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Published: February 23rd 2009
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German and me
waiting 4 a lift somewhere near Coral OK guys. I´m afraid we´re turning now from places to people. Dont have amasing pics to show you. Hope u forgive me :-)
So am now in La Serena having a break on the way to the far north San Pedro de Atacama where Tovale will join me.
I havent seen a hotel for almost 2 weeks now.
NIEBLA
The first place i stayed at was Niebla, a small village at the sea, next to a bigger city, Valdivia. I landed, thru a travelsite on internet (for people who offer their house free of charge for travellers or look for such), in the house of German, a 25 year old Chilean guy. This was the start of a totally new experience. No more touristic sites, no conversations in English with tourists, but 24 hours a day spanish (so tiring!), meeting his friends, cooking together, having a drink in the city, actually sharing the life of a bunch of Chileans, of course learning more about Chile than thru any book.
The house is a pearl, though very basic, with an amazing view to the ocean. Sweet Kathy shares the house with him, and friends are coming and going, more or less
View Niebla1
Very cloudy :-( like it is in Israel. Everybody wants you to be very happy. Part of the time there was also Rene from France, who i incidentally met 2 times on the road b4.
Both German and Cathy work in an organisation for the rights of children and are very serious about the importnace of their work. From them i learned a lot about how difficult it is to reach anything here, without rich parents. Minimal salart around 200 Euros, with 2500 Euro for university does not make it easy to study. Public schools are shit, so if u want your child to know the difference between the words big and small u should send them to private school (costs: 150 a month). And we could go on...but lets stop, thats not new to anyone i think.
After the first day of getting to know eachother German took me and Rene to a trip to a wild beach i would not even know where it was. This was a real adventure. To reach the beach it was like taking a minibus, then a boat to cross to an island which connects you to the other side of the bay, then discovering the
View Niebla 2
Still cloudy :-(( bus goes 3 times a day, took 4 lifts with different locals with 4WD to reach the beach. Once there, putting up the tent, to see it later flying, even though our bags and stuff were in it! I thought i left Patagonia...So later made a big fire and went to sleap (after saving the tent and moving it to within the dunes. The return to Niebla took again busses, lifts a boat an a minibus.
Next to this adventure were of course different interesting moments like joining Rodrigo to his wortk at the university, visit to the market, eating Casuela, but i will move to the last night when i, after +/- 10 years got a bit drunk after some wine and 2 black russians (each the size of a milkshake!!!) which closed the visit nicely... :-)
VALPARAISO
But life must go on, cant spend the rest of my life in Niebla, and Tova is on her way to San Pedro, i moved to the next stop, ValParaiso (12 hours further), skipping Santiago. This city is famous for her old escalators which take u to the different neighbourhoods as alternative to walk or drive the many hills. Also
it was a home for Pablo Neruda, maybe the most famous Chilean artist (you should really hear him reading his poems, even if u will not understand a word its amazing and profound...). Here I stayed with Manu, half Argeninian, half Chilean, who was contacted by Rodrigo from Niebla with the order :-) to host me, cause of course they wont let me take a hotel...Again great host, who for a change spoke english very well, so it was me spanish, he english. Sat at home with long conversations, went out to a cafe or two and all very relaxed. In between met for breakfast another traveller who is now 4 years on the road, a spoiled malaisian child who always had what he wanted and got sick of it, now travelling and living for around 15 Euro a day....Also visited Pablo Neruda´s home and just strolled thru the streets.
LA SERENA
After 2 days there again 12 hours bus to La Serena, where I am now, again hosted by a Chilean. Now we´re talking Roberto - a super active guy, who lives for food, wine and women, 39 years old, has 2 children 9 and 11 (with whom
he goes to a concert of the Beasty Boys :-), never married, and terribly kind! He came to get me by car from the terminal and let me feel totally at home. We went that evening to the city and later to a pub at the port of a city next door. The next day to a place where u could see many birds, then the beach, then a great fish lunch at the see. We went with some other travellers, hosted with another Chilean guy. Then dinner at the house of the other host, and wine and food and wine and oh my god i´m so tired.... :-) I think it´s time for me to wellcome old age with open arms. This is a problem with the Chilenos, as this folk really like to party!
NEXT
I dont yet have the photo´s here, and actually havent made much. So maybe later...Today am wondering thru the city, will cook for Roberto and 2 girls visiting tonight, and tomorrow evening will step in the bus for 17 hours to San Pedro, where i will have a chance to relax a bit from this 14 days intensive social period and sit
German and the Supapo
training for Supapo championship down with a book, waiting for the very important parcel from Israel.
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