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reunited
furnicular to Cerro San Cristobal - Santiago Hey Everybody,
As some of you may know two weeks ago I left Costa Rica and Los Parra for Chile from where me and Laura, now reunited plan to travel across South America until 12th August.
I arrived two days before her, spending my time exploring Santiago - the very european capital of Chile - slightly nicer than San Jose.
Not much to note from these two days other than this park that I went to full of ridiculously over the top couples all over the place, a slightly different spanish accent, a man who claimed he was a medical student, asked for money but I slyly snuck off .
On May 3rd at 7.50 I arrived at the airport and after a waiting for what seemed like hours out stepped Laura - was fantastic but very surreal seeing her after all this time, we were both bursting with stories to tell each other however the first one was that her luggage hadnt arrived!
We were told by some jokers at IBERIA that it would come the next day, so we left the airport to explore the city- going a Park overlooking the city.
The next day we marched
palacio la moneda
famously bombed and stormed in 1973 down to the IBERIA office where the lady who could have worked at Intergroup Insurance Ltd put Laura through to Madrid - where her bags were! We walked around the city and to an even more impressive park - San Cristobal which has a large open air church on the top - we rode cable cars.
In the evening we stayed with relatives of Lauras - Rommy Ruiz in her beautiful apartment in the rich Providencia area of the city where we were treated to Pizza, Internet and Cable T.V
Bags arrived the next day and for breakfast we ate the whole banana cake sent courtesy of Lee Breeze. Deciding it was time to get going we bought a 14 hour bus ticket to Puerto Montt in the Chilean Lake District - not as uncomfortbale as it sounds.
We arrived and the cold hit us, we discovered that the hostel we had planned to stay at no longer exists - and looking across the road a large lady in the upstairs window of a house directed us to a hospedaje where unofficially the smallest woman on earth offered us accomodation - literally just her house, she was so kind (didnt
speak a word of english) and she excited scurried around making breakfast for us.
In the next two days we explored the city and the nearby Island of Chiloe - very interesting but we turned up in the offseason on a sunday meaning that it was very deserted, the houses and the sea reminded me of Cornwall, Ancud could have been the setting to a novel, very misterious.
We left for Argentina, Bariloche in search of better weather, cheaper prices and maybe some other tourists and luckily we found them all. Despite bad weather reports we had two days of beautiful sunshine over the mountains and lakes that surround the picturesque town.
On the first day we walked to Cerro Llao Llao - incredibly beautiful and tranquil and on the next we went Horseriding - by far my favourite day so far.
We were taken into the countryside to this fantastic little house designed and built by our guide mostly in wood where he lived with his family. We rode across a vast valley with awesome views to the distant mountains and up to a look out point where you could see for miles. Coming down we galloped across the
plains - unforgettable experience - the horses were so graceful - looking sideways at the landscape flash past I felt like I was in a film.
Back at the house we were treated to delicious cakes with jam and Dulce de Leche (as Laura commented and I translated - she was in heaven). We then got to try Mate - a typical south american bitter tea described by the Lonely Planet as a ritual that tourists are lucky to participate in.
On the third day the weather turned so we booked our tickets for the next day, shopped in Bariloche (home to the most important Ski Centre in South America so countless snowboarding shops - Zack would love it) bought chocolate and in the evening went for the biggest, juiciest steak I´ve ever seen at a place called Albertos - Steak here is so amazing, and like everything else, really cheap.
Next day we left for Pucon in Chile, being stopped at the border trying to smuggle bananas into the country. On arrival we teamed up with two english girls and a canadian - Alice, Luara and Tony (possibly the funniest guy I´ve met) and we booked into L.P recommended
Hostel Donde German where the moody maid explained the slightly ridiculous house rules such as the hand soap is only for washing hands and the windows must be closed before 9pm (I found out why when I opened them setting off the alarm!) Me and laura - now professional pancake and omelette chefs turned our hands to pizza making - cooking up a storm and then going out with the others for a celebratory drink or two.
Next day I got up and watched the very entertaining F.A Cup final - stevie Gerrard 90 minute forty yard bullet. Afterwards I met Laura and we went whitewater rafting on class 5 rapids.
We were put in a boast with 3 fellow but qualified teachers from England and we all paddled our hearts out to the command of our very funny guide - who did very funny impressions of me and Laura doing "everybody left" The rapids were awesome and we came through in one piece - despite falling out twice - once deliberately.
We concluded a really good day by going to the Hotsprings - completely different to Baldi Hotsprings in Costa Rica as these were located in the middle of
a forest alongside a river in the middle of nowhere with little staff or lighting. Getting changed we were so cold but were rewarded when we entered the very warm pools. Wonderful under a full moon and starry sky.
Today we were supposed to climb Volcan Villarica - why most people come to Pucon but the weather was rubbish so we got up at 6 and filled ourselves with porridge for no reason.
The other three then led a hostel revolt against the bitchy maid and persauded several people to move to a nicer one. We however checking the weather forecast have decided to head north to Mendoza, Argentina and have a two bus journeys totalling 18 hours to come!
I apologise for not writing sooner, I have had to skim this entry down would you believe.
I am having a excellent time, adapting to travelling with just one person and Laura is adapting to my revised E Cripps inspired comedy. From Mendoza we are going to Buenos Aires which I am told constantly is amazing. For those who werent at Los Castros the night of YMCA, I have had my hair cut or abused- by a backstreet bandana
wearing Costa Rican in San Jose, since then I have cut it myself and what remains could be classed as a mullet - but in Argentina and Chile its very fashionable so Im getting along fine.
Please continue sending your emails to my hotmail account, great to hear from everyone.
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Giles
non-member comment
Umpalumpa
Nath- pretty cool calling your host an umpalumpa lol. You two seem like you are having an amazing time, i will be thinking of you both when i head for my first day back at intergroup on tuesday!!! :( make the most of it and keep the travelblogs going!!!