In the past 6 days I have stayed in 6 different hostels in 5 different cities - oye! Keeping all the different places has been tricky especially when they all use the same street names like Diego Portales, O'Higgins, Baquedando etc. But at last I am in Puerto Natales where I will be spending the next 4 nights. During the day I will be heading out to the national Park Torres de Paine and also hopping over the border into Argentina to see a glacier - but that is all to come, not what I have been up to for the past several days.
So by the time I was back in Puerto Montt after Castro I was working on my 4th full day without having a conversation longer than 5minutes in English (with my parents to verify that I was alive), entonces I was starting to get a little antsy. There were 2 gringas speaking in English on my bus ride from Castro to Puerto Montt and I was soooo tempted to just go up to them and say Hi, I have not been in the presence of people who speak English in 4 days can I just talk with you for a while? In effect I was perilously close to becoming the guy in the plaza de armas who litterally did ask if he could speak to my friends and I in English that´s how bad his withdrawl was! Luckily when I arrived at my hostel that evening there was a large group of American students who had been traveling through Argentina for a semester and had just crossed over to Chile for the first time. They were interested to trade stories about the two countries and I ended up watching American movies with them for the rest of the night! I think if I hadn´t met them I would have started to go crazy, but luckily all my social needs were met.
The following morning I hopped on a plane to Punta Arenas, at the very bottom of Chile. Another girl, from Germany (who of course is fluent in Spanish and English!), arrived to my hostel at the same time and we spent the afternoon together exploring the town. We walked down to the coast and looked out at the Strait of Magellan, which is nothing special to look at but still it´s the Strait of Magellan! We also ventured into the town cemetary which is like a less grandiouse but better maintained Recolleta (in Buenos Aires). We didn´t have time to do much else but we were able to figure out how to see the penguins off the coast! So when I return to Punta Arenas on Sunday I will definitly be seeing them!
It was nice to explore a town with someone else for a change instead of just by myself - tomorrow I am going trecking with 2 other people from my hostel and hopefully they will be just as fun as the other people I have met during my travels so far! People in the south of Chile in general have been very nice, they will bend over backwards to help you. Maybe they are just used to tourists more than people in Santiago, I have never seen more gringos here than I have anywhere else in Chile and that includes Easter Island! Today I was in a cafe and there was not a single Chileno in the entire place, I doubt there was even another person from South America in the cafe either! So wierd that you can speak English all the way down here and be understood almost anywhere but if you were to try to do that in the capital of the country you would probably run into trouble. Crazy!
****Lo siento, no spell check again. Also its getting dark so I need to head back to my hostel so I am not even doing an eye check on my spelling, yeah I know it is really bad, again lo siento!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
¡Sólo viente años!
Being a 20 year old girl traveling alone tends to surprise people - shocking, I know. My age though was never something I really thought about until others made such a big deal about it. My sex, lack of directional sense, and cluelessness were the issues I was more concerned about when I decided to travel by myself. Sure I may be young but considering everything else I have done in my life traveling alone didn´t seem like that big of a leap, I have lived away from my family for quite some time now. However in Chile, where people live with their parents until they get married, a young girl like me is an oddity.
I was reminded of how much curiosity I can stir up during my bus ride from Puerto Montt to Ancud in Chiloé. Everything was going fine, I was on the bus headed the the right direction, when suddenly a man sat down beside me and started chatting with me. OK that was fine, solo travel can be loney at times so it was nice to chat and practice my Spanish. My positive attitude slowly began to dissolve as the man grabbed my hands to emphasize points of whatever he was talking about, he also poked me in the stomach when he asked if I liked Chilean food and tried to cup my chin at one point after telling me I was such a chicatita. That I pulled away from so he didnt try to do that again but he continued to tell me how genial I was and how it was amazing he could confide in me - he told me the reason he was on the bus was because he no longer drove after an accident. I asked what happened and he said he had been on drugs but that he has been clean since, 3 years now, he even showed me some kind of surgical scar related to the accident. Things got even more awkard for me as he began to compliment me on being such a great gringa and so linda y hermosa y having ojos celestial. He also asked if I have a tour guide for my time in Chiloé or if I wanted a companion. I thanked him for the offer but said I liked to travel alone. I really wanted to move at this point but I was at the window seat and had my gigantic backpack on the floor below my seat. Luckily I was saved when the man decided to take a nap for the remainder of the bus ride. This was not of course before he gave me a kiss on the cheeck and wished me a safe journey! I was saved further awkwardness when the man did not get off the bus at my stop, hopefully I will not run into him again but Chiloé is a tiny island!
So aside from enchanting men with my gringaness I have been having a great time in Chiloé. Yesterday I spent my afternoon wandering around Ancud. When to a museaum about the churches of the island, the beach, and also watched the volunteer fire department run tests for new recuits in the plaza de armas. After watching the ongoings for a bit I decided that if a building were on fire here it probably had a better chance of getting put out by the rain then by the fire department!
The rain - it is here all the time! I am getting used to it now but I miss the warm sun of Santiago!
Today I am in Castro, the largest ¨city¨ in Chiloé. Have walked around town quite a bit, saw the church here which has a gorgeous wooden interior plus very graphic depictions of Jesus on the cross - just what everyone wants! Also walked along the coast line here which has houses on stilts and a lot of abandoned boats. There are also these wierd birds here that make sounds like monkeys.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot - I saw penguins this morning! I went to the northwestern coast of Chiloé with the duena of my hostal, we picked up some of her friends along the way who told me all about the history of the area as we drove along and when we stopped at one point to take photos they went over to a plant chopped off a long spikey branch and offered it to me to eat! I didn´t try any though cause apparently it wasn´t ripe enough. Once at the beach I took a boat ride out to a group of islands where the penguins live. I got to see them waddle around, make noises, and I even saw a group swim around near my boat! I also saw an array of odd looking birds and sea otters eating shellfish! It was a great time and afterward I got to drive along the 7km beach. The views made me feel like I was in New Zealand and on location for the movie the Piano.
Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, maybe take a tour of the national park here - I just gotta be back in Puerto Montt by nightfall, I leave for Punta Arenas the following morning!
***I apoligize for any typos in this post. I don´t have English spell check right now!
I was reminded of how much curiosity I can stir up during my bus ride from Puerto Montt to Ancud in Chiloé. Everything was going fine, I was on the bus headed the the right direction, when suddenly a man sat down beside me and started chatting with me. OK that was fine, solo travel can be loney at times so it was nice to chat and practice my Spanish. My positive attitude slowly began to dissolve as the man grabbed my hands to emphasize points of whatever he was talking about, he also poked me in the stomach when he asked if I liked Chilean food and tried to cup my chin at one point after telling me I was such a chicatita. That I pulled away from so he didnt try to do that again but he continued to tell me how genial I was and how it was amazing he could confide in me - he told me the reason he was on the bus was because he no longer drove after an accident. I asked what happened and he said he had been on drugs but that he has been clean since, 3 years now, he even showed me some kind of surgical scar related to the accident. Things got even more awkard for me as he began to compliment me on being such a great gringa and so linda y hermosa y having ojos celestial. He also asked if I have a tour guide for my time in Chiloé or if I wanted a companion. I thanked him for the offer but said I liked to travel alone. I really wanted to move at this point but I was at the window seat and had my gigantic backpack on the floor below my seat. Luckily I was saved when the man decided to take a nap for the remainder of the bus ride. This was not of course before he gave me a kiss on the cheeck and wished me a safe journey! I was saved further awkwardness when the man did not get off the bus at my stop, hopefully I will not run into him again but Chiloé is a tiny island!
So aside from enchanting men with my gringaness I have been having a great time in Chiloé. Yesterday I spent my afternoon wandering around Ancud. When to a museaum about the churches of the island, the beach, and also watched the volunteer fire department run tests for new recuits in the plaza de armas. After watching the ongoings for a bit I decided that if a building were on fire here it probably had a better chance of getting put out by the rain then by the fire department!
The rain - it is here all the time! I am getting used to it now but I miss the warm sun of Santiago!
Today I am in Castro, the largest ¨city¨ in Chiloé. Have walked around town quite a bit, saw the church here which has a gorgeous wooden interior plus very graphic depictions of Jesus on the cross - just what everyone wants! Also walked along the coast line here which has houses on stilts and a lot of abandoned boats. There are also these wierd birds here that make sounds like monkeys.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot - I saw penguins this morning! I went to the northwestern coast of Chiloé with the duena of my hostal, we picked up some of her friends along the way who told me all about the history of the area as we drove along and when we stopped at one point to take photos they went over to a plant chopped off a long spikey branch and offered it to me to eat! I didn´t try any though cause apparently it wasn´t ripe enough. Once at the beach I took a boat ride out to a group of islands where the penguins live. I got to see them waddle around, make noises, and I even saw a group swim around near my boat! I also saw an array of odd looking birds and sea otters eating shellfish! It was a great time and afterward I got to drive along the 7km beach. The views made me feel like I was in New Zealand and on location for the movie the Piano.
Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, maybe take a tour of the national park here - I just gotta be back in Puerto Montt by nightfall, I leave for Punta Arenas the following morning!
***I apoligize for any typos in this post. I don´t have English spell check right now!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Puerto Montt que fome
I have been very negligent with this blog but it is only because I have been out and about living life! I hope to be more regular with postings now that school is over and to appease my mother who I some how convinced to let me travel alone in Southern Chile. Anyone would be hesitant to let their child do this but I have to give my parents extra props for letting me go on my grand adventure. Not many parents would let their directionally challenged,slightly flaky daughter travel around on her own. But obviously mine are awesome.
So now I am in Puerto Montt 750miles from the capital. The plane ride here was fine, only an hour and a half long. I got to the airport super early just in case I had some kind of problem checking in, which I didn´t. This is Chile after all, I never had to show ID or get rid of my water or take off my shoes or any of the other things American airports constantly put travelers through. Another benefit of flying in Chile the LAN airlines standard Havana snack pack. Yep, I got 3 snacks and a drink for flight less than 2hrs long!
The only time I started to get concerned about how my trip was going to be occurred after I arrived at the airport in Puerto Montt. I didn´t see a taxi anywhere, which was how I planned to get to my hostel. I walked all around outside, nada. So I went back in and asked the info desk who informed me that there should be a line for the taxi´s at the end of the block. I had already checked there and saw nothing but I go back out and still nothing, however, there was a sign saying the area was for taxi´s only. A couple comes up and asks me if this is where the taxi´s are, we wait together for the taxi´s to decide to show up. A few minutes later one did show up and the driver knew exactly where my hostel was! We ended up having a very nice conversation on the ride into town.
Once settled in at the hostel I went to explore Puerto Montt, which only took a few hours hence the title of this post. For those of you not in the know on Chilean slang, fome = boring. I first walked along the bay down to the bus terminal where I successfully got my ticket for my bus ride tomorrow to Chiloe! On the way back I stopped by all the different key sites: artisan craft shops,markets, plaza de armas, the cathedral, the malls, etc. Aside from the Church and the Bay everything else I had seen in Santiago. One thing Santiago doesn´t have though is a creepily large statue of two people sitting by the bay together. Pictures will be forthcoming. Puerto Montt gets a plus though for not accepting the 80s style so popular in the capital. I have yet to see a mullets with rat tail dreadlocks.
Today I also discovered the plus and minuses to solo travel. Plus I can go where I want when I want, the same goes for eating. However, sitting by oneself at a restaurant with nothing to do is very awkard. Hence, I have bought a book by Gabriel Marquez to minimize my awkwardness, at least to myself! I also have no one to take awkard photos with and I feel wierd asking strangers to take photos of me acting really goofy. I don´t like asking people to take my photo in general so don´t expect to see many shots of me from this trip!
Tonight I may be a good girl and go to Church at the Cathedral since I wasn´t allowed in earlier in the day. However, it is cold and it has been raining on and off so I may just curl up in my huge hostal bed and watch a movie on HBO.
So now I am in Puerto Montt 750miles from the capital. The plane ride here was fine, only an hour and a half long. I got to the airport super early just in case I had some kind of problem checking in, which I didn´t. This is Chile after all, I never had to show ID or get rid of my water or take off my shoes or any of the other things American airports constantly put travelers through. Another benefit of flying in Chile the LAN airlines standard Havana snack pack. Yep, I got 3 snacks and a drink for flight less than 2hrs long!
The only time I started to get concerned about how my trip was going to be occurred after I arrived at the airport in Puerto Montt. I didn´t see a taxi anywhere, which was how I planned to get to my hostel. I walked all around outside, nada. So I went back in and asked the info desk who informed me that there should be a line for the taxi´s at the end of the block. I had already checked there and saw nothing but I go back out and still nothing, however, there was a sign saying the area was for taxi´s only. A couple comes up and asks me if this is where the taxi´s are, we wait together for the taxi´s to decide to show up. A few minutes later one did show up and the driver knew exactly where my hostel was! We ended up having a very nice conversation on the ride into town.
Once settled in at the hostel I went to explore Puerto Montt, which only took a few hours hence the title of this post. For those of you not in the know on Chilean slang, fome = boring. I first walked along the bay down to the bus terminal where I successfully got my ticket for my bus ride tomorrow to Chiloe! On the way back I stopped by all the different key sites: artisan craft shops,markets, plaza de armas, the cathedral, the malls, etc. Aside from the Church and the Bay everything else I had seen in Santiago. One thing Santiago doesn´t have though is a creepily large statue of two people sitting by the bay together. Pictures will be forthcoming. Puerto Montt gets a plus though for not accepting the 80s style so popular in the capital. I have yet to see a mullets with rat tail dreadlocks.
Today I also discovered the plus and minuses to solo travel. Plus I can go where I want when I want, the same goes for eating. However, sitting by oneself at a restaurant with nothing to do is very awkard. Hence, I have bought a book by Gabriel Marquez to minimize my awkwardness, at least to myself! I also have no one to take awkard photos with and I feel wierd asking strangers to take photos of me acting really goofy. I don´t like asking people to take my photo in general so don´t expect to see many shots of me from this trip!
Tonight I may be a good girl and go to Church at the Cathedral since I wasn´t allowed in earlier in the day. However, it is cold and it has been raining on and off so I may just curl up in my huge hostal bed and watch a movie on HBO.
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