Soon after arriving in Quito I decided it was the kind of city I wanted to spend a little bit of time in. So, I signed up for some Spanish courses and went to live with a host family. I have to admit it was a little strange living with a family of strangers. Luckily the family was very nice and treated me like a son. They have a nice house in the historic center of Quito with beautiful views over the inspiring Spanish colonial architecture. There were a total of four other people living in the house, the mother Beatriz, the father Leonardo, the son Lucas, and another student Jugette (although Jugette was not your typical student, she was a French Canadian from Quebec and over 50). It was a nice environment with plenty of laughs, stories and discussions over cultural differences. My Spanish certainly improved quickly as I was forced to use it exclusively.
My timing in Quito worked out quite well as my final week was that of Semana Santa, the week of Easter. It is a week of holidays, events, and a lot of food. The most famous dish is called Fanesca. It is a combination of 12 grains, fish, and spices in a gigantic and incredibly filling soup. The Ecuadorians only make this dish once a year and it is a big event. The entire extended family gathers to see how much of this stuff they can put down before passing out.
The most interesting part of the week though, at least for me, was the procession of Jesus de Gran Poder. It is a parade with thousands of penitents making up for their sins over the past year. They all wear strange purple robes, imagine the Klu Klux Klan, but in purple. Many of them walk barefoot on the scorching road, others carry rediulously large crucifixes along the route, while others still whip themselves with a poisonous herb that causes intense itching and welts. One guy even had a cactus strapped to his back in the shape of a cross, and another tightly wrapped himself in barbed wire. Like I said, quite interesting and definitely not something you see every day.
Overall it was a good two weeks with plenty of Spanish and plenty of Ecuadorian culture.
April 17, 2010
March 23, 2010
The Amazon Rainforest
This past weekend I spent four days and three nights far from civilization in the Cuyabeno Reserve of Ecuador deep within the Amazon rainforest. I travelled eight hours on a night bus to Lago Agrio where I met the tour guide and my fellow Amazon adventurers. From this small town we travelled a couple of hours to the cuyabeno river. From here we loaded our packs into a long, narrow canoe with a small motor. Right off the bat I got a taste of what I was going to experience for the next four days. Within minutes of leaving the dock area we saw an enormous snake! It was about seven feet long and about the same girth as Hulk Hogan's legendary pythons. It moved through the water extremely fast for it's size and dissapeared into the thick foliage of the jungle within seconds.
The canoe ride to our lodging took about two and a half hours. Along the way we saw white beaked toucans, squirrel monkeys, cappuchin monkeys, large hairy monkeys and extremely small monkeys that I forget the names of, along with at least a dozen other types of birds.
The whole experience of being in the Amazon was amazing. You could feel the immense amount of pure life in the jungle. Everything I could see or touch was alive. There was never a quiet moment with the unending calls and songs of birds, insects, monkeys and who knows what else.
The ecosystem was the definite highlight of the trip, but we also visited some indigenous people who still live in the jungle. Honestly though, they really didn't seem too different. Sure they eat different things and speak a different language (although they speak Spanish as well) but they were also wearing modern clothes and playing volleyball when we arrived. I was glad they didn't put on a show by dressing up just when we were there.
There were too many cool things to describe them all here so I'll just make a little list. Spiders bigger than my hand, trees that can walk (albeit vey slowly), huge caimans, swimming in the lake, and pirhana fishing.
The canoe ride to our lodging took about two and a half hours. Along the way we saw white beaked toucans, squirrel monkeys, cappuchin monkeys, large hairy monkeys and extremely small monkeys that I forget the names of, along with at least a dozen other types of birds.
The whole experience of being in the Amazon was amazing. You could feel the immense amount of pure life in the jungle. Everything I could see or touch was alive. There was never a quiet moment with the unending calls and songs of birds, insects, monkeys and who knows what else.
The ecosystem was the definite highlight of the trip, but we also visited some indigenous people who still live in the jungle. Honestly though, they really didn't seem too different. Sure they eat different things and speak a different language (although they speak Spanish as well) but they were also wearing modern clothes and playing volleyball when we arrived. I was glad they didn't put on a show by dressing up just when we were there.
There were too many cool things to describe them all here so I'll just make a little list. Spiders bigger than my hand, trees that can walk (albeit vey slowly), huge caimans, swimming in the lake, and pirhana fishing.
February 28, 2010
Travelling Solo
Well, my first ten days travelling alone have been exciting, contemplative and at times strange. Going through a foreign country with nobody to rely on but myself has been exhilerating and frightening. I would be lying if I said that there were not a few times when I myself questioned this entire idea. But the positive experiences quickly overcame any hesitation I had. Everything, from wandering through prisine cloud forest with only birds and animals for company to meeting fascinating people from around the world, quickly put my doubts to rest and reminded of the reason why I wanted to do this on the first place.
It has only been ten days but already I feel like I have seen more things and met more people than I would in a year at home.
My first true time alone began in the surf town of Jaco. Before that I was staying with some friends from my semester in Chile who were studying in Puntarenas. Carnavale was going on in the city while I was there and I got a good glimpse of true Costarican life. The city itself is infernally hot year round and has zero tourist attractions thus the people there are not quite as used to tourists as some other parts of Costa Rica. The vibe felt more authentic, and the food alot cheaper. After spending a few nights there, I was off to Jaco. Truly on my own for the first time.
After a sweltering bus ride down to Jaco, I walked the sun-drenched main strip a couple of times until I found a quiet secure hostel a minute's walk from the beach. I was given a bed in a small cabin meant for three, but since noone else was there I was on my own. After getting settled and walking out with the intent of grabbing lunch, I met a large, tattooed, surprisingly friendly middle aged surfer who had been in Jaco for about a month and came there almost every year since he was fifteen. It was very talking to this guy, somebody I would probably never talk to back in the states.
As for Jaco itself, it wasn't much more than beach, restaurants and bars. The waves were midsized and great for learning. I went out and felt myself getting much better. It was a lot of fun but very tiring.
After that it was off to Monteverde and then Puerto Viejo where I am right now., but I'll leave the details for another post. Typing this much on an iPhone is hard.
It has only been ten days but already I feel like I have seen more things and met more people than I would in a year at home.
My first true time alone began in the surf town of Jaco. Before that I was staying with some friends from my semester in Chile who were studying in Puntarenas. Carnavale was going on in the city while I was there and I got a good glimpse of true Costarican life. The city itself is infernally hot year round and has zero tourist attractions thus the people there are not quite as used to tourists as some other parts of Costa Rica. The vibe felt more authentic, and the food alot cheaper. After spending a few nights there, I was off to Jaco. Truly on my own for the first time.
After a sweltering bus ride down to Jaco, I walked the sun-drenched main strip a couple of times until I found a quiet secure hostel a minute's walk from the beach. I was given a bed in a small cabin meant for three, but since noone else was there I was on my own. After getting settled and walking out with the intent of grabbing lunch, I met a large, tattooed, surprisingly friendly middle aged surfer who had been in Jaco for about a month and came there almost every year since he was fifteen. It was very talking to this guy, somebody I would probably never talk to back in the states.
As for Jaco itself, it wasn't much more than beach, restaurants and bars. The waves were midsized and great for learning. I went out and felt myself getting much better. It was a lot of fun but very tiring.
After that it was off to Monteverde and then Puerto Viejo where I am right now., but I'll leave the details for another post. Typing this much on an iPhone is hard.
February 14, 2010
First Few Days in Costa Rica
Wow, the last few days have been amazing. I started out in San Jose, but only stayed there for the night. It was a nice enough city, but didn't really hold any appeal for me. From the hostel we booked a rafting on the Rio Pacuare.
So, early next morning, we boarded the bus for the river. Once there we got the usual instructions on rafting and the requisite gear. The river itself was amazing. It was everything I imagined a rain forest to be with green everywhere and calls of tropical birds filling me ears. It even rained a little during the trip which was an amazingly refreshing experience. My favorite part of the trip was a certain section that went through a canyon with waterfalls and giant trees covered in vines. At a slow section we were able to jump off the boat and float down the river. An amazing experience and my favorite so far.
After the rafting trip we took a bus to La Fortuna, a small village on the non-lava flowing side of Volcan Arenal. There we took a hike to the base of the volcano at sunset and were able to few red hot rocks tumbling down the side of the volcano. The trek back through the jungle in complete darkness was certainly interesting. We saw a gigantic spider, a poisonous frog, and a three-toed sloth (although that was during the daytime). After a day there we took a tour labeled jeep-boat-jeep. The path between La Fortuna and Monteverde is very rough so the public busses have to go a long way around. For a small price some companies arrange transfer through using vans (not jeeps unfortunately) and a boat for Lake Arenal. The trip was pleasant if a little rough on the dirt roads.
So I arrive in Monteverde, where I am right now. This area is famous because of the cloud forest here. So the first day I took a zipline canopy tour which was very fun but didn't give the best opportunities for observing the forest. So today I went on a hanging bridges hike which allowed me to truly appreciate the forest. It was incredible looking over the abundant vegetation through the everpresent mist which gives the forests their name.
Next up in Manuel Antonio. A place know for its pristine beaches and tropical rain forest.
So, early next morning, we boarded the bus for the river. Once there we got the usual instructions on rafting and the requisite gear. The river itself was amazing. It was everything I imagined a rain forest to be with green everywhere and calls of tropical birds filling me ears. It even rained a little during the trip which was an amazingly refreshing experience. My favorite part of the trip was a certain section that went through a canyon with waterfalls and giant trees covered in vines. At a slow section we were able to jump off the boat and float down the river. An amazing experience and my favorite so far.
After the rafting trip we took a bus to La Fortuna, a small village on the non-lava flowing side of Volcan Arenal. There we took a hike to the base of the volcano at sunset and were able to few red hot rocks tumbling down the side of the volcano. The trek back through the jungle in complete darkness was certainly interesting. We saw a gigantic spider, a poisonous frog, and a three-toed sloth (although that was during the daytime). After a day there we took a tour labeled jeep-boat-jeep. The path between La Fortuna and Monteverde is very rough so the public busses have to go a long way around. For a small price some companies arrange transfer through using vans (not jeeps unfortunately) and a boat for Lake Arenal. The trip was pleasant if a little rough on the dirt roads.
So I arrive in Monteverde, where I am right now. This area is famous because of the cloud forest here. So the first day I took a zipline canopy tour which was very fun but didn't give the best opportunities for observing the forest. So today I went on a hanging bridges hike which allowed me to truly appreciate the forest. It was incredible looking over the abundant vegetation through the everpresent mist which gives the forests their name.
Next up in Manuel Antonio. A place know for its pristine beaches and tropical rain forest.
February 6, 2010
Getting Ready for Costa Rica
Alright, it's almost time for part two of my year off travels. I will be leaving for San Jose, Costa Rica on Feb 10 at 10am. Feelings of anticipation, excitement, and yes, even a little trepidation fill my mind as the days slowly roll toward the tenth. I have everything ready to go, here is the list of things I will be taking with me:
Backpack: Kelty Beam 82, as much as I wanted, and tried, to use my 40L Osprey, it just wasn't big enough. Good thing about this pack is that it can be compressed very well, so it looks more like a 60L pack. I'll be bringing a rain cover as well.
Clothing: Everything was chosen for easy washing and drying, along with being comfortable in a rain forest but nice enough for an occasional restaurant.
Well, that's about it for now. The next post will be from Costa Rica, and hopefully will be more frequent than about once every couple of months ;)
Backpack: Kelty Beam 82, as much as I wanted, and tried, to use my 40L Osprey, it just wasn't big enough. Good thing about this pack is that it can be compressed very well, so it looks more like a 60L pack. I'll be bringing a rain cover as well.
Clothing: Everything was chosen for easy washing and drying, along with being comfortable in a rain forest but nice enough for an occasional restaurant.
- 4 shirts (quick-dry synthetics, one long sleeve, three short)
- 2 pants (both quick-dry for easy washing)
- 4 pairs of wool/synthetic socks
- 4 boxers wool/synthetic
- 1 synthetic fleece jacket
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 rain pants
- 1 sun hat
- small day pack
- first aid kit with enough meds for a small army (thanks mom!)
- Old school iPod
- iPhone (for wi-fi)
- Sleep sack for hostels
- 20 degree sleeping bag for when I make it down to Macchu Picchu
- Sleeping pad
- Mosquito net
- Travel towels (1 small, 1 large)
- Concealable money belt
- Sun screen, insect repellent
- Toiletries
- Duct tape
- Journal
Well, that's about it for now. The next post will be from Costa Rica, and hopefully will be more frequent than about once every couple of months ;)
November 4, 2009
Pichilemu
Oops, kind of forgot about the blog. I'll try to catch up with everything that's happened but for now I'll stick to the most recent stuff.
After an amazing trip to the Atacama desert in the north of Chile, I still had a few days left of my spring break. So some friends and I decided to go south. We originally planned on going to Pucon, but the weather forecast was bleak so we decided on the small seaside surfer town of Pichilemu just three hours south of Santiago. Well, it was supposed to be only three hours, the bus we took had some cooling problems and constantly overheated so the trip took more along the lines of five hours. Still not bad, it was a morning bus so I went to sleep for most of it.
The actual town of Pichilemu is really cool. It has a great local vibe and very friendly surfers wherever you look. Combine that with great seafood, an amazing beach, awesome waves, and cheap surfing and you have a winner. The only downside to the whole trip was that I had a bad sore throat, but it wasn't anything a little advil couldn't help.
Our first day there we just walked around, found a hostel and then explored the town. The hostel we stayed at is called the SurfHostel and is built on the beach in the shape of a boat (check out the pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/navrdd/Pichilemu#). It was a cool hostel, with plenty of great people there. For dinner that night, we decided to cook in the hostel so we had a nice group dinner of pasta with chorizo.
The next day, we wanted to go surfing but the weather wasn't great, a lot of wind and fog. So we opted instead for a horseback ride through a little forest and along the beach. I have never ridden a horse before so I was a little apprehensive but that quickly passed once I was on the horse and trotting along the beach. I didn't know what to expect, but it was an amazing experience. We walked through a beautiful little forest and then back along the beach. On the beach we were able to get the horses into a little gallop. It was awesome flying along the beach with the rhythm of the horse kicking up surf. A great experience but it left me fairly sore after.
That night a couple of friends and I decided to camp on the beach. The girl in charge of the hostel told us about a cool place to camp so off we went. Lee, one of the friends, luckily has a tent and backpacking stove so we loaded up our packs with food and water and off we went. We left at about 7 pm and it took us about two hours to reach the spot. So for most of the time we were walking along the beach with a gorgeous sunset to keep us company. After eating dinner we were able to enjoy a deserted beach at night with moonlight lighting the waves and stars above our heads.
After a decent rest, I still had a bad sore throat, we went back to the hostel and just relaxed for the rest of the day. We had an awesome dinner at a little restaurant across from the hostel. I had things called 'locos' I don't know what the translation is but they are mollusks but have a very meaty texture to them, they find them locally and they were delicious. I was also able to try another local specialty, razor clams, which were amazing as well. All in all, a great dinner. Before we went to bed we decided that surfing was something we would have to do tomorrow.
Our last day, and we wanted to at least try surfing once. So we did. I decided to take the little school program so I got a little training before getting in the water. Now, the water is very cold so we had to put on full body wetsuits. They work very well, I was never extremely uncomfortable in the water. As far as surfing goes, I managed to get up a couple of times and that's about it. Still pretty fun though, wouldn't mind trying it again.
After a well deserved shower and lunch we walked back to the bus station and rode back into the city of smog that is Santiago. It was kind of nice being back in my own bed though, I forget how much energy traveling takes out of you sometimes.
After an amazing trip to the Atacama desert in the north of Chile, I still had a few days left of my spring break. So some friends and I decided to go south. We originally planned on going to Pucon, but the weather forecast was bleak so we decided on the small seaside surfer town of Pichilemu just three hours south of Santiago. Well, it was supposed to be only three hours, the bus we took had some cooling problems and constantly overheated so the trip took more along the lines of five hours. Still not bad, it was a morning bus so I went to sleep for most of it.
The actual town of Pichilemu is really cool. It has a great local vibe and very friendly surfers wherever you look. Combine that with great seafood, an amazing beach, awesome waves, and cheap surfing and you have a winner. The only downside to the whole trip was that I had a bad sore throat, but it wasn't anything a little advil couldn't help.
Our first day there we just walked around, found a hostel and then explored the town. The hostel we stayed at is called the SurfHostel and is built on the beach in the shape of a boat (check out the pics here http://picasaweb.google.com/navrdd/Pichilemu#). It was a cool hostel, with plenty of great people there. For dinner that night, we decided to cook in the hostel so we had a nice group dinner of pasta with chorizo.
The next day, we wanted to go surfing but the weather wasn't great, a lot of wind and fog. So we opted instead for a horseback ride through a little forest and along the beach. I have never ridden a horse before so I was a little apprehensive but that quickly passed once I was on the horse and trotting along the beach. I didn't know what to expect, but it was an amazing experience. We walked through a beautiful little forest and then back along the beach. On the beach we were able to get the horses into a little gallop. It was awesome flying along the beach with the rhythm of the horse kicking up surf. A great experience but it left me fairly sore after.
That night a couple of friends and I decided to camp on the beach. The girl in charge of the hostel told us about a cool place to camp so off we went. Lee, one of the friends, luckily has a tent and backpacking stove so we loaded up our packs with food and water and off we went. We left at about 7 pm and it took us about two hours to reach the spot. So for most of the time we were walking along the beach with a gorgeous sunset to keep us company. After eating dinner we were able to enjoy a deserted beach at night with moonlight lighting the waves and stars above our heads.
After a decent rest, I still had a bad sore throat, we went back to the hostel and just relaxed for the rest of the day. We had an awesome dinner at a little restaurant across from the hostel. I had things called 'locos' I don't know what the translation is but they are mollusks but have a very meaty texture to them, they find them locally and they were delicious. I was also able to try another local specialty, razor clams, which were amazing as well. All in all, a great dinner. Before we went to bed we decided that surfing was something we would have to do tomorrow.
Our last day, and we wanted to at least try surfing once. So we did. I decided to take the little school program so I got a little training before getting in the water. Now, the water is very cold so we had to put on full body wetsuits. They work very well, I was never extremely uncomfortable in the water. As far as surfing goes, I managed to get up a couple of times and that's about it. Still pretty fun though, wouldn't mind trying it again.
After a well deserved shower and lunch we walked back to the bus station and rode back into the city of smog that is Santiago. It was kind of nice being back in my own bed though, I forget how much energy traveling takes out of you sometimes.
September 10, 2009
Stuck in the Andes!!
Well, I've been pretty busy for the last week or so. Mostly just going to classes, figuring out the bus system and meeting my new classmates. After a couple of weeks of this, I decided I needed to go skiing. So, three friends and I made plans to meet at a metro stop close to the place where you can rent gear and buy transportation. We agreed on a meeting time of 7:30 am on Sunday, but I quickly realized Sunday morning that the metro did not open until 8:00 am! I was sure that no one was going to still go but I decided to go check it out anyway. After walking around the outside and inside of the metro station I was about to head home with my head hung low in despair, but there they were!
With newly renewed optimism for the day ahead, we forged ahead to SkiTotal. On the walk there I noticed again how cloudy it was and thought that it might rain in Santiago, I was actually hoping for a little snow fall up on the mountain since it had been so long since I'd last seen fresh snow. Little did I know, I was in for more than I, or anyone else, expected.
At the equipment rental place, SkiTotal, I rented a snowboard, ski pants, and goggles. After we all had our gear and van tickets in hand we set off for the mountain. We decided to go to a resort called El Colorado. The drive up there was interesting to say the least. The actual distance from Santiago is not all that far, but the vans have to go around hairpin curve after hairpin curve in order to get to the resorts. Still, the ride was uneventful and provided some good views of the mountainside.
Once at the resort, I tried my hand at snowboarding. Luckily, Justin, one of the friends I went up with has been snowboarding for a while and taught me the basics. Then, it was trial and error from then on, mostly errors to be honest, but the times I did manage to put together a couple of turns without falling felt pretty good. Each run down the mountain took me quite some time, what with the constant falling and all, so I only managed to make two runs. It certainly didn't help towards the end when it started heavily snowing and visibility plummeted. This forced me to stick to the side where I could see the fence. Still, the fresh snow did soften my fall quite a bit.
After a long day on the mountain, we were all cold, wet, and ready for a hot shower and steaming food. After piling back into the van that would take us back down, we were told that there had been a lot of rain and parts of the road down had been washed away! What! That's ridiculous! But unfortunately is was very true. Our driver took us down to what I'm guessing is a ski hostel. It was just one large room and two long hallways with dormrooms on either side with a bunch of bunk beds in each one. So, we quickly tried to stake out a few beds for the night to come before they were all gone. After a few minutes we were called for a meeting where everything would be explained to us. Basically, we were stuck for the night, and we could stay in the hostel for free or go to a hotel for a $100. I obviously went to the hotel. Just kidding, all the cool kids stayed at the hostel :). There were people from all over the world at the hostel, and with nothing else to do we got to talking. I met a bunch of very nice Chileans and plenty of Americans. This was all well and good, but I was still wet, cold, and hungry, and there in our room was a gas heater taunting us. There we were, a bunch of supposedly smart student trying to figure out how to turn on this little heater. After a few minutes of poking, prodding and hitting the thing like the monkeys with the computer from Zoolander, our new Chilean friend, Pedro came in and turned it on in all of about five seconds. Heat! Yes! Beautiful hot heat! We spent the next hour or so in front of the thing trying to dry off. Well mostly me, since the others didn't spend most of the time lying in the snow.
After becoming relatively dry, we wanted some hot tea. We scoured the hostel and found a semi-secret basement kitchen where a nice old lady gave us all some hot water to go with our tea bags (kindly provided by our friend Pedro). Now it was time for food. We didn't want to join the mad dash for food in the beginning so we waited around for a little bit. Unfortunately this was a little bit too long. The only place with food was the bar up the road and by the time they got there all they had left were three small empanadas. We split these between the five of us, but were obviously still hungry. Well, the only other thing the bar had was beer. So we had to drink our calories, plus it helped with the cold ;). After filling our stomachs somewhat, we were still hungry, we decided to make the best of the situation and got a snowball fight started. It was really fun and reminded me of my childhood in New York. After that it was off to sleep, or at least try. It was still cold in our room, even with the gas heater and two blankets each. I slept off and on and awoke without feeling rested.
In the morning we had another meeting where we were told they didn't know when the roads would be fixed and that we might need to stay for another night. That sucked, I hadn't showered, brushed my teeth, or changed my clothes for over 24 hours. Still, no point in complaining about it right? They took us back to the resort for breakfast where I had a ham, cheese, and tomato crepe. It was good but I was too hungry to care. We stayed at the lodge for a few hours until finally they told us we could go home! We eagerly gathered our things, fired off a few celebratory snowballs at each other and got in the van. In the van, we were able to watch the news while we went down that showed us how bad it was. Apparently the water from the rain and melting snow caused a lot of damage to the houses and people in the area, even killing two.
But finally we were back were we started not too much worse than when we began. The shower, lunch, and nap after were amazing. Check out the Picasa pictures (link on the left) for what the hostel looked like.
P.S - Completely unrelated but check out the NPR Live Concerts from All Songs Considered for great live shows from awesome live bands.
With newly renewed optimism for the day ahead, we forged ahead to SkiTotal. On the walk there I noticed again how cloudy it was and thought that it might rain in Santiago, I was actually hoping for a little snow fall up on the mountain since it had been so long since I'd last seen fresh snow. Little did I know, I was in for more than I, or anyone else, expected.
At the equipment rental place, SkiTotal, I rented a snowboard, ski pants, and goggles. After we all had our gear and van tickets in hand we set off for the mountain. We decided to go to a resort called El Colorado. The drive up there was interesting to say the least. The actual distance from Santiago is not all that far, but the vans have to go around hairpin curve after hairpin curve in order to get to the resorts. Still, the ride was uneventful and provided some good views of the mountainside.
Once at the resort, I tried my hand at snowboarding. Luckily, Justin, one of the friends I went up with has been snowboarding for a while and taught me the basics. Then, it was trial and error from then on, mostly errors to be honest, but the times I did manage to put together a couple of turns without falling felt pretty good. Each run down the mountain took me quite some time, what with the constant falling and all, so I only managed to make two runs. It certainly didn't help towards the end when it started heavily snowing and visibility plummeted. This forced me to stick to the side where I could see the fence. Still, the fresh snow did soften my fall quite a bit.
After a long day on the mountain, we were all cold, wet, and ready for a hot shower and steaming food. After piling back into the van that would take us back down, we were told that there had been a lot of rain and parts of the road down had been washed away! What! That's ridiculous! But unfortunately is was very true. Our driver took us down to what I'm guessing is a ski hostel. It was just one large room and two long hallways with dormrooms on either side with a bunch of bunk beds in each one. So, we quickly tried to stake out a few beds for the night to come before they were all gone. After a few minutes we were called for a meeting where everything would be explained to us. Basically, we were stuck for the night, and we could stay in the hostel for free or go to a hotel for a $100. I obviously went to the hotel. Just kidding, all the cool kids stayed at the hostel :). There were people from all over the world at the hostel, and with nothing else to do we got to talking. I met a bunch of very nice Chileans and plenty of Americans. This was all well and good, but I was still wet, cold, and hungry, and there in our room was a gas heater taunting us. There we were, a bunch of supposedly smart student trying to figure out how to turn on this little heater. After a few minutes of poking, prodding and hitting the thing like the monkeys with the computer from Zoolander, our new Chilean friend, Pedro came in and turned it on in all of about five seconds. Heat! Yes! Beautiful hot heat! We spent the next hour or so in front of the thing trying to dry off. Well mostly me, since the others didn't spend most of the time lying in the snow.
After becoming relatively dry, we wanted some hot tea. We scoured the hostel and found a semi-secret basement kitchen where a nice old lady gave us all some hot water to go with our tea bags (kindly provided by our friend Pedro). Now it was time for food. We didn't want to join the mad dash for food in the beginning so we waited around for a little bit. Unfortunately this was a little bit too long. The only place with food was the bar up the road and by the time they got there all they had left were three small empanadas. We split these between the five of us, but were obviously still hungry. Well, the only other thing the bar had was beer. So we had to drink our calories, plus it helped with the cold ;). After filling our stomachs somewhat, we were still hungry, we decided to make the best of the situation and got a snowball fight started. It was really fun and reminded me of my childhood in New York. After that it was off to sleep, or at least try. It was still cold in our room, even with the gas heater and two blankets each. I slept off and on and awoke without feeling rested.
In the morning we had another meeting where we were told they didn't know when the roads would be fixed and that we might need to stay for another night. That sucked, I hadn't showered, brushed my teeth, or changed my clothes for over 24 hours. Still, no point in complaining about it right? They took us back to the resort for breakfast where I had a ham, cheese, and tomato crepe. It was good but I was too hungry to care. We stayed at the lodge for a few hours until finally they told us we could go home! We eagerly gathered our things, fired off a few celebratory snowballs at each other and got in the van. In the van, we were able to watch the news while we went down that showed us how bad it was. Apparently the water from the rain and melting snow caused a lot of damage to the houses and people in the area, even killing two.
But finally we were back were we started not too much worse than when we began. The shower, lunch, and nap after were amazing. Check out the Picasa pictures (link on the left) for what the hostel looked like.
P.S - Completely unrelated but check out the NPR Live Concerts from All Songs Considered for great live shows from awesome live bands.
August 31, 2009
Cerro Santa Lucia
Another day, another trek up a hill in the mountains. This one was located right next to the city center and was much easier to walk up to. The actual park, is built something like a fortress with a series of stairways connected plazas all the way up to the summit. The entire park was beautiful with plenty of flowers and greenery. At the top, I got some great views of the city from right in the middle of it. After taking in the park and getting some good pictures, I headed off for lunch. Since the one of the only things I'm sure of here is pollo. I got that along with some papas fritas (french fries). The chicken was actually quite good, it was rotisserie and tasted as good if not better than a place like Boston Market. The French fries, were well, french fries, nothing too exciting there. Although ketchup comes in a green bottle here, and people love mayo, it's everywhere.
After lunch, I found a really cool open air market close by which had all sorts of hand made crafts. There was everything from the usual scarves, gloves, and socks to jewelry made from a semi-precious stone found in Chile. I'll probably come back here for gifts to bring back home. If anyone has anything they think they might want let me know and I'll try to find it.
After lunch, I found a really cool open air market close by which had all sorts of hand made crafts. There was everything from the usual scarves, gloves, and socks to jewelry made from a semi-precious stone found in Chile. I'll probably come back here for gifts to bring back home. If anyone has anything they think they might want let me know and I'll try to find it.
August 25, 2009
Plaza de Armas and Mercado Central
For today's tourist excursion, I picked the Plaza de Armas. Which according to my guidebook is both the literal, all distances are measured from here, and symbolic center of Chile. It was certainly a lively place with plenty of vendors, pigeons, couples, and families with frolicking children. I never did get the thrill of feeding pigeons though, I always thought of them as rats of the air.
The actual plaza is quite large and surrounded by imposing stone baroque and renaissance style architecture. Most of the west side is occupied by the cathedral, which makes the myriad of evangelical preachers in the plaza more logical, but no less annoying. At least the preachers in Turlington didn't have megaphones and amplifiers. By far the most interesting aspect of the plaza was the people. People from all walks of life gathered on this Sunday afternoon to enjoy the sunshine. There were tourists, rich families, poor families, homeless men, and plenty of very loud, very happy children.
After taking in the atmosphere, I headed to the Museo de Arto Precolumbino. It is supposedly the best museum in Chile, but it doesn't hold a candle to even the more moderate museums of the US or Europe. Still, there were some very interesting pieces and I learned some cool things about Pre-Columbian cultures. Once example that stuck out was the drug paraphernalia used by shamans for their hallucinogenic adventures. They had a curved spatula used to induce vomiting before the experience and an intricately carved and adorned horn out of which they inhaled they hallucinogenic powder. All the while, they must sit on a tiny curved stool that looked a little bit like the eaten out shell of a watermelon slice and on top of that, they were tightly bound from head to toe. The drugs were thought to connect the shaman with the spiritual world and to see the future. Check out the pictures for more interesting pieces.
Walking through the museum worked up an appetite, I guess it's time for lunch! I headed over to Mercado Central, a large fresh fish market. It had fish (obviously) and things that I had never even heard of before, let alone seen. There were literally tentacles sticking out of shells probing the air like cockroach antennae. But, everything looked incredibly fresh and therefore tasty (with the exception of aforementioned tentacle/barnacle hybrids). After a quick tour of the market (I grew tired of everyone asking me to buy stuff), I sat down at a restaurant that was actually inside the market. I ordered a conger eel soup and paella especial. The conger eel soup was so-so, I only got it because it is very famous in Chile. The paella though was amazing with some of the freshest seafood I have ever eaten. Some of this stuff was alive just hours ago. All in all, a great trip, I will definitely go back at some point and try some of the other, more adventurous options they had.
The actual plaza is quite large and surrounded by imposing stone baroque and renaissance style architecture. Most of the west side is occupied by the cathedral, which makes the myriad of evangelical preachers in the plaza more logical, but no less annoying. At least the preachers in Turlington didn't have megaphones and amplifiers. By far the most interesting aspect of the plaza was the people. People from all walks of life gathered on this Sunday afternoon to enjoy the sunshine. There were tourists, rich families, poor families, homeless men, and plenty of very loud, very happy children.
After taking in the atmosphere, I headed to the Museo de Arto Precolumbino. It is supposedly the best museum in Chile, but it doesn't hold a candle to even the more moderate museums of the US or Europe. Still, there were some very interesting pieces and I learned some cool things about Pre-Columbian cultures. Once example that stuck out was the drug paraphernalia used by shamans for their hallucinogenic adventures. They had a curved spatula used to induce vomiting before the experience and an intricately carved and adorned horn out of which they inhaled they hallucinogenic powder. All the while, they must sit on a tiny curved stool that looked a little bit like the eaten out shell of a watermelon slice and on top of that, they were tightly bound from head to toe. The drugs were thought to connect the shaman with the spiritual world and to see the future. Check out the pictures for more interesting pieces.
Walking through the museum worked up an appetite, I guess it's time for lunch! I headed over to Mercado Central, a large fresh fish market. It had fish (obviously) and things that I had never even heard of before, let alone seen. There were literally tentacles sticking out of shells probing the air like cockroach antennae. But, everything looked incredibly fresh and therefore tasty (with the exception of aforementioned tentacle/barnacle hybrids). After a quick tour of the market (I grew tired of everyone asking me to buy stuff), I sat down at a restaurant that was actually inside the market. I ordered a conger eel soup and paella especial. The conger eel soup was so-so, I only got it because it is very famous in Chile. The paella though was amazing with some of the freshest seafood I have ever eaten. Some of this stuff was alive just hours ago. All in all, a great trip, I will definitely go back at some point and try some of the other, more adventurous options they had.
August 23, 2009
Cerro San Cristobal a.k.a "The Mountain"
As promised, here are the details of my adventurous and arduous trek up a mountain of the Andes... Well, not quite, but fun nonetheless. It is actually an outcropping of the Andes which has been converted into something like Central Park. There are numerous trails up to the summit along with a road, a rail car, and mountain bike trails. When I first went there I wasn't intending on going all the way up but once I started I didn't feel like stopping, although the smog made a strong argument. I'm glad I did, because at the top I got some great views of the city, along with its layer of smog, and the picturesque snowcapped Andes in the background. The pictures really don't do it justice because of the smog, but the mountains were clear and seemed to be rising out of thin air, also because of the the smog. Check out the pictures at my picasa site to see what I'm talking about.
That trek took up most of the day along with a trip to the grocery store. On my way back to the hostel after the hike, I stopped in a touristy restaurant in barrio Bellavista. I was really hungry and thirsty at that point so I didn't really care where I ate. The food was okay, but it was nice to have a menu in English.
That trek took up most of the day along with a trip to the grocery store. On my way back to the hostel after the hike, I stopped in a touristy restaurant in barrio Bellavista. I was really hungry and thirsty at that point so I didn't really care where I ate. The food was okay, but it was nice to have a menu in English.
August 22, 2009
First few days in Santiago de Chile
Well the first few days have been both hectic and boring, exciting and frightening. So far the biggest challenge, like in most foreign countries, is getting used to the language. The simplest things like ordering some food becomes an arduous challenge, with hand gestures and mimicking galore. I'm sure the onlookers got their fair share of entertainment for the day just watching. But, already I am beginning to pick up simple phrases for my necessities. It's actually quite amazing what you can get done knowing just a few words.
Everyone else in the hostel has been very helpful as well. The owner especially, though possessing limited English, tries to help me the best he can. The hostel itself is clean, but a little old. You won't mistake it for a Michelin rated hotel anytime soon, but it has character. Like the crazy dog the owner has, it is a big black mutt with little training but a good nature.
On my first day there, the owner took me to lunch at a cool little restaurant close by to have the typical Chilean lunch. We started off with a pisco sour, which is apparently the national drink of Chile. It was a grape liquor with sour mix and egg of all things. Pretty good none the less. We also had ceviche for an appetizer, which is fish in a lemon sauce, almost like a fish salad. Pretty hard to describe exactly, but it tasted really good. For the main course I had a chicken dish while the owner had a steak rare. The chicken was also delicioso with some sesame seeds on top and a sweet and sour sauce on the side. A great first Chilean dining experience!
Also, my trek to the top of the mountain of santiago (not really a mountain) is tomorrow.
P.S I don't want to have to upload photos twice to blogger and picasa so I'm just going to use Picasa. Here is the link for the Santiago pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/navrdd/SantiagoDeChile#
Everyone else in the hostel has been very helpful as well. The owner especially, though possessing limited English, tries to help me the best he can. The hostel itself is clean, but a little old. You won't mistake it for a Michelin rated hotel anytime soon, but it has character. Like the crazy dog the owner has, it is a big black mutt with little training but a good nature.
On my first day there, the owner took me to lunch at a cool little restaurant close by to have the typical Chilean lunch. We started off with a pisco sour, which is apparently the national drink of Chile. It was a grape liquor with sour mix and egg of all things. Pretty good none the less. We also had ceviche for an appetizer, which is fish in a lemon sauce, almost like a fish salad. Pretty hard to describe exactly, but it tasted really good. For the main course I had a chicken dish while the owner had a steak rare. The chicken was also delicioso with some sesame seeds on top and a sweet and sour sauce on the side. A great first Chilean dining experience!
Also, my trek to the top of the mountain of santiago (not really a mountain) is tomorrow.
P.S I don't want to have to upload photos twice to blogger and picasa so I'm just going to use Picasa. Here is the link for the Santiago pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/navrdd/SantiagoDeChile#
August 21, 2009
The Journey
Overall, everything went smoothly. The flight from Orlando to Miami was short and sweet with me being able to sleep through it all. The Miami airport though is another story. One of the worst airports I have ever been to. I knew it was bad from some connections there before but nothing like this. It took me literally half an hour walking at a quick clip to go from my arrival terminal to the departure terminal. It definitely made me wish I had booked my large backpack.
The flight on LAN airlines was very good though. The flight attendants were all very pleasant and they give me an exit row (Yay!). The flight itself was not bad and only took five hours to Lima, Peru. After a few hours in the Lima airport (which was markedly better than Miami's BTW),
I boarded my final flight for Santiago. Unfortunately, I was all slept out at this point, but they did have a pretty good movie selection on board. I watched "Two Lovers" with Joaquin Phoenix (begin movie review). It was the slow, quirky, indie film which I usually enjoy, but this one not so much. It was good, just not too entertaining (or maybe it was just the fact that I was watching it after being on a plane/in an airport for the last twelve hours). The fact that the main character is subtly bipolar made it a little better. Overall, I would recommend it if you want something different than most mainstream movies (end movie review :) ).
Before I got off the plane, I finally started talking to my neighbor whom I assumed knew no English but actually had a perfect American accent despite not being American (apparently she studied in Colorado for three years). She had finished studying in Santiago a couple of months ago and was back to visit friends/sites. She told me about the best way to get into the city, which is a service called TransVIP. Basically it is a van that picks up a group of people and drops them off one by one at their destination. I had
some trouble communicating with the driver, but a very nice lady helped me out. She lives in upstate New York but is from Chile originally. She even gave me the number of a niece who lives in Santiago in case I needed help. I don't think I will use it, but it was nice none the less.
The flight on LAN airlines was very good though. The flight attendants were all very pleasant and they give me an exit row (Yay!). The flight itself was not bad and only took five hours to Lima, Peru. After a few hours in the Lima airport (which was markedly better than Miami's BTW),
I boarded my final flight for Santiago. Unfortunately, I was all slept out at this point, but they did have a pretty good movie selection on board. I watched "Two Lovers" with Joaquin Phoenix (begin movie review). It was the slow, quirky, indie film which I usually enjoy, but this one not so much. It was good, just not too entertaining (or maybe it was just the fact that I was watching it after being on a plane/in an airport for the last twelve hours). The fact that the main character is subtly bipolar made it a little better. Overall, I would recommend it if you want something different than most mainstream movies (end movie review :) ).
Before I got off the plane, I finally started talking to my neighbor whom I assumed knew no English but actually had a perfect American accent despite not being American (apparently she studied in Colorado for three years). She had finished studying in Santiago a couple of months ago and was back to visit friends/sites. She told me about the best way to get into the city, which is a service called TransVIP. Basically it is a van that picks up a group of people and drops them off one by one at their destination. I had
some trouble communicating with the driver, but a very nice lady helped me out. She lives in upstate New York but is from Chile originally. She even gave me the number of a niece who lives in Santiago in case I needed help. I don't think I will use it, but it was nice none the less.
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