To hot water bottle or not, that is the question. Whether it is nobler to freeze ones b… off or to opt for the hot water bottle. OK, we decided on a heater for the second night.
We arrived in La Serena and toted our bags to the Hostel, El Punto. After been greeted and shown our room, the matrimonial suite. Conveniently located opposite a shared bathroom (even though we had our own), which meant lots of traffic and best of all, no heat. The hostel did offer us hot water bottles, that is if it got too cold, this Chile it is cold. The hostel advertised that there was a barbeque (and there was one) but it looked like it hadn’t been used in years and you had to go and buy charcoal. So no cooking here. We went out to dinner. As Chile is big on lunch and not so much for dinner we had food at a local restaurant, it was ok; the French fries were real potatoes Yeah!. Our first night without heating in La Serna, a night to remember!!
The next day we went off to the Mega mall and the bus terminal to book our bus to our next stop. As we were walking in the mall we heard “high mate”, it was our friends (Mark and Sam), that we had met at the wine tasting in the Casablanca valley. After a good cup of coffee (not Nescafe) we walked the city and had a late lunch, expensive and not good, but good company!
After our walk we chilled, until we got the rented heater working, Karen found a pot and she made a salad and of course a good bottle of Chilean wine.
Next day we had booked a tour of the Elqui Valley. Wow that was a jam packed day. We started at a Papaya plantation, not exciting for Caribbean girls, but the trees are different and we saw Artichokes growing (that was a first for us). Then up the valley to the most northern wine region of Chile. The valley was amazing because of its topography, sheer cliffs with no top soil, just rocks and drip irrigation to grow grapes and more grapes with an occasional avocados plantation thrown in. We stopped at the dam, that provides the irrigation for the valley. We were a bit upset at first because they had to put grape trees under water to build it!! But after seeing the valley with all the grapes we settled down. The valley only gets 3-5 days of rain a year; the water comes from the snow run off. The valley gets so much sun and wind that they have to cover the grapes and create wind screens. The views and man working with nature was amazing. Next stop was lunch cooked in solar ovens, and we finally got to have lamb! It was excellent.
Next day we checked out and went for a walk to the beach. This ended up being a 4 hour walk! We saw some surfer dudes, they were out in the same thickness of dive suits that we wear in the Caribbean in the winter and they shower off in agua frio!! Crazy.
We met up with Mark and Sam and took the overnight bus to San Pedro De Atacama. The desert! We checked into our adobe style hostel. While it too doesn’t have heating the walls keep in the heat so it is ok along with 3 inches of blankets! Although it is hard to turn over!
Then off to try our hand at sand skiing at Death Valley. Karen had a grin from ear to ear as she went down. Really cool, with amazing views. The hardest part was climbing up the hill with your equipment. Sand skiing is like skiing with sticky glue on your skies, so you have to go straight down, they did give us a piece of a candle, so we could wax our skies before every run it did help. We then went to the Luna valley for sunset to watch the colours change on the desert and the Andes with a glass of wine in our hands. It doesn’t get any better. As soon as the sun went down layers of clothes were added. Dinner at the hostel, with a Belgium couple and an American girl ‘dinning’ with us; sharing adventures and travel tips.
A lazy day because we are off to the Space San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Experience an outdoor observatory with 15 telescopes and a French astronomer as our guide (15000 pesos/person). Sam and Mark joined us, for an evening of star gazing and trying to stay warm in the desert. We had on everything we wore skiing and an extra blanket for Karen. The first thing we saw through the telescope was Saturn and her rings, just awesome. We saw nebulas, stars and a close up view of the man on the moon, which here is the bunny on the moon, go figure! We learned about the zodiac signs, as the astronomer drew them with a lazer pointer, he confirmed Karen’s conclusion that they were all on some type of drugs! After a lovely hot chocolate we were shipped home at midnight, way after any cruiser’s bedtime.
The next morning saw us off to the Rainbow Valley (Valley Arco Iris) at 8 am. It truly was a rainbow of colours, predominantly green, red, white, grey and black, with a few speckles and all of rock, as there is very little vegetation in the desert. After a picnic we crossed the Rio Grand, which was no more than a trickle, and headed back to San Pedro. We meet up with Mark and Sam for lunch; we tried some local foods (peppers stuffed with blood pudding, meat and nuts, ceviche with a light ginger vinaigrette, slow cooked pork over a puree of pumpkin and potato) and of course wine. Lunch was a long slow process as we were parting for Arica that night and don’t know when we will see Mark and Sam again as they are heading south.
We hopped on the night bus to Arica, while it was a semi-cama, the seats were much smaller than the last one. We arrived at our new hostel Sunny Days, at 6:20 am, to be greeted by Russ. We had a nap, then breakfast. We walked the waterfront, passed the fish market, and watched some surfers (they are still nuts) had a beautiful lunch with a lovely Sauvignon Blanc. It was supposed to be a slow day, but we had left the Hostel before 10am and returned after 4pm! We had stopped at the veggie market and made dinner at the hostel.
Next day we tried to find the supermarket, but didn’t, so picked up a few items at the veggie market for dinner. With dinner planned we were off to El Morro, the other side of town. El Morro was a fortification overlooking the city. While only 110m high it provided a great view of the water and the town. We walked back to the city centre and had lunch at a restaurant on the pedestrian street, watching the world go by. This day we had left again before 10, but arrived back by 3:30, we are very good tourists. We can’t take any food into Peru, so we have to eat up our cheese, so we had a fondue, and of course Chilean wine!
Last day in Chile and here our top interesting things that we noticed:
1. Chileans are obsessed with hot dogs. They have this hot dog called the Completo; which has mayo, ketchup, avocado and hot dog for the base and anything else you can fit on it.
2. On most major intersections there is a street performer of some sort.
3. There are tons of dogs wondering around and they are all well feed and look health.
4. Most of the builds are painted brightly coloured.
5. In the winter it is really chill. With no heat in the homes, restaurants, stores, local buses, cars, hostel…..etc.
6. The majority of the locals only speak Spanish but are willing to help and are very friendly.
7. You can get any type of fruit and vegetable here.
8. Inexpensive good wine.
9. The parts that we visited are amazingly beautiful but it is a harsh environment to live in as there are very few trees. You have to love rocks.
10. It was a great experience but bloody cold.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
From 90F to 32F
Well, we left the river and our baby (Interlude) with the gang at Mario’s and headed on our adventure to South America. First stop: Guatemala city; where went to the dermatologist and met up with the Hooligans (Tim and Paula) . After checking out our favorite hardware stores and having some amazing meals, we set our alarm for our early flight to Chile.
We arrived in Chile and it certainly is living up to it name it is chilly……burrrrr. (By the way there is a story that is really how Chile got its name). Our first night we rented an apartment which was supposed to have heat, it didn’t work, so we piled as many comforters on as we could find and hide from the cold. Next morning was a hunt for a warm place to have a hot cup of coffee and breakfast. We had heard that in Chile the only coffee you can buy is instant and they were right. As we walked the streets for a warm place we noticed that all the stores and restaurants had their doors open, okay it is 36F out and all the patrons are wearing hats and mitts to eat their breakfast. Weird. So we changed our hunting criteria to anyplace that had their door closed and the patrons did not have their coats and hats on. Tough assignment. We did some food shopping and feel in love as one aisle which had all of our favorite Chilean wines plus more that we have not tried YET and all under $5. After stocking up we went back to our apartment and yes we had heat, but not much, in fact we had to turn on the oven and stove to support the heater.
Santiago is a very metropolitan city with great highways and transit system. The city has old mixed in with new skyscrapers, even one building shaped like a cell phone in a docking station. One thing we noticed is there are a lot of dogs wondering the streets, and well feed. It seems that police and the local restaurants feed the dogs and they live in harmony with the people, in fact they say the dogs are letting the people live in their city.
The highways seem to be all electronic toll highways and tunnels. The roads are amazing, hardly a bump.
Graffiti everywhere! Some amazing, but sad to see it when it is on old buildings. You don’t see the smog when you are in the City, but when you climb any of the hills in the City, your view is blocked by the smog. A brown haze. It had rained just before we got to Santiago, otherwise it would have been much worse.
We took an awesome walking tour of the City. We went by many of the buildings that we had already seen, but now with an explanation of the culture and history. It was a free walking tour we just had to give a tip so the price was right. We ended up go to a local restaurant and had a few of the local dishes suggested to us by our guide. We were joined by 3 young fellows who had been on the tour with us and all 5 of us enjoyed a bucket of meat and a corn pie. Then off to the local bar that was a must according to our guide, the name of the bar translated to “head Lice and of course we had to try their specialty drink called Earthquake (Pine Apple ice cream and white wine). The 5 of us could not finish one drink…it was bad. Not a drink to be had twice. Cheryl also tried a Tsunami, also not a repeat drink. We stumbled back to the apartment and had a very slow next day.
When we had been walking to Santa Cristobal, we saw a sign for a ski tour company. So we stopped in. In the end we got the professional skies, tuned up and a bus ticket to go to Colorado the next day yup the ski resorts are named Colorado and Nevada. We got the ride for half price as it was ladies day yeah! Forty some on switch backs later we arrived safely to the hill! Thankfully, an unbelievably good driver.
The skiing was spring like, with some awesome views. You can actually see Santiago from the hill! A dream come true, to ski in the Andes.
Time to move on, so we hoped on a bus and went to Valparaiso, Chile’s second largest city and biggest port. We booked the Yellow House, which turned out to be an awesome choice. We also booked a walking tour for the next day. The city has 13 funiculars, as it is built straight up and down. Much of the construction is wattle and daub, or Adobe, covered with corrugated tin or wood. Every home is painted in bright colors probably because no one could figure out which house belongs to whom. The homes are very small, and many of the ‘streets’ are nothing more than walkways. Most of the real streets are one way, as there is not enough room for even one car. They have a metro, electric buses, buses, collective taxis and funiculars, so it is really easy to get around and not expensive. We were very good tourists, as we would leave the yellow house after a good breakfast at 9:30 and sightsee until 5:30! Yes our feet were tired! One day we went to the fish market, (bought mussels) saw the sea lions, went to the museum, went to the stock exchange the oldest in Chile, saw a statue donated by the people of Easter Island, took 3 funiculars, had lunch and then head back to the Yellow House. Then just because we needed to continue to be good tourist we went to the Naval Museum! At the naval museum we had the opportunity to stand in the capsule used to recover the Chilean miners last year. It was not large!! Back to the Yellow House for Mussels in a blue cheese sauce and of course Chilean wine.
Next day we toured again. We took the trolley car and a collective to Pablo Neruda’s (a Chilean Nobel poet winner) house, quite a place. Then we went passed the museum under the sky, where they had 20 Chilean artists paint murals. Then we went to the fruit and veggie market and had lunch upstairs. We went to the 100 year old Sombereria, where Brad Pitt purchased a hat. Then we went on a boat tour of the harbor. That night we had wine and cheese with Martin and Lissette, who own the Yellow House. Martin bought a wine for use to try, a white blend, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmen ere! Great! And we heard about their experiences last year in the earthquake, 7.8 in Valparaiso! How the city is still standing is the question.
Next day saw us taking a tour of two wineries in the Casablanca Valley. Wine tasting/tours are expensive here and hard to arrange. We went to Casa del Bosque and Emiliana. Both were excellent winiers, Emiliana is an organic winery that really is, it was also a very relaxing place. We met a British couple on; the tour with us (Sam and Mark). They very much added to our day and we hope that we will see them in La Serena, our next stop.
We bid goodbye to Martin this morning and are on a bus to La Serena, a seven hour bus ride north. We had spent about $30 for the superior seats and they are! So life is good. We have an hour and a quarter to go. While we can see the snowy tops of the Andes every now and then, it is really very dry land, some beautiful ocean views. Cactus fences. You could film a western anywhere!
We arrived at our Hostel in La Serena and are offered a hot water bottle as they do not have heating and it is COLD! We will see how Canadian we are and if we can tough it out!
We arrived in Chile and it certainly is living up to it name it is chilly……burrrrr. (By the way there is a story that is really how Chile got its name). Our first night we rented an apartment which was supposed to have heat, it didn’t work, so we piled as many comforters on as we could find and hide from the cold. Next morning was a hunt for a warm place to have a hot cup of coffee and breakfast. We had heard that in Chile the only coffee you can buy is instant and they were right. As we walked the streets for a warm place we noticed that all the stores and restaurants had their doors open, okay it is 36F out and all the patrons are wearing hats and mitts to eat their breakfast. Weird. So we changed our hunting criteria to anyplace that had their door closed and the patrons did not have their coats and hats on. Tough assignment. We did some food shopping and feel in love as one aisle which had all of our favorite Chilean wines plus more that we have not tried YET and all under $5. After stocking up we went back to our apartment and yes we had heat, but not much, in fact we had to turn on the oven and stove to support the heater.
Santiago is a very metropolitan city with great highways and transit system. The city has old mixed in with new skyscrapers, even one building shaped like a cell phone in a docking station. One thing we noticed is there are a lot of dogs wondering the streets, and well feed. It seems that police and the local restaurants feed the dogs and they live in harmony with the people, in fact they say the dogs are letting the people live in their city.
The highways seem to be all electronic toll highways and tunnels. The roads are amazing, hardly a bump.
Graffiti everywhere! Some amazing, but sad to see it when it is on old buildings. You don’t see the smog when you are in the City, but when you climb any of the hills in the City, your view is blocked by the smog. A brown haze. It had rained just before we got to Santiago, otherwise it would have been much worse.
We took an awesome walking tour of the City. We went by many of the buildings that we had already seen, but now with an explanation of the culture and history. It was a free walking tour we just had to give a tip so the price was right. We ended up go to a local restaurant and had a few of the local dishes suggested to us by our guide. We were joined by 3 young fellows who had been on the tour with us and all 5 of us enjoyed a bucket of meat and a corn pie. Then off to the local bar that was a must according to our guide, the name of the bar translated to “head Lice and of course we had to try their specialty drink called Earthquake (Pine Apple ice cream and white wine). The 5 of us could not finish one drink…it was bad. Not a drink to be had twice. Cheryl also tried a Tsunami, also not a repeat drink. We stumbled back to the apartment and had a very slow next day.
When we had been walking to Santa Cristobal, we saw a sign for a ski tour company. So we stopped in. In the end we got the professional skies, tuned up and a bus ticket to go to Colorado the next day yup the ski resorts are named Colorado and Nevada. We got the ride for half price as it was ladies day yeah! Forty some on switch backs later we arrived safely to the hill! Thankfully, an unbelievably good driver.
The skiing was spring like, with some awesome views. You can actually see Santiago from the hill! A dream come true, to ski in the Andes.
Time to move on, so we hoped on a bus and went to Valparaiso, Chile’s second largest city and biggest port. We booked the Yellow House, which turned out to be an awesome choice. We also booked a walking tour for the next day. The city has 13 funiculars, as it is built straight up and down. Much of the construction is wattle and daub, or Adobe, covered with corrugated tin or wood. Every home is painted in bright colors probably because no one could figure out which house belongs to whom. The homes are very small, and many of the ‘streets’ are nothing more than walkways. Most of the real streets are one way, as there is not enough room for even one car. They have a metro, electric buses, buses, collective taxis and funiculars, so it is really easy to get around and not expensive. We were very good tourists, as we would leave the yellow house after a good breakfast at 9:30 and sightsee until 5:30! Yes our feet were tired! One day we went to the fish market, (bought mussels) saw the sea lions, went to the museum, went to the stock exchange the oldest in Chile, saw a statue donated by the people of Easter Island, took 3 funiculars, had lunch and then head back to the Yellow House. Then just because we needed to continue to be good tourist we went to the Naval Museum! At the naval museum we had the opportunity to stand in the capsule used to recover the Chilean miners last year. It was not large!! Back to the Yellow House for Mussels in a blue cheese sauce and of course Chilean wine.
Next day we toured again. We took the trolley car and a collective to Pablo Neruda’s (a Chilean Nobel poet winner) house, quite a place. Then we went passed the museum under the sky, where they had 20 Chilean artists paint murals. Then we went to the fruit and veggie market and had lunch upstairs. We went to the 100 year old Sombereria, where Brad Pitt purchased a hat. Then we went on a boat tour of the harbor. That night we had wine and cheese with Martin and Lissette, who own the Yellow House. Martin bought a wine for use to try, a white blend, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmen ere! Great! And we heard about their experiences last year in the earthquake, 7.8 in Valparaiso! How the city is still standing is the question.
Next day saw us taking a tour of two wineries in the Casablanca Valley. Wine tasting/tours are expensive here and hard to arrange. We went to Casa del Bosque and Emiliana. Both were excellent winiers, Emiliana is an organic winery that really is, it was also a very relaxing place. We met a British couple on; the tour with us (Sam and Mark). They very much added to our day and we hope that we will see them in La Serena, our next stop.
We bid goodbye to Martin this morning and are on a bus to La Serena, a seven hour bus ride north. We had spent about $30 for the superior seats and they are! So life is good. We have an hour and a quarter to go. While we can see the snowy tops of the Andes every now and then, it is really very dry land, some beautiful ocean views. Cactus fences. You could film a western anywhere!
We arrived at our Hostel in La Serena and are offered a hot water bottle as they do not have heating and it is COLD! We will see how Canadian we are and if we can tough it out!
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