Blogs from Chile, South America

I’m so fortunate to have such a great bunch of friends from school. I am having a ball with Sayuri, her boyfriend Juan, and the rest of the guys: Luis, David, Milton, Gonzalo, Sergio, Cristian, and Narciso. I’ve gotten to go out with them a couple times now, and I always learn a lot. Over some pollo marinera (delicious chicken, sausage, and shellfish cooked together and served in a massive family style casserole dish) we discussed my life’s love story and then the state of Chilean education. I know – intense dinner conversation. I got a little more insight to the brokenness of the educational system… for example, Politecnico has many resources that go unused – 2 smartboards and a handful of laptops for one! They sit in storage for fear of damage. This country has ... read more

25.5.2012-29.5.20.12 Arrived in Santiago Friday night about 9.20p.m. after having a stopover en route from La Paz at Iquique in the Northern part of Chile, it looked like the most desolate place I have seen. We really thought we were just dropping off and taking on more passengers but we were all asked to leave the plane and clear immigration here. By the time we got through immigration they were calling us for our flight, so much security it was unbelievable, scanned our bags etc three times. Anyway got here safely and Patty, who we rented the apartment off, sent her driver to pick us up and all was good. The apartment is sensational on the 20th floor of an apartment block on the edge of the CBD, Patty was an artist in her other life ... read more

We arrive in Santiago 4 hours after we leave Sydney, this is something none of us got over in terms of jetlag for at least a week. The ATM machine in the arrivals hall won't let us take out any more than 50 pesos which we are told is just over 7pounds and every taxi driver in the area soon swarms us offering their services. Being totally dewildered, tired and keen to get anywhere that wasn't there, we followed the one with the most english to his car and headed into town. Our hostel; the Chile (Aji) hostel is in Providencia district near the student area of Bella Vista. Run by locals and with an attached cafe it is one of the best places I have stayed thus far including my Sydney hostel at around 4 ... read more

apologies again for delay. Pucon was a beautiful little town with the infamous volcano Villaracia. we had no idea at the time how lucky we were to climb it, since the weather conditions have to be just right, it is an active volcano last erupted in 1985, i should remember that year. but this was so much more than a mountain hike, we first got fully kitted out with windproof gear, ice picks, crampons, and GAS MASKS, yup even from the bottom you could see the small pillar of sulphuric smoke coming straight up out of the peak, if the wind shifted we were told the gas masks were good for 15 mins!! the last ppl to die hiking this volcano had been only 2 months previous, a combination of bad weather and poor judgement call ... read more

Llegamos a las once de la noche, pero igual Alfonso nos atiende con gran amabilidad, nos lleva a recorrer el centro y después tomamos un tecito connel y conversamos por mas de una hora. Su historia es fascinante, y la casa que ha construido esta hecha y decorada con muy buen gusto. El diseño y el 'decor' no hace sentir que estamos en Austria. La mañana siguiente me despierto temprano y mientras la nena duerme salgo a caminar por la orilla del lago. Está bien fresca la mañana, el cielo está mayormente despejado aunque por encima de la cordillera hay nubes que de vez en cuando ocultan el pico del volcán. El silencio conduce a contemplación, la presencia imponente de la cordillera me hace sentir muy pero muy pequeño lo cual profundiza las reflexiones matutinas. Sin ... read more

*** 19/03/2012 Camino a Santiago Bus Pullman 780kms 9hrs Estos buses con sillón-cama son un lujo. Los dos podemos dormir sin problemas. Las carreteras son muy lisas, las frazadas y almohadas buenas y de mañana nos despiertan con desayuno. Genial. Arribamos en Santiago frescos y listos para más aventuras. *** 20/03/2012 Santiago: Museo de la memoria y de los derechos humanos. Salimos de la estación y después de un desayuno (¡que malo el café!) caminamos por la Calle Matucana en busca del la biblioteca, queremos ponernos al día con nuestro programa de lectura. Al principio la calle pinta feo. Hay muchas casas de reparación de electromotores. Encontramos la biblioteca y el guarda de seguridad dice que no habré todavía, faltan diez minutos. Creo que la mitad de la población santiaguina trabaja de guarda de seguridad.¡Están por ... read more

Meeting Sayuri’s Mom Talk about an amazing mom. I was invited to take once tonight with her at her home. We pulled up into the driveway beside a garden full of head high rose bushes. After entering through the door, I met the nana of sorts. She has essentially lived with the family since she was about 9 (now about 60) and she now lives and works with them for no pay other than insurance and room and board. Unlike many other nanas, she is welcomed as one of the family. She even dined with us later that evening. I can believe it though that this family would be so welcoming. It’s a large one – 4 sisters and 2 brothers Sayuri has, but I only met mom and one sister tonight. Mama walked into the ... read more

Hey hey! Apparently San Pedro is a quiet town... Until us and the Irish Boys rocked up... It can only be described as a old style Western town with sanded roads, small wooden shacks of restaurants and bars and a lovely feel about it. We loved it. The boys stayed in a cheap shack of a hostel but Tracy wasnt having any of it as the snob in her came out and thought there was a deal (and hammocks) to be had elsewhere. We trapsed around town in hot sunshine searching for her hammocks. We found them though to be fair and managed to grab a bargain at the same time at Hostel Covastch... Very nice but we later discovered very strict like boarding school! No alcohol in kitchen, everyone out of common areas by 10pm ... read more

The streets were absolutely deserted. There was only the reflection of the street lamps in the puddles while we lugged our backpacks and obnoxious cameras back the place we could reasonably call home on Isla Navarino. As expected, there was absolutely no-one in the refugio, but it was considerably cleaner than when we had last seen it. This may be due to all of the mud we always schlepped in…sorry Cecilia. We built a fire and made a shopping list. I was craving Alfredo pasta (the food, not the person, although repetitively hearing his name may have contributed to my desires), and Alfredo just wanted juice and wine. What a typical chileno...However, our solitude was not to be. The ferry arrived early that evening and brought with it to the refugio the German couple, Markus and ... read more