Before I forget…

Trip has been 3 days now and I was planning on being a lot more strict with recording things so that I am able to tell all the stories.  However there are just not enough hours in the day.   Since we’re on a bus for the new whole day today, heading to La Serena, I thought I would take the opportunity to ot some memories down.

Landing in Santiago was amazing – the sun coming up over the mountains was so beautiful.  The Andes are truly breathtaking from all angles.  Coincedence – saw Shirley Lee and her sister Cindy on the flight! Thought Cindy looked familiar but deplaning Shirley called my name – turns out they were heading to Buenos Aires to be with family.  So funny to have seen her – she’s in Toronto at a bank and Cindy is a doctor.

The airport itself was chaos after gettng though customs.  So much so that I needed to sit down and collect myself.  I couldn’t believe I was actually in South America – it was really sinking in!  My trip was on!  I found a shuttle to take me to the hotel and was the only foreigner – the reality of my lack of Spanish really hit me at that point!!!

Taking a shuttle instead of a direct taxi was really smart as it gave me a greater sense of the “real” city.  From the various places people got dropped of, you could really get a sense of the diversity.  Very narrow hilly streets gave way to busier roads and more modern buildings.  The first thing I noticed was the hundreds of stray dogs lying about.  I thought it might just be a low income neighbourhood thing but those dogs are everywhere. They aren’t scary at all either – completely sweet and really indifferent to humans.  I wouldn’t touch them thought as they’re completely filthy.  Not something that would go over in Ottawa, but I think it’s neat.   They ar REALLY smart too – look both ways before they cross the street and everything!!

Got settled in to the hotel – tiny room, very European.  Just a single bed and could barely turn around in the bath.  But so grateful for a shower and a chance to change clothes.  Was just about to head out exploring when Renata, our group leader, showed up with a much better map andtold me that her current group was having their goodbye dinner that night and she invited me to join them.  I was so pleased to feel so welcome.  So thoughtful and perfect timing.  Guess that with this tour there are many travellers doing it as a leg of their journey because it connects with other tours at either end.

Some of the folks started in Rio and some into Buenos Aires and then there are those that are continuing on after La Paz to both Lima and Quito.  I’m so impressed with the prople that are just making this leg a part of their travels – there are folk that have been travelling for months and months – Tom from Switzerland has been on the road for almost 2 years!

After meeting Renata I headed out for a walk round the area, looking for food.  Being Saturday afternoon, everything was busy but I was being wary, as I didn’t want to begin the trip eating something off the street but I was nervous to go into a restaurant due to my lack of Spanish.  My indecision led me to walk too far and I was too hungry so I ended up just getting a pastry that I really didn’t want and eating it in a park.  The sandals I’d been wearing had really done a number on my feet, so I headed back to the hotel for a nap and to get band aids.  Should definitely have taken many more of those from home!!

Met up with the gang for dinner and was very much welcomed.  A really nice girl named Kate kind of took me under her wing and introduced me around.  She was from England, as are many of the people on this lef.  Diner was at a really cool restaurant with all sorts of graffiti on the walls.  It was really traditional Chilean food which was cool.  Many of us had pisco sours, the traditional drink in Chile, very tasty.  I was dying for seafood so I got this casserole type dish with fish and shrimp, clams, etc. It was quite tasty.  They brought us out a round of shots on the house as well.  I had something called “pisco con manzanilla” (not sure about the spelling) which was neat.  Very strong and tasted herby.

After dinner we headed out to a local bar for drinks – was quite a search as we were a large group and places were fairly full.  I just had one beer, as most of the group was leaving and I wanted to be fresh for the following day.  Some of us agreed to meet at 10am to go exploring and then we set off for the hotel.  It as a little confusing at first but we made it.

Not very long after settling in for the night, I felt quite sick.  The nausea woke me right up and I have no idea what caused it, but as soon as I got sick I felt much better.  Very strange because I felt fine so quickly but I was grateful to not spend all evening hugging the toilet.

Meeting up the next mornig we headed out to find “real” coffee (not Nescafe, which is everywhere).  We walked over to this big hill call Cerro San Cristobal, which had many restaurants near but being Sunday morning nothing was open.  Finally we came upon a place in the street which seemed a bit budget but it had food so I couldn’t complain.  Over priced for a salad and a juice but when travelling you do what you can :)

After eating we took the funicular up the hill and got a great view of the city and mountains.  We climbed around for awhile and the nmade our way down.  Travelling down took quite a long time but it was really neat to people watch as the park was full of families out and people biking and running.  We had another coffee on another patio and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with more people to go watch a soccer game.

That was the highlight of the trip so far – soccer was fun! We took  packed subway to the stadium which was surrounded by vendors selling everything from very sketchy looking food to flags to clothing.  Since we were really early we got excellent seats and they also happened to face the mountains which were gorgeous to watch as the sun set.  That didn’t happen until well after 8, nearly 9!!  So different from home.  Had some sub-par empanadas but they kept me fueled throughout the game.

The crowds were crazy – one section was called “Gatta Blanca” and they were the home team’s official cheering section.  The team was called Colo Colo and the fans were so devoted.  The chanting and music and cheering started about 1/2 an hour before the game and did not stop during the game at all.  The whole section was like a wave of people – jumping and singing, playing trumpets and drums.  Granted, it was a semi final game but I have never seen that kind of cheering in person.  During the one goal (scored by the home team) the whole crowd went nuts.  One of the guys in my group, Heath, had bought a flag and was waving it with the tons of other flags, people were hugging and jumping – total mayhem.

Getting home on the subway was crazy as well.  Very packed and lots of pushing and shoving.  Chris and I linked arms to stay together but it was a challenge to avoid getting crushed against the walls.  I got completely groped and I’m still not sure if it was intentional or just due to the crowding.  I’ll go with accident just because it is less sleazy.  Again, once on the subway, it was jammed – we were like litte sardines.  By the time we got back to was after 10 but I was starving so a few of us went to patio.

We tried ordering several times but each time the waitress would say something wasn’t available.  We ended up just ordering a bunch of stuff and sharing.  Things took forever and we weren’t back to the hotel til nearly midnight.  I felt so badly because I’d been assigned a roommate and I was sure I’d wake her.  Luckily she wasn’t asleep and I was able to get organized for bed without trouble.

My plan had been to charge my camera so that it would be all ready for our day trip to Valparaiso the next day but the adapter from Novacks did not fit into the plug.  I was so worried, thinking that I would be stuck with a dead camera so I went to bed feeling really unsettled and worried.  However, after our morning group meeting I asked Darrell, another Canadian, about it and he said it would work in Bolivia and he loaned me his charge for the day!  So nice!

While I was worried that my camera would run out of battery in Valpo, I decided to take it anyway instead of leaving it to charge during the day.  We got off to the bus station and the bus was only $10 round trip. It took just 1 1/2 hours and was a good opportunity to nap.  We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day to explore the port town.  Everything was perfect!

Valpo is extremely hilly and we got a real legs/butt workout climbing up and down all the hills.  It is also very artsy and there is beautiful street art (paintings, not graffiti) everywhere.  The houses had murals everywhere and often mosaics too.  Lots of really funky cafes and art stores were all over – definitely a great neighbourhood for backpackers and students.

I couldn’t get over the colours and how amazing the ocean was.  We had lunch on a patio in the centre of the square near the water and probably paid more for the atmosphere that anything – lovely strawberry juice made it totally worthwhile.  That is something Chileans do very well – fresh tasty juices!

We took a cable car up to the top of the neighbourhood again and spent another couple of hours strolling around before meeting up with everyone to return home.  Just a really completely perfect day – despite adding further blisters to my feet.  I think it’s because they are soooo sweaty that sandals just rub them too easily.

Back at the hotel our group met up to head to Bellavista for a really lovely dinner.  We ate on another patio in a sort of courtyard that had shops and art an just a really nice ambiance.  Had some super tasty pumpkin pasta and a really good local beer (from Valparaiso actually) called Calle-Calle.  The area was really neat after dark andthere were lots of very hip looking places, all colourful and lit up.

Once we got back to our area – Santa Lucia – it was time to hit the bank and stock up on some snacks for the bus trip to La Serena.  This morning we packed up and left the hotel at 7:45 to get on an 8:30 bus.  The trip is supposed to take about 7 hrs and so far it has been comfortable.  The landscape is pretty barren – quite dray with a wide variety of trees - some are really shrubby and some are fir trees.  There’s also lots of cactus and palm trees took which makes an interesting combo – weird for me to see cactus and palm next to what I think of as Christmas trees.  We were driving beside the coast for a bit and that was lovely – water so perfectly blue.  As well, there have been horses, cows and goats in the hills near the road.  It’s pretty rugged but really beautiful.  I’m looking forward to being on the beach in La Serena by this evening (fingers crossed!).

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