http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Chile en-us Tue, 10 Nov 09 11:35:36 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 09 11:35:36 +0000 A few weeks ago I finally made it to Valdivia which is actually a somewhat known destination in contrast with many of my other travels it scores a whole five pages in my travel book...or four and a half at the very least. It's a pretty university town surrounded by various rivers and little islands with old fortresses. Sure they have older ones in Florida but they're not too bad here in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Rios/Valdivia/blog-452002.html Woah left this WAY too long this time Will have to give an abridged version of what weve been up to. The five days we had left over in Bariloche were great. Being back at Hostel 41 Below was great. So relaxed there and as before Veronica and Hernan were great to hang out with. Did an awesome walk near El Bolson. Headed back to BA and stayed in San Telmo this time. On a recommendation stayed in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-451990.html Last weekend some friends and I took a bus to Valparaiso a beachtown about an hour and a half way from Santiago. Its a really cute place famous for its hills that are covered in multicolored houses overlooking the ocean. We went for a jazz show ate Chorialla a mountain of french fries topped with beef egg and onions its ahmazing then danced it off until 5am http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-451448.html So Its been 3 weeks or so since I was in Valparaso and Via del Mar but I finally have time to write about it. Via is nice and modern with big buildings right on the coast. I only ate lunch on the beach before heading to Valparaso which is a industrial working class kind of city. The architecture minus the Chilean congress building and a few other exceptions is traditional and only a f http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-450585.html Well the Atacama has proved a bit of a disappointment. The trips seem a bit lightweight based around lacklustre ruins that have been reconstructed and the scenery is just much less spectacular than Bolivia. Lagoons with half a dozen flamingos and a thousand tourists while in Bolivia oops sorry the Pluricultural Republic of Bolivia there were four of us looking at a thousand flamingos. They http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Atacama/blog-450301.html Hello my lovesWell last time I wrote we were in Peru I believe since then we have done Bolivia and moved on to Chile Of course it is no longer called Bolivia but The Pluricultural Republic of Bolivia don't it just trip off the tongue whoever came up with it really should consider a career in advertisingAlthough we went to La Paz we didn't get to see any of it. We were exhausted havin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Atacama/blog-449775.html Matkan viimeiset pivt Santiago ja ValparaisoNiinhn siin ky ett kaikki hauska loppuu aikanaan niin mys meidn EtelAmerikan tourneemme. Viimeisi hetki tss vietetn ja onkin aika mys lopetella tmn blogin kirjoittelua.Olemme nyt olleet kumpikin Santiagossa viime sunnuntaiillasta lhtien ja aika on kulunut kaupunkiin tutustumalla sek ympristn nhtvyyksi kiertelemll. Sunnuntai http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-449312.html On our last day in the Atacama desert we had the whole morning to do whatever we wanted to. I decided to go sand boarding with Lizzy Sam Sonni and Lindsay. I got up at 8 to eat breakfast and we had to be to the sand boarding place by 9. When we arrived at the place nobody was there and it looked closed but we were a little early. A guy that worked at the restaurant across the street knew the peo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-449278.html Terribly behind on this blog with no real excuse. Due to a nationwide teachers' strike over a historical debt my school hasn't held classes since last Thursday. It seems like a tricky situation and one on which I won't comment except to say that I certainly hope it gets resolved.A few weekends ago I took a day trip to get in touch with my Coffey heritage. I didn't quite make it to Ireland bu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Biobio/Lota/blog-448994.html We didnt have much to do on day 5. I got up at 9 and ate breakfast with Christina and Catie. After breakfast Profe Triana had a little chat with us and told us that we had to change rooms since we were too loud the night before. We had to be out of our rooms so they could be cleaned and we also had to wait for our new rooms to be cleaned. While we waited I walked to a store with Catie and Jess B. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-448985.html Nach einer aufregenden Fahrt ueber Nacht in einem wirklich unbequemen Bus auf zwei Sitzen direkt neben der Toilette und wirklich alle Chilenen haben eine sehr schwache Blase sind wir in Santiago angekommen.Wir haben uns von einem sehr freundlichen Taxifahrer der als er hoerte wo wir herkommen uns glatt mit dem Hitlergruss begruesst hat zu unserem sehr schoenen Hostel fahren lassen und do http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-448937.html Day 4 was an early one We got a wake up call at 4 a.m. I yelled at Catie to answer it since it was by her bed. She was just going to ignore it. She answered it but then struggle to hang up the phone. It was entertaining. It was too early for hotel breakfast so I just ate a banana that I had. I had some Coca tea while we were waiting in the lobby for the bus so I wouldnt get altitude sickness. I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-448784.html Atacama ja hiekkaermaan ihmeetMik ihme voi ihmist kiinnostaa ja ihastuttaa hiekassa kivess ja suolassa sek kaikissa niiss kummallisissa olomuodoissa joita nm muodostavat kun niit kertyy yhteen paikkaan runsain mitoin Siit piti pst ottamaan selv kuivimpaan paikkaan mit keksi saattaa eli Atacaman autiomaahan eli A3 Tourin viimeiseen viralliseeb etappiin.Saavuimme San Pedro de At http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-448768.html Back againafter a few days break and some intensive football watching with a spanish sporst journalist we meet in toorres del Paine we decided to take a boat up through the fjords of south chile.We were sailing on an 1972 tranpsort ship from Finnland. It normaly has up to 300 guest on board in high season but we were aprox. 25 tourists in total excluding the folk from Puerto Eden.As it turne http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/blog-448630.html eine ruhige Woche nach dem gemeinen Rucksackklau....Direkt nachdem wir in Frutillar aus dem Bus gestiegen sind haben wir uns auf dem Weg zu Tia Clarita gemacht... eine Zimmervermietung.Die Adresse hatten wir aus dem Internet und es hiess das die Eigentuemerin sehr freundlich istihre Gaeste mit leckerm Fruehstueck versorgt und wirklich alles tut damit sich ihre Gaeste wohl fuehlen..Das stimmte... http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/blog-448613.html The bus journey from Bariloche in Argentina to Pucon in Chile has to be one of the most beautiful trips in the world. For 2 hours wecruised around mountain roads going through lush forests passing crystal clear blue lakes past sheer granite mountains and finally through the snow covered mountain pass across the border. The small towns that lay on the Argentinian side of the border were just idyl http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-448233.html As the region of Southern Patagonia is so vast and spectacular and divided by the Andes with Chile to the left and Argentina to the right we felt it best to combine the blog for the area to reflect itrsquos true character rather than stick with the country by country format we have adhered to before now. Hopefully this will help some travellers who may chance upon this diary as accurate informa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Punta-Arenas/blog-448196.html Chile SantiagoWe arrive in Santiago Chile after a 13 hour flight from Auckland and as itrsquos been an overnight flight it doesnrsquot feel too bad although the jet lag kicks in later. We fly with LAN Chile find the service entertainment a bit poor given the length of the flight. The airport is pretty impressive and seems to be quite modern. We then catch an airport cab standard fare 5 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/blog-448188.html Hey guys Ive been spending more time in Santiago lately and figured I would post some pictures of random stuff that Ive been doing around here. Ive been getting cultured and yes I feel very worldly. Went to some cool photo exhibits the best jazz show of my life nights out on the town etc. Its been fun. Come visit me http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-448186.html Public transport in much of Patagonia is difficult but once off the beaten track it can become almost impossible. We tried to get from Esquel in Argentina to Chaiten in Chile and then by ferry to the island of Chiloe it's doable but not practical at least for us. It all started well at Esquel we thought we were in luck the bus to the border runs only on Monday and Friday it was Friday resu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Futaleufu/blog-447964.html