Friday December 4, 2009
I have no idea where to start, I´m so far behind on the blog (though not my journal, I´ve been good! Well for the most part), and I don´t have time to go over everything because I have a Jazz festival to head to tonight and the internet cost pesos.
Ok so here´s what I´m gonna do. I´ll give a quick briefing of the trip, mentioning things that pop in my head at the moment, so you have a basic idea of what I´ve been up to, and then when I get home, I will try to write everything in more detail. Unless of course you all respond with disgust saying you don´t want to hear (or read) another word. Oh and just to let you know, if you are going to South America, knowing Spanish makes your life 100x´s easier (I thought it would be just 10X´s but after going in circles several times, I´ve discovered I underestimated).
The flight to Chile went smoothly, though it was long, and Copa Airlines definitely doesn´t have the most luxurious flights. And by the way, JFK doesn´t have places for people to sit comfortably before the bag check in-so if you´re planning on staying in the airport overnight for an early flight in the morning, bring a mattress.
Three days were spent in Santiago/Cajon Del Maipo. We explored some of the Museums and wondered around the city, ate at a few restaurants that were pricier than I expected but very good (by the way, if you´re ever in Chile, you have to have their salmon, it´s fantastic). We split (good thing too, we may have had trouble making our way back to the hostel if we each had our own) this drink whose Spanish name means earthquake (wine+vodka+lemon sorbet/sherbert). Oh and it is true-wine is very cheap here.
We headed out to Cajon del Maipo to spend a day there, and then hopefully the national park. Long story short, the bus to the park wasn´t running that day, we went back and forth in towns, lost in translation, hiked a random mountain with stray dogs, camped, hopped a fence, and dumped our 4 legged traveling partners on the road by catching the bus. Oh, we also explored this old fort called Santa Lucia which was very impressive. Then the night before we headed out, we stopped in the alpine club office, met 2 really nice gentlemen, one who couldn´t speak a word of English but let us climb their outdoor wall for free, and the other is potentially a really important connection for future climbing trips in South America.
We caught a sleeper bus to Pucon. Unlike Santiago which was hot and sunny, little Pucon was cold and quite wet. We waited around the town for 5 days for the chance to climb Volcan Villarica. In the mean time we explored this touristy town, went on a mountain bike ride, went canyoning and Tom broke his hand unfortunately. Oh and we ran along the beach of the lake there-it had black sand by the way, but unlike San Francisco, this sand is black from the Volcano. We finally climbed Villiarica (which organizing and doing was an adventure in itself-to be explained later) and the day was perfect for it. The photos from that explain to people better than words why I wanted to come to South America.
We then headed to Temuco and Mallechuelo to climb Lonquimay Volcan. We road several buses, some more than once, and finally ended up renting a car to climb this volcano. We waited a day or two for good weather. Climbed it in ok weather, had to turn back about 100 feet from the summit thanks to a white out and strong winds. But the views when they could be seen were fantastic. We then did this long drive on a dirt road that skirted the border of Argentina and looped back around to Temuco. It had some great views.
We then caught a bus to Valdivia, and relaxed there our last couple of days and of course the weather was beautiful when we´re not trying to climb a mountain. We walked through a garden or two, went on a boat ride to these neat little town next to the pacific, explored the town, saw some sea lions, and walked through the fish market a couple of times (right next to it is where I had the amazing salmon). Oh and I almost forgot! We went to a beer brewery, had these gigantic sandwiches that were delicious, some beer samplers, and explored the beer museum, unfortunately we couldn´t do the same for the brewery.
In Valdivia Tom and I separated and I headed for El Bolson. After a day of traveling almost 14 hours, I made it to my farm and have had a fantastic week, though not with farming. In fact, there isn´t really a farm yet, they´re still trying to build they´re homes and set up the garden. But working on a green home made of hay, clay, and wood is pretty neat. And I´m helping to build a fence for the future garden. The 3 brothers who own the farm are amazingly nice and laid back, one of the wives is a fantastic cook, and I´m usually in the dark as to what´s going on because people are usually speaking French or Spanish (most of the Woofers are from France). Oh and the farm is half way up a mountain and has amazing views.
Well it´s the weekend now and I´m in town for a night and a day and then hopefully going on a hike Sunday and maybe a horseback ride? Off to enjoy some jazz. Enjoy the pictures!
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