming me to this stunning country!!!
Now we're lounging at our hostel, La Casa Roja in the bohemian district of Santiago. The city is big, loud and very European. Polution is a problem, as are crazy drivers. Food is cheap. Beer even cheaper. Jon and I bought a leter bottle of cerveza for $2 and enjoyed it by the pool. Tonight we''re having a bbq in hope of meeting some fellow travellers and learning about their adventures.
We hope to stay in Santiago for 2 nights before taking a late bus down to the lake district and Puerto Montt, beginning our time in Patagonia. I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!!!!!!! The Andes, from what I can see are monstrously massive and overwhelmingly beautiful. Photos will soon follow! Many many photoos.
Ok all. I've managed ot have my first conversation in Spanish, and drink tap water without vomitting. So far so good.
Lots of love, hasta luego.
Emilia xo
Jon and I have arrived in Santiago, Chile after what proved to be an exhausting long day and night of travel. We left Jon's place at 6am, arriving at the airport late due to doors being frozen shut. Jon and I had not had much sleep so we were pooped but ready to go.
We knew we would be in for a long flight, with a connection in Costa Rica, but what we didn't know was that our 2 flights had somehow doubled. 4 boarding passes were handed to us in Pearson. The fun was only beginning.
Flight number one was delayed an hour and a half. Eventually we arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador (a country I will visit properly one day). Flight #2 was delayed almost 2 hours due to an earthquake shaking things up in Costa Rica. We eventually made it after a couple of hours in the air. From the airport window Costa Rica looks stunning and I really cannot wait to spend some time there in July. Flight #3 brought us to a large, clean and comfortable Hugo Chavez airport in Lima, Peru. Finally flight #4 arrived us tired and cranky, but excited nonetheless in Santiago, Chile.
4 countries, 3 contenants, 3 times zones and 17 hours later we had a breezy time getting through customs at 330am. We were shocked, however, to learn that the mandatory $55 us entry fee for Canadians had now increased to $132!! A whole dollar more than Americans! Obviously Canada has been making some changes and the Chileans are paying us back!
It was too late for us to book a hotel, or find a taxi into town so we begrudgingly opted to making the best of a couple of chairs in the airport. Horrible, horrible sleep. I woke up miserable, but then looked out the massive airport windows to see the snow capped Andes welcoming me to this stunning country!!!
Now we're lounging at our hostel, La Casa Roja in the bohemian district of Santiago. The city is big, loud and very European. Polution is a problem, as are crazy drivers. Food is cheap. Beer even cheaper. Jon and I bought a leter bottle of cerveza for $2 and enjoyed it by the pool. Tonight we''re having a bbq in hope of meeting some fellow travellers and learning about their adventures.
We hope to stay in Santiago for 2 nights before taking a late bus down to the lake district and Puerto Montt, beginning our time in Patagonia. I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!!!!!!! The Andes, from what I can see are monstrously massive and overwhelmingly beautiful. Photos will soon follow! Many many photoos.
Ok all. I've managed ot have my first conversation in Spanish, and drink tap water without vomitting. So far so good.
Lots of love, hasta luego.
Emilia xo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
