Hey all, I figured I needed a place to put up random tidbits about life down unda! These will just be small entries about different cultural things I've noticed.
Dogs. Dogs, dogs, dogs. They are EVERYWHERE down here! And I mean everywhere. Every street, every alley, and on most every corner. They're generally well-behaved, always friendly when they think you'll give them food, and are super-intelligent. They know how to cross the streets by themselves; they wait for the lights and cross at the crosswalks with the humans. If you sweet talk them, they'll even follow you home, which (while empty) is a comfort when walking home alone, or going somewhere at night. Here are some lovely specimens:
I am sad to report that Chile is less than impressive gastronomically. The most common dishes here are as follows:
- lomo a lo pobre: beef loosely chopped and piled on top of french fries with two fried eggs balanced on top of them
- a completo: a hot dog. Seriously they're obsessed with them down here, and usually pile them sky high with guacamole, avocado, sauerkraut, and or ketchup and mustard.
- churrasco: I don't actually know what this is; I'll have to get back to you on that one haha sorry!
- choripan: chorizo on pan, aka salami on bread
- pebre: onions, tomatoes, and cilantro-type herbs chopped up in a fresh little salad
- café con leche, according to Jess, does not get you coffee with a little milk or creamer; instead you get a latté, which I'm told, is very different.
I am not bowled over by any of these options, but the fish scene is pretty great. Salmon is fairly cheap down here, and VERY delicious. In fact, every trip that Jess and I take, we tend to get salmon at least once. Oh well, more opportunities to cook at home and try out recipes on our own.
The metro, or as normal people call it-the subway, is insane here. I may have mentioned it before, but it's worth mentioning twice. It's SO crowded during rush hour, it's hard to even get off at your stop. It's some sort of panic mentality, that no one moves away from the doors because they fear they won't be able to get off again. But, if you moved as far into the car as possible, there might end up being enough room to get to the doors more easily. Everyone's too apathetic or scared to do this however, and we end up with this: (pic). Oy vey!
It's very green here in Santiago, even though winter is coming! Haha, just kidding. It is slowly turning into fall though, and all of the landscape remains green. There are trees on every street, and parks and plazas once every 5 or so blocks. It's kind of wonderful to have so much greenery around you in such a large city. On the other hand, however many trees there are, there are ten times more pigeons to go in their branches. Waaaay more than New York, that's for sure.
markets- thurs one near work, ferias
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
We have a place to LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!
We aren't homeless anymore!!!!! Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but as the only ones left in our whole program without an apartment, and our March 31st deadline fast approaching, Jess and I were feeling the pressure of not being able to find a place. On Sunday evening, we went over to Nelly's again to discuss when we would move in to the small room and such. I brought up the price again, and she said she couldn't lower it below 270,000 due to rising building fees. I felt like crying. But I knew Jess and I needed somewhere to live, and ASAP, so I threw my last curveball. I told her we were thinking of splitting the cost of the two rooms, but we couldn't go about 430,000 (about $860 usd) per month between the two of us. That way, we'd each pay 215,000 which wasn't too far over our budget, but if she still wanted to look at it as one room was 180 and the other was 250. After a moment's silence, Nelly agreed. We jumped out of our seats a little and both hugged her right there! WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the only thing repeating through my head haha, over and over. I would move my stuff on Wednesday or Thursday before we left for the weekend, and Jess would move in in two weeks when the German girl moves out. Until then, we are going to ask our friends to open their couches to Jess; hopefully we can work that all out tomorrow. Then, on Easter Sunday, when we return from our mini family vacation, I'd move in for good. I can't wait.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Amigos and Asados
Tonight, Jess and I went to an asado at our new friend Sandra's house. We met her on our tour bus in the Torres del Paine National Park, and she took our cell numbers to invite us over when we were all back in Santiago. She called us last Thursday to ask us to come to an asado, which is kind of like a barbecue, kind of like a nice dinner where roasted meat is the centerpiece. They are EXTREMELY popular here in Chile, especially on Saturday evenings, and especially during Lent, because you can't eat meat on Fridays, so instead you chow down on Saturday. Anyway, she came to pick us up at the hostel in her car, which was really nice of her, and we drove back to her beautiful house in the gated community of Huechuraba around 730pm. At first we were a tiny bit nervous and awkward, but her family was so nice and so welcoming, we soon felt at ease.
We met her daughter Lia first; she is only in high school, but already studied for 6 months in Nueva Zelanda (New Zealand)!! She speaks English very well, and she's so pretty. Valeria is their youngest daughter at 10 years old, and she is a firecracker for sure. She loves to sing and act and is infatuated with Justin Bieber. In fact, her English goes so far as to include the word Belieber haha! Belén is their oldest daughter, 23, with a degree in odontología; she's a dentist. Of course, she can understand a little English too. Sandra is so lucky to have such wonderful daughters! Her husband, Juan Eduardo, loves to speak English, but he says he learned it all from listening to American music (which I don't doubt). His favorite phrase is I understand you perfectly, and his favorite thing to do is ask us if we know what song is playing and who sings it (we hardly ever do). His English is much better than if he just listened to music. He's practically fluent! Also, he takes salsa dancing classes during the week haha, how cute! Their dog's name is Kuky (yes, it's English but it's spelled differently than Cookie haha).
For dinner, we started with a "salad" that Sandra told us was a typical Chilean Salad, slices of tomatoes and slivers of white onions with a dash of olive oil. There was also pebre, kind of like pico de gallo in America, and another regular lettuce salad with mushrooms and nuts. Sandra served us delicious rice and Juan Eduardo brought in a huge platter of roasted meat. It was all SOOOO delicioso. I loved the juicy sausages, called __________, and the slabs of beef were so tender and even more flavorful than the sausage! Everything was amazing; Jess and I ate so much haha. We ended up with some very full stomachs. We spent a few more hours sitting and talking while we all tried to fit some postre (dessert) in. First we had mote con huesillos, which is another famous Chilean dish; it's a plastic cup filled with a super-sweet liquid kind of like a syrup. At the bottom are oats of some sort (the huesillos, the little bones) and on top of them floats a super squishy durazno, or melocotón, or peach. I wasn't a huge fan but it was nice to have something so cold and refreshing after the heavy meal we had just had. Next came a bowl of dulce de leche ice cream with cracker-wafers stuck in the sides. It was really good; almost a little salty, not just a sweet caramel flavor.
Lastly, we listened to some music together before Juan Eduardo drove us back to the hostel. What a lovely break from all our apathetic house searching. We really needed to relax, and having such a kind family fuss over us while we ate the best meal we've had here in Chile was a perfect way to do so. Right before we left, Sandra asked us if we had plans for the following weekend (Easter weekend). We had originally thought about going to Easter Island, but it was so expensive it was kind of just a pipe dream. We said nope! And they invited us to their apartment in Valparaíso so we could visit the picturesque city and maybe hop over to Viña del Mar too! We are so excited to go with them and so grateful that these wonderful people like us and want us to go on vacation with them!!!
The Hunt Continues
Just to keep you all updated, Jess and I are still looking for a place to live. We are the only ones left in the hostel without a place to go and we are beyond frustrated. I have over 30 names and numbers in my notebook that we have called and struck out with. Today alone, I called 7 people this morning and all their ads have been filled. TAKE DOWN YOUR ADS PEOPLE.
Yesterday evening we went to look at an apartment before our TLC social. We had spent the entirety of Thursday and Friday looking at apartments, oy vey! This one our boss Emily had given to us as a contact with one room. When we got there, the apartment was beautiful and HUGE. She had one bedroom available immediately which was seriously small. Smaller than my room at the hostel. The woman, Nelly, was asking 180,000 clp a month, which is roughly $360 usd a month, not bad based on our salary, but it was a tiny room for the price. Thankfully it has its own bathroom. At this desperate point in our search, we told her we were taking it! She mentioned that she also had another "big"(read: normal-sized) room that a German girl was occupying, but was going to leave on the 15th of April. It was really nice, but Nelly wanted 280,000 pesos for it!!! Yikes! We all chatted for a while, and she seems so nice, but we told her we couldn't afford that because our maximum budget was 200,000 per person. Jess and I thought if we could lower the price a bit, we could split it between us and switch rooms halfway through so each person got the big room for a while. I asked Nelly if she could lower it to 240,000 and she told me she would think about it overnight.
This afternoon we went to go look at a place as a backup in case Nelly said no to our offer, and it was nice, but not the right one. They were two brothers and it was another minuscule room, this time for 190,000. We said we were interested, but still held up hope that she would give us the answer we were looking for. An hour later, the guys called us back and told us that someone else snatched it up. Then Nelly called us and said she couldn't meet us that night to talk it over again, that we would have to do it Sunday afternoon instead. As our last options fall apart, we are getting more and more nervous!!! Please please let Sunday bring us some pieza-hunting peace!
Yesterday evening we went to look at an apartment before our TLC social. We had spent the entirety of Thursday and Friday looking at apartments, oy vey! This one our boss Emily had given to us as a contact with one room. When we got there, the apartment was beautiful and HUGE. She had one bedroom available immediately which was seriously small. Smaller than my room at the hostel. The woman, Nelly, was asking 180,000 clp a month, which is roughly $360 usd a month, not bad based on our salary, but it was a tiny room for the price. Thankfully it has its own bathroom. At this desperate point in our search, we told her we were taking it! She mentioned that she also had another "big"(read: normal-sized) room that a German girl was occupying, but was going to leave on the 15th of April. It was really nice, but Nelly wanted 280,000 pesos for it!!! Yikes! We all chatted for a while, and she seems so nice, but we told her we couldn't afford that because our maximum budget was 200,000 per person. Jess and I thought if we could lower the price a bit, we could split it between us and switch rooms halfway through so each person got the big room for a while. I asked Nelly if she could lower it to 240,000 and she told me she would think about it overnight.
This afternoon we went to go look at a place as a backup in case Nelly said no to our offer, and it was nice, but not the right one. They were two brothers and it was another minuscule room, this time for 190,000. We said we were interested, but still held up hope that she would give us the answer we were looking for. An hour later, the guys called us back and told us that someone else snatched it up. Then Nelly called us and said she couldn't meet us that night to talk it over again, that we would have to do it Sunday afternoon instead. As our last options fall apart, we are getting more and more nervous!!! Please please let Sunday bring us some pieza-hunting peace!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
To the Ends of the Earth
SUNDAY MARCH 17, 2013
While everyone else was enjoying St. Patrick´s Day celebrations wherever they were in the world, Jess and I were once again hauling our butts out of bed incredibly early to catch the next leg of our adventure down here in Patagonia. Today, we had to get up at 730 to get to our new ferry by 9am. This one was taking us to Porvenir, across the Magellan Strait, to Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire. This archipelago is off the southernmost part of the South American mainland and home to many species of strange animals. Unfortunately, due to our visa applications currently being processed, we are not allowed to leave Chile. The Tierra del Fuego national park is on the Argentinian side of the group of islands, so we couldn´t cross the border to go in. We did see more dolphins during our ferry ride though, and spent a nice relaxing day wandering around Porvenir.
This city was much nicer than Punta Arenas; same ramshackle vibe, but with freshly painted bright colored houses. Our day was characterized by roaming dogs, adorable babies, creepy men, and lots of lovely flowers. The taxi colectivo dropped us off near a main plaza filled with daisies, but we didn´t see any stores anywhere. We wandered back down to the shore and found a mini souvenir shop and one restaurant. We were less than enthused with the restaurant because it was our only option, but once we found our salmon again, we were happy. Jess and I each got salmon mantequilla, which
was grilled salmon DROWNED in butter. Originally we had asked for one
person to get the crispy potatoes and one to get them baked and we could
share, but the waitress made a face and explained that they would have
to dig up the potatoes and then boil them to cook them for us; it would
take a very long time. I highly doubted they actually dug them up from
the ground, but we were starving so we said fine we´ll both get crispy
ones. Good thing we did!! They were like very thick cut potato chips;
crispy and salty and potato-y and delicious. Amazing. And the salmon in the butter was also delicious, though we were a little grossed out by how much they used- it was practically like a yellow soup! By the end of our meal we were stuffed to the ears but so satisfied.
Next we went to walk off our food coma a little, and each bought a little souvenir at the gazebo/kiosk we had seen earlier. We took a stroll along the beach, and sooooo many men were catcalling at us. I haven´t mentioned this yet because it had never been a problem for me in Santiago (like it has for some of my blonder friends), but as soon as we left the restaurant, horns were honking at us, men were calling to us, even some teenagers whistled behind our backs. Please understand that this is EXTREMELY common down here and I do not take much offense to it when it happens. It happened in Spain, it happens here in Santiago. The men make these noises at both Chilean women and foreigners alike, so there´s no nasty xenophobic aspect to it either. I just ignore it and keep walking. However, when we left the tourist shop, an old man came up and asked for a photo on his phone. I knew what he was getting at but poor Jess thought he wanted a picture of himself and not us haha. I was feeling generous so I said fine, and stood next to him for Jess to take a picture. It went a little downhill when he put his arm on my shoulder and pulled until we were super close together, but that was it. He took his phone back and we went on our way, just a tiny bit faster than last time. After some jumping pictures on the beach, we were heading back to the bus stop to return to Punta Arenas and a bunch of teenagers/ college kids started calling to us. They even offered us marijuana! Thanks for the offer boys, but we are not interested. Overall, it was a different experience than Santiago, but perhaps because it is such a small, homogeneous town, they are even less used to foreigners or foreign-looking people.
The return ferry was a little shorter than the trip out to Porvenir, but we had a blast playing Peek-a-boo with the adorable, chubby cheeked baby next to us. He was so adorable and happy! He kept laughing and stumbling over to our table; it was wonderful!
When we finally returned to our hostel, we scrambled to get our things together and then rushed to the airport. We were about 2ish hours early so we figured we were fine, and then we got to security and the lights were off! There was no one around and the machines were off but eventually someone came out to check us. We were a little nervous at the lack of security at this airport, especially because I forgot to empty my water bottle and they didn´t even mention it, yikes! But the flight was fine; Jess had finally finished reading Life of Pi and guess which movie came on for the flight home :D We got hassled at the TransVIP station in the airport because they couldn´t figure out my name to find the reservation, but finally we made it to our taxi, then to our hostel, then to our rooms and our respective, inviting beds. Pictures will be posted tomorrow! Goodnight!!
While everyone else was enjoying St. Patrick´s Day celebrations wherever they were in the world, Jess and I were once again hauling our butts out of bed incredibly early to catch the next leg of our adventure down here in Patagonia. Today, we had to get up at 730 to get to our new ferry by 9am. This one was taking us to Porvenir, across the Magellan Strait, to Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire. This archipelago is off the southernmost part of the South American mainland and home to many species of strange animals. Unfortunately, due to our visa applications currently being processed, we are not allowed to leave Chile. The Tierra del Fuego national park is on the Argentinian side of the group of islands, so we couldn´t cross the border to go in. We did see more dolphins during our ferry ride though, and spent a nice relaxing day wandering around Porvenir.
This city was much nicer than Punta Arenas; same ramshackle vibe, but with freshly painted bright colored houses. Our day was characterized by roaming dogs, adorable babies, creepy men, and lots of lovely flowers. The taxi colectivo dropped us off near a main plaza filled with daisies, but we didn´t see any stores anywhere. We wandered back down to the shore and found a mini souvenir shop and one restaurant. We were less than enthused with the restaurant because it was our only option, but once we found our salmon again, we were happy. Jess and I each got salmon mantequilla, which
was grilled salmon DROWNED in butter. Originally we had asked for one
person to get the crispy potatoes and one to get them baked and we could
share, but the waitress made a face and explained that they would have
to dig up the potatoes and then boil them to cook them for us; it would
take a very long time. I highly doubted they actually dug them up from
the ground, but we were starving so we said fine we´ll both get crispy
ones. Good thing we did!! They were like very thick cut potato chips;
crispy and salty and potato-y and delicious. Amazing. And the salmon in the butter was also delicious, though we were a little grossed out by how much they used- it was practically like a yellow soup! By the end of our meal we were stuffed to the ears but so satisfied. 
Next we went to walk off our food coma a little, and each bought a little souvenir at the gazebo/kiosk we had seen earlier. We took a stroll along the beach, and sooooo many men were catcalling at us. I haven´t mentioned this yet because it had never been a problem for me in Santiago (like it has for some of my blonder friends), but as soon as we left the restaurant, horns were honking at us, men were calling to us, even some teenagers whistled behind our backs. Please understand that this is EXTREMELY common down here and I do not take much offense to it when it happens. It happened in Spain, it happens here in Santiago. The men make these noises at both Chilean women and foreigners alike, so there´s no nasty xenophobic aspect to it either. I just ignore it and keep walking. However, when we left the tourist shop, an old man came up and asked for a photo on his phone. I knew what he was getting at but poor Jess thought he wanted a picture of himself and not us haha. I was feeling generous so I said fine, and stood next to him for Jess to take a picture. It went a little downhill when he put his arm on my shoulder and pulled until we were super close together, but that was it. He took his phone back and we went on our way, just a tiny bit faster than last time. After some jumping pictures on the beach, we were heading back to the bus stop to return to Punta Arenas and a bunch of teenagers/ college kids started calling to us. They even offered us marijuana! Thanks for the offer boys, but we are not interested. Overall, it was a different experience than Santiago, but perhaps because it is such a small, homogeneous town, they are even less used to foreigners or foreign-looking people.
The return ferry was a little shorter than the trip out to Porvenir, but we had a blast playing Peek-a-boo with the adorable, chubby cheeked baby next to us. He was so adorable and happy! He kept laughing and stumbling over to our table; it was wonderful!
When we finally returned to our hostel, we scrambled to get our things together and then rushed to the airport. We were about 2ish hours early so we figured we were fine, and then we got to security and the lights were off! There was no one around and the machines were off but eventually someone came out to check us. We were a little nervous at the lack of security at this airport, especially because I forgot to empty my water bottle and they didn´t even mention it, yikes! But the flight was fine; Jess had finally finished reading Life of Pi and guess which movie came on for the flight home :D We got hassled at the TransVIP station in the airport because they couldn´t figure out my name to find the reservation, but finally we made it to our taxi, then to our hostel, then to our rooms and our respective, inviting beds. Pictures will be posted tomorrow! Goodnight!!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Exploring the National Treasures
SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2013
We awoke today at the ungodly hour of 430 in the morning in order to have time to eat before our tour bus came between 5 and 530. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. At 615!!!!!! our bus arrived, FINALLY, and we took two of the last seats. Separately. In a van similar to airport transfer vans at home. We were none too pleased with the way this trip was starting, as the day tour was expensive, but at this point we were too tired to care. We passed OUT until I awoke to Jess snapping pictures of the sunrise over my shoulder. I snagged a couple
and promptly fell back asleep. Around 9am we stopped at a gas station in Puerto Natales, the town nearest to the park, and quickly caught a few shots of the shoreline.
Our next stop was the Cerro Castillo, the first cattle ranch in Patagonia (we think?). I was enticed by the beautiful handicrafts and indulged in a few souvenirs for me and my family. There wasn't much to see here except for a rancher driving his sheep right across the road. It took him forever, even though he had three ovejeros, sheep dogs, to help him. There were two couples and 3 other women on our tour, all Chilean, and they got a kick out of it! Jess and I are pretty sure it was staged hahah. Next, we drove to several different lakes, each more beautiful than the last. One was full of salt with white sandy shores. Another had black sands. One had clear, azure waters that you just felt compelled to jump in. Sadly, we had to resist the urge.
Our time on our little tour bus was spent mostly talking to our friendly Chilean co-tour-ees. We all shared cameras and took pictures for each other (especially the three couples- two Chilean, and me and Jess of course!) The Chileans thought the two little gringas were hilarious, taking jumping pictures, "skinny arm" ing all over the place, and hugging all the time. We were their chiquititas and they took pictures of us as much as we did of ourselves. They looked after us, made sure we stayed with the group, and felt compelled to explain Chile's history, the biodiversity, the stories behind the origins of the flora and fauna and their names, legends, and more! It was great fun and even better practice for our Spanish. Here's the cast of characters:
-Claudia, the crazy one (she had everyone take sooo many pictures of her)
-Claudia's mom/sister (the loud one who loved to be in charge)
-Sandra, the one who smiled until she was in a picture and then looked sad instead, but her cute braids matched Jess's!
-the quiet couple who never really talked to us
-and, Fernando and Brisa. Fernando sat next to me and really opened up as the trip wore on. He was so sweet and by the end he was our personal tour guide, explaining all the park signs as though we couldn't actually read the Spanish :)
Next up we visited a gorgeous cascada, a waterfall, were everyone went shutter-happy. There were just so many naturally-occurring photo spots we couldn't help ourselves! We got the mountains- las Torres del Paine, Los Cuernos- the dark black pair of peaks, and more. We climbed down some rocks to get a very lovely picture with the falls right behind us.
It was so breathtaking, but also powerful and very dangerous too; I saw broken fragments of a bridge waaaay down where the waterfall's flow met the river. Yikes!
The second to last stop of the tour was to el Lago Grey and el glaciar Grey. We had to walk about 30 minutes from the bus just to get there; we even crossed a rickety rope bridge that had posted signs saying no más que 6 personas (I think you guys can figure that one out on your own).
The Chileans had no such qualms however, and crossed right behind us, in a big group. Jess and I were more than a little nervous! We made it to the lake and though they were more like giant ice cubes, it was a pretty thrilling sight nonetheless. The glaciers were so blue and geometric; it almost seemed like a giant sculptor carved them and left them there to float in the water. They were smaller than we thought they would be, but summer just ended so it was to be expected. Also to be expected from Chispita, the cold-loving chica (ME!) was to swim in the glacier water. Don't worry, even I knew that was crazy, but I did take off my shoes and socks and stand in it. Surprisingly, it wasn't freezing, though it was cold. Jess snapped some pictures and the Chileans went nuts documenting the loca americana with their cameras haha. They even took some of me putting on new socks and donning my sneakers again. I saw when Sandra showed me every single one!
During the return drive, we made a 20 second stop at the Silla del diablo, the Devil's Seat. It was impressive in size but didn't really look like a chair. Oh well. And last but not least, we drove to una cueva, the cave of the Milodón. It is said that a dinosaur lives there, at least, that's what the lady in our hostel said. When we got there, we discovered that many fossils and remains were found of the first primitive inhabitants of South America. They were called ________, and archaeologists found evidence of cavemen and an animal called the milodón, a cross between several different animals and the predecessor of even more. Fortunately, none still live in the cave now, though it is full of salt and stalagmites. My friend Fernando broke a rock off the wall and it turned out to be a hunk of almost pure salt! He even brought it home with him; the geologist in me was jealous!
The ride home was punctuated by many small conversations. Fernando and I talked about just about everything. He works for a health insurance company, and is on this trip as a prize for winning something at work! His company paid for his airfare down to Patagonia. We talked a little about health care, some about college and rising costs for students in America and Chile, loan systems in the two countries, language differences between Chile and Spain, origins and explanations of the animals we saw out the window, where we came from, our heritage, and more! The two of us chatted for over three hours together, and by the end, my brain was exhausted but I bet my Spanish improved! Haha. It was nice talking with him and learning so much about Chilean culture. He and his wife live in Santiago, but I doubt we´ll ever see them again; what a shame.
One of our last stops was the gas station in Puerto Natales, where everyone got a little dinner, aka un completo. A completo is a hot dog with the works on top: diced tomatoes, guacamole, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup, and mayo. What a mess! I´m no fan, but Jess had her first one and really enjoyed it. The ride home was more silent than a graveyard; everyone was so tired, we all just passed out until the driver pulled up to our hotel or hostel. Sandra surprised us by taking down everyone´s phone numbers and promising to host a get-together when we all had returned to Santiago. After that, we once again blinked and were asleep in our hostel.
We awoke today at the ungodly hour of 430 in the morning in order to have time to eat before our tour bus came between 5 and 530. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. At 615!!!!!! our bus arrived, FINALLY, and we took two of the last seats. Separately. In a van similar to airport transfer vans at home. We were none too pleased with the way this trip was starting, as the day tour was expensive, but at this point we were too tired to care. We passed OUT until I awoke to Jess snapping pictures of the sunrise over my shoulder. I snagged a couple
Our next stop was the Cerro Castillo, the first cattle ranch in Patagonia (we think?). I was enticed by the beautiful handicrafts and indulged in a few souvenirs for me and my family. There wasn't much to see here except for a rancher driving his sheep right across the road. It took him forever, even though he had three ovejeros, sheep dogs, to help him. There were two couples and 3 other women on our tour, all Chilean, and they got a kick out of it! Jess and I are pretty sure it was staged hahah. Next, we drove to several different lakes, each more beautiful than the last. One was full of salt with white sandy shores. Another had black sands. One had clear, azure waters that you just felt compelled to jump in. Sadly, we had to resist the urge.
 |
| Los Cuernos |
Our time on our little tour bus was spent mostly talking to our friendly Chilean co-tour-ees. We all shared cameras and took pictures for each other (especially the three couples- two Chilean, and me and Jess of course!) The Chileans thought the two little gringas were hilarious, taking jumping pictures, "skinny arm" ing all over the place, and hugging all the time. We were their chiquititas and they took pictures of us as much as we did of ourselves. They looked after us, made sure we stayed with the group, and felt compelled to explain Chile's history, the biodiversity, the stories behind the origins of the flora and fauna and their names, legends, and more! It was great fun and even better practice for our Spanish. Here's the cast of characters:
-Claudia, the crazy one (she had everyone take sooo many pictures of her)
-Claudia's mom/sister (the loud one who loved to be in charge)
-Sandra, the one who smiled until she was in a picture and then looked sad instead, but her cute braids matched Jess's!
-the quiet couple who never really talked to us
-and, Fernando and Brisa. Fernando sat next to me and really opened up as the trip wore on. He was so sweet and by the end he was our personal tour guide, explaining all the park signs as though we couldn't actually read the Spanish :)
Next up we visited a gorgeous cascada, a waterfall, were everyone went shutter-happy. There were just so many naturally-occurring photo spots we couldn't help ourselves! We got the mountains- las Torres del Paine, Los Cuernos- the dark black pair of peaks, and more. We climbed down some rocks to get a very lovely picture with the falls right behind us.
The second to last stop of the tour was to el Lago Grey and el glaciar Grey. We had to walk about 30 minutes from the bus just to get there; we even crossed a rickety rope bridge that had posted signs saying no más que 6 personas (I think you guys can figure that one out on your own).
The Chileans had no such qualms however, and crossed right behind us, in a big group. Jess and I were more than a little nervous! We made it to the lake and though they were more like giant ice cubes, it was a pretty thrilling sight nonetheless. The glaciers were so blue and geometric; it almost seemed like a giant sculptor carved them and left them there to float in the water. They were smaller than we thought they would be, but summer just ended so it was to be expected. Also to be expected from Chispita, the cold-loving chica (ME!) was to swim in the glacier water. Don't worry, even I knew that was crazy, but I did take off my shoes and socks and stand in it. Surprisingly, it wasn't freezing, though it was cold. Jess snapped some pictures and the Chileans went nuts documenting the loca americana with their cameras haha. They even took some of me putting on new socks and donning my sneakers again. I saw when Sandra showed me every single one!The ride home was punctuated by many small conversations. Fernando and I talked about just about everything. He works for a health insurance company, and is on this trip as a prize for winning something at work! His company paid for his airfare down to Patagonia. We talked a little about health care, some about college and rising costs for students in America and Chile, loan systems in the two countries, language differences between Chile and Spain, origins and explanations of the animals we saw out the window, where we came from, our heritage, and more! The two of us chatted for over three hours together, and by the end, my brain was exhausted but I bet my Spanish improved! Haha. It was nice talking with him and learning so much about Chilean culture. He and his wife live in Santiago, but I doubt we´ll ever see them again; what a shame.
One of our last stops was the gas station in Puerto Natales, where everyone got a little dinner, aka un completo. A completo is a hot dog with the works on top: diced tomatoes, guacamole, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup, and mayo. What a mess! I´m no fan, but Jess had her first one and really enjoyed it. The ride home was more silent than a graveyard; everyone was so tired, we all just passed out until the driver pulled up to our hotel or hostel. Sandra surprised us by taking down everyone´s phone numbers and promising to host a get-together when we all had returned to Santiago. After that, we once again blinked and were asleep in our hostel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)