I put off posting for the last few days so that I get the last post while we are in South America. Unless Sarah puts one up in the next two hours, this is it. What an awesome trip. I love traveling like this: experiencing new things, pushing boundries, doing things never previously contemplated. Sarah has done a lot that neither of us thought that she would ever do... climbing a volcano for example, or eating a ridiculous amount of fried eggs. All in all, it has been fantastic. Also, the opportunity to share some of this experience (although at a much higher comfort level) with our parents and siblings was really nice.
The last week in South America:
We met Tristan in Arica and showed him around town, that was all covered in Sarah's post. We got on an overnight bus to San Pedro de Atacama last wednesday for a few days of spending lots of money and going on cool tours around the desert and the antiplano. We arrived, after a wonderful (pill-induced) sleep on the bus, ready to conquer the desert. So for the first day, after grabbing some lunch, we joined a tour group out to the Valley of Death and Valley of the Moon. Wow. The valley and rock formations were unbelievable. There were also huge sand dunes for sandboarding (which we unfortunately did not do while in San Pedro) that we ended up running and rolling down. We caught the sunset in the Valley of the Moon and it was really beautiful.
We woke up the next morning at 4 AM to head out to the geysers. We were there for the sunrise and it was gorgeous. I felt a little altitude sickness since we went up more than 2000 meters in about 3 hours but it was still awesome. To see water shooting up out of the ground while the sun is coming up over the mountain tops immediately behind the geysers was something unbelievable. There were also natural hot springs that some people chose to swim in. We ate breakfast out there and made our way back to San Pedro relatively slowly, making various stops to see vicuñas, flamingos and traditional villages. We rested for the afternoon for the next day's adventure.
The next morning we got a small group tour with a Brazilian couple out to the salt lakes in the Atacama salt flat. We went swimming in the lakes and it was really cool to float in the extremely salty water. It was actually difficult not to float and it was a really odd sensation since it was so different from all my other experiences in water. The salt flats were awesome, whiteness stretching out into the desert and the water was still enough that clear reflections of ourselves and the mountains could be seen really easily. We got a great lunch at the last lake of olives, cheese, salami, crackers and wine, all included in our little private tour.
After that indulgence, we got on the evening bus headed toward Santiago. We got off the bus the next day in La Serena to hang out for a couple of hours. We checked out the archeology museum that we missed our first time through, spent some time in the market, and met a really cool old lady who was selling a bunch of leftist documentaries, movies and music made about and after the coup here in Chile. We then got back on a later bus and made our way back to Santiago.
We have been in Santiago for the last few days, trying to make the most of our time here. Since we hadn't really seen the city much, we did a lot of sightseeing. We went to La Moneda (the presidential palace) and checked out the civic center below it. We went to the Salvador Allende museum which is definitely one of the top 5 museums that we have seen this trip. We walked around Bellavista and ate good food and drank good wine. We went on winery tours at Cousiño-Macul and at Concha Y Toro, both of which were rather touristy, but good to see since Tristan had never been to a winery before. And we hung out at the house and relaxed after 2 weeks of really long bus rides and moving around a lot in Northern Chile.
Everyone here has been so awesome to us. Starting in Ecuador with Ricardo's family, the hospitality has been incredible and we owe our good time spent here to the families that put us up and helped us out. Also, thanks again to our parents who first agreed to this trip and for helping make it possible. And finally, the people that we met around South America made for some great company and good stories. I really hope to do this again in the not too distant future. It is sad to go home, but I have to get back to school and Sarah needs a job. So it goes.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Living in the desert
We've been in northern Chile for quite a few days now, and it is without a doubt way different than the rest of this crazy country. Everything is desert, so while our bus rides (which are extremely long since towns are quite a ways away from each other) have not offered the most exciting scenery, it's pretty cool to see the land stretch on and on for kilometers. That being said, it's extremely hot, and the sun is killer.
We stayed in Iquique for a couple of days but weren't too impressed by it. The beach was pleasant enough, though a bit too crowded. We weren't the lazy beach bums we had hoped to be since the sun is brutal on the skin after just 2 hours (even with SPF 60). Thankfully, there is a really great pedestrian street, Baquedano, that leads to the main plaza and is host to fun restaurants and bars. It's pretty quaint, with the old trolley tracks still in place, an out-of-use trolley car sitting patiently on the street, and cobblestone. The rest of the town is a bit more rough-and-tumble, so Eben and I were perfectly content to spend most of our time around Baquedano.
Arica, which is at the very top of Chile, is a bit more gratifying. The beach here is small but clean, and even though we only went there briefly yesterday, I liked it way better than Iquique. We're staying at a friendly hostel outside of the center, so it's a bit of a hike to get anywhere. The people are wonderful, though, so it's worth it. On Monday Eben and I went down to the fish market to see the massive sea lions twirling in the water waiting for fish to be thrown down to them. It's the closest we've ever gotten to sea lions, so we were able to really appreciate how big these guys are. The market is also close to the main plaza, so we checked out the town's church (constructed entirely out of iron and designed by Eiffel) and the old Customs building. Yesterday morning we went to the archeological museum, which has fantastic artifacts from the
civilizations that used to inhabit the area thousands of years ago. On display are four very interesting Chinchorro mummies. The bodies are essentially emptied of their organs (even the brain!) and covered in mud. I've read that sometimes even the skin was removed (I wouldn't want that job). The climate is so extremely dry and hot here that they are really small from dehydration, yet otherwise greatly preserved. They're also the oldest examples of mummifications, predating Egyptian mummies by thousands of years. Pretty cool! After the museum we checked out the nearby geoglyphs, which were a bit anticlimactic. Oh well.
Later in the afternoon, Tristan arrived! He has been in Perú with his dad, conquering the Peruvian Amazon and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Hearing him talk about it has made me pretty jealous, I'll admit, so I have a feeling that Eben and I will be returning to Perú in the near future (maybe when I get a real job! woo!!!) to cover that territory. At any rate, it's nice to have Tristan with us, and I'm sure Eben is happy to have a boy around after being trapped with me for the past five months. :) We gave Tristan the tour of Arica today, returning to the museum and plaza and all of that. We leave tonight for San Pedro. The bus ride is about 12 hours long (overnight), so we will hopefully arrive around 10 in the morning. The buses have been pretty hot and sweaty up here in the North, as few have windows that open, and the crew neglects to turn on the air. I truly believe these people are sadists.
Sooooo, in conclusion, northern Chile is pretty interesting after having seen the rest of the country. We've done glaciers, vineyards, lakes, and now desert. What a crazy country! The downside to the North is that bus tickets are crazy expensive (I won't even reveal how many times I've had to withdraw large amounts from the ATM in the past week, but use your imagination. Yes, it's that bad.) since distances are so long and bus companies can charge whatever they want. It's cruel, yes. Overall this region doesn't have too much to offer, though it really is a cool experience. San Pedro is the adventure center of the North, so I think we'll have more fun when we get there.
And on a side note, did anyone else know that Bolivia now requires U.S. citizens to apply for a visa? It's nuts. $100, plus passport-sized photos against a red background, proof of "sufficient funds," proof that you have somewhere to stay... and you can only enter the country a maximum of 3 times per year, and the total stay cannot exceed 90 days. It's so frustrating!!! I understand this is reciprocity, that the United States does the exact things to Bolivians, but it's still frustrating. Mostly the 90-day thing. As it was when Eben and I were there, you could ask for a 90-day tourist stamp, cross the border into a neighboring country on Day 90, and go right back for another 90 days. No more, my friends, no more. These new laws won't stop me from returning to Bolivia in the future, but it's just a big pain. But ultimately, the United States deserves it. Chile charges $100 to U.S. citizens arriving in the country by plane, Brazil charges about $200 in visa fees, and now Bolivia. Listening to the stories we heard over breakfast this morning from some non-U.S. travelers, I conclude that our country sucks. The amount of red tape and inane requirements for visas, green cards, etc. is disgusting. It shouldn't be such a stupid process. Yet it is, and that's why Bolivia is now doing this. I consider moving to a different country more and more seriously every day.
And on that anti-patriotic, slightly vitriolic note, I'm off. :) Happiness!
We stayed in Iquique for a couple of days but weren't too impressed by it. The beach was pleasant enough, though a bit too crowded. We weren't the lazy beach bums we had hoped to be since the sun is brutal on the skin after just 2 hours (even with SPF 60). Thankfully, there is a really great pedestrian street, Baquedano, that leads to the main plaza and is host to fun restaurants and bars. It's pretty quaint, with the old trolley tracks still in place, an out-of-use trolley car sitting patiently on the street, and cobblestone. The rest of the town is a bit more rough-and-tumble, so Eben and I were perfectly content to spend most of our time around Baquedano.
Arica, which is at the very top of Chile, is a bit more gratifying. The beach here is small but clean, and even though we only went there briefly yesterday, I liked it way better than Iquique. We're staying at a friendly hostel outside of the center, so it's a bit of a hike to get anywhere. The people are wonderful, though, so it's worth it. On Monday Eben and I went down to the fish market to see the massive sea lions twirling in the water waiting for fish to be thrown down to them. It's the closest we've ever gotten to sea lions, so we were able to really appreciate how big these guys are. The market is also close to the main plaza, so we checked out the town's church (constructed entirely out of iron and designed by Eiffel) and the old Customs building. Yesterday morning we went to the archeological museum, which has fantastic artifacts from the
civilizations that used to inhabit the area thousands of years ago. On display are four very interesting Chinchorro mummies. The bodies are essentially emptied of their organs (even the brain!) and covered in mud. I've read that sometimes even the skin was removed (I wouldn't want that job). The climate is so extremely dry and hot here that they are really small from dehydration, yet otherwise greatly preserved. They're also the oldest examples of mummifications, predating Egyptian mummies by thousands of years. Pretty cool! After the museum we checked out the nearby geoglyphs, which were a bit anticlimactic. Oh well.Later in the afternoon, Tristan arrived! He has been in Perú with his dad, conquering the Peruvian Amazon and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Hearing him talk about it has made me pretty jealous, I'll admit, so I have a feeling that Eben and I will be returning to Perú in the near future (maybe when I get a real job! woo!!!) to cover that territory. At any rate, it's nice to have Tristan with us, and I'm sure Eben is happy to have a boy around after being trapped with me for the past five months. :) We gave Tristan the tour of Arica today, returning to the museum and plaza and all of that. We leave tonight for San Pedro. The bus ride is about 12 hours long (overnight), so we will hopefully arrive around 10 in the morning. The buses have been pretty hot and sweaty up here in the North, as few have windows that open, and the crew neglects to turn on the air. I truly believe these people are sadists.
Sooooo, in conclusion, northern Chile is pretty interesting after having seen the rest of the country. We've done glaciers, vineyards, lakes, and now desert. What a crazy country! The downside to the North is that bus tickets are crazy expensive (I won't even reveal how many times I've had to withdraw large amounts from the ATM in the past week, but use your imagination. Yes, it's that bad.) since distances are so long and bus companies can charge whatever they want. It's cruel, yes. Overall this region doesn't have too much to offer, though it really is a cool experience. San Pedro is the adventure center of the North, so I think we'll have more fun when we get there.
And on a side note, did anyone else know that Bolivia now requires U.S. citizens to apply for a visa? It's nuts. $100, plus passport-sized photos against a red background, proof of "sufficient funds," proof that you have somewhere to stay... and you can only enter the country a maximum of 3 times per year, and the total stay cannot exceed 90 days. It's so frustrating!!! I understand this is reciprocity, that the United States does the exact things to Bolivians, but it's still frustrating. Mostly the 90-day thing. As it was when Eben and I were there, you could ask for a 90-day tourist stamp, cross the border into a neighboring country on Day 90, and go right back for another 90 days. No more, my friends, no more. These new laws won't stop me from returning to Bolivia in the future, but it's just a big pain. But ultimately, the United States deserves it. Chile charges $100 to U.S. citizens arriving in the country by plane, Brazil charges about $200 in visa fees, and now Bolivia. Listening to the stories we heard over breakfast this morning from some non-U.S. travelers, I conclude that our country sucks. The amount of red tape and inane requirements for visas, green cards, etc. is disgusting. It shouldn't be such a stupid process. Yet it is, and that's why Bolivia is now doing this. I consider moving to a different country more and more seriously every day.
And on that anti-patriotic, slightly vitriolic note, I'm off. :) Happiness!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
From the Lakes to the Desert
So it is 2008 and we are back on our own. As Sarah said, it was really nice to have our parents with us and we really enjoyed the holidays down in Puyehue. But it was time to move on to northern Chile and the new year. First stop: La Serena. We arrive on a Sunday and (big surprise) everything is closed except for the last tour of the year at the Mamalluca observatory. This part of Chile has nearly 340 clear nights per year so it is a prime location for astronomical research. The observatory that we visited was just for tourists though and all the tour guides are Chilean astronomers who also do their own research and everything. It was really cool, a beautiful night and really nice guide who explained lots of stuff about the stars, showing us constellations and planets, had us look through different telescopes of different magnitude and showed us some of his own work and some photographs that he has taken. And, since we are in the Pisco producing region of Chile, we finished the tour with our driver giving everyone in our van a pisco sour for the ride back to La Serena. The next day was New Years Eve and although the town was pretty busy in the morning, it was dead and closed by 8 PM when we wanted to have the last dinner of 2007. It was not a memorable dinner but the rest of the night was great. We hung out with a German guy and his Polish wife who both work for Adidas and an Austrian woman who accompanied us to the beach. With bottles of champagne in hand, we watched three fireworks displays similtaneously as 2007 became 2008. There was the really big one that was just to our right and that was put on by the city of La Serena and then there were two others in different spots along the horseshoe bay that encompassed a few cities. It was awesome and a great way to start the new year.
The next day we went to Copiapo, a cute town a few hours further north. Of course, not much was happening on the 1st, so we chilled in the plaza and walked around for the afternoon. The next day, we checked out the mineralogical museum, quite possibly the most comprehensive in Chile because this is a big mining area and the university here specializes in geology. It was pretty cool and again, the rest of the day was spent walking around and chilling out.
It is now the 3rd and we are in Antofagasta, the city that was hit by an earthquake in November (although it doesn't show it where we are staying). It is the major port here for exporting the minerals mined from northern Chile. Hence it is a bustling place with a mix of new buildings and historic customs houses and whatnot from the late 1800s.
I think that we may be going to a movie tonight at the brand new movie theater. Then tomorrow we move further north to another port town/surfer hangout called Iquique. Then we are meeting up with my brother again in a few days when he is done with the Inca Trail. Frankly, I am a little jealous that he is doing that and we didn't, but he has also been in school all semester, so whatever. It will be cool to see him again regardless. Until then...
The next day we went to Copiapo, a cute town a few hours further north. Of course, not much was happening on the 1st, so we chilled in the plaza and walked around for the afternoon. The next day, we checked out the mineralogical museum, quite possibly the most comprehensive in Chile because this is a big mining area and the university here specializes in geology. It was pretty cool and again, the rest of the day was spent walking around and chilling out.
It is now the 3rd and we are in Antofagasta, the city that was hit by an earthquake in November (although it doesn't show it where we are staying). It is the major port here for exporting the minerals mined from northern Chile. Hence it is a bustling place with a mix of new buildings and historic customs houses and whatnot from the late 1800s.
I think that we may be going to a movie tonight at the brand new movie theater. Then tomorrow we move further north to another port town/surfer hangout called Iquique. Then we are meeting up with my brother again in a few days when he is done with the Inca Trail. Frankly, I am a little jealous that he is doing that and we didn't, but he has also been in school all semester, so whatever. It will be cool to see him again regardless. Until then...
Friday, December 28, 2007
Back in Santiago
We're back in Santiago and back to being vagabonds. Our time with our families in Puyehue was lovely, and it was a great way to spend the holidays. It was just so relaxing, and with everyone free to spend their time however they wanted, I think everyone had a great time. And we drank an absurd amount of wonderful Chilean wine, which keeps everyone in high spirits! Christmas morning (which was also Tristan's birthday) we went ziplining over the forest. It was a lot of fun to zoom over the river and trees, though I'll admit I had visions of myself crashing into a tree. But if I can roll down a volcano with an ice pick in hand, I can certainly fly over a forest in a harness. We spent our last full day down at the lake (Lake Puyehue), kayaking and navigating the paddle boats. Luisa and I could work on our steering a bit more, as at one point we crashed into a giant buoy. Oops. :) On our way back to Puerto Montt, where our flight back to Santiago was from, we all stopped in Puerto Varas for lunch and wandering. It was nice to go back to that town, as Eben and I didn't get to spend too much time when we were last there.
At any rate, here we are again. Tristan and his dad left way early this morning to conquer the Peruvian Amazon, Eben's mom leaves for Australia tonight, and my family goes back to New York tonight. So we'll be left alone again and resume our lifestyle of living off of empanadas and cheese.
At any rate, here we are again. Tristan and his dad left way early this morning to conquer the Peruvian Amazon, Eben's mom leaves for Australia tonight, and my family goes back to New York tonight. So we'll be left alone again and resume our lifestyle of living off of empanadas and cheese.
I think seeing my family again made me realize how much I do miss them. We only have a couple more weeks left in Chile, and then I'll be home! Eben and I leave tomorrow for northern Chile, our first stop being the beach town of La Serena. Since this leg of the journey has pretty much been aimless wandering, I am of course starting to feel restless and in need of a project. It'll be good to feel busy again. But until then, I can learn how to surf in Chile. :)
And since 2007 is coming to an end, I just wanted to reflect on some things I'm really proud of since we first landed in Ecuador.
1. Going to the southern hemisphere for the first time... and straddling the Equator, simultaneously being in the North and South!
2. Machu Picchu
3. Crawling through the silver mines of Potosí, Bolivia
4. Navigating our way through the bus barricades of Potosí and Sucre, Bolivia
5. Seeing Patagonian glaciers
6. Climbing up the 2080-meter-high Volcán Villarrica and sliding all the way down
7. Ziplining over Parque Nacional Puyehue
And of course there have been the countless treks up intimidating mountainsides, learning that I can indeed live out of a backpack for 5 months, and proving to myself that even though certain people didn't think I was tough enough for this, I did it all anyway.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas!
I'll try to make this entry short and sweet. The rest of our time in Viña was really nice. It's a cute beachside town and popular vacation destination for Chileans and Argentines. We were unexpectedly awoken by small earthquake tremors one morning, which was a bit scary, but it didn't do any damage by us. Other than wandering around the town, we also did an afternoon of wine tasting in the Casablanca Valley, which was pretty sweet. More details in another post. We headed back to Santiago to meet my mom and Eben's brother, Tristan, and on Friday we all headed down to the Lake District to spend the holiday together!
We are now in Puyehue, staying at a very nice resort and being pampered like never before. :) Our days are basically a whirl of massages, hiking, swimming in one of the many pools (some are heated!), and horseback riding. Yay! It's fun to be together with our families (and Luisa's best friend from Vassar, Norma, and her husband, Kevin) and just spend this holiday doing fun things and relaxing. Our families head off a bit after Christmas, and then Eben and I are on our own again. Tristan will meet up with us again after he does the Inca Trail with his dad in Perú, and we'll explore northern Chile before heading back to Santiago to fly home! The time is flying by so fast!!!
We are now in Puyehue, staying at a very nice resort and being pampered like never before. :) Our days are basically a whirl of massages, hiking, swimming in one of the many pools (some are heated!), and horseback riding. Yay! It's fun to be together with our families (and Luisa's best friend from Vassar, Norma, and her husband, Kevin) and just spend this holiday doing fun things and relaxing. Our families head off a bit after Christmas, and then Eben and I are on our own again. Tristan will meet up with us again after he does the Inca Trail with his dad in Perú, and we'll explore northern Chile before heading back to Santiago to fly home! The time is flying by so fast!!!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Parents!
Ok, so the parents are here and life is good. A brief synopsis of what happened before they got here and then what we have been doing.
From Santa Cruz we went out to visit Montes Winery. We had a private tour with a very nice tourguide who gave us some of the premium wine to taste even though it was not included. The whole winery is built feng shui with music playing in the barrel room and all the energy flowing out of a fountain in the center of the winery. It is really cool. The wine was fantastic and we tasted four kinds: a cabernet sauvignon/carmenere blend, a cabernet sauvignon, a syrah and their premium wine the M. All were very good and are all exported to the states. We also had an awesome cab driver who pointed out all sorts of things inside and outside of the city on the way to the winery such as what school he went to and what different fruits and vegetables were growing in the countryside. It was a good day.
The next day we moved on to Pichilemu, the surf destination of Chile. We spent the day on the beach getting tan and also eating empanadas that are awesome and cheap. The beach is gorgeous, black sand stretching as far as the eye can see with big waves breaking over the sandbars out in the horseshoe bay. We relaxed the first day and then on the second day I took surf classes. In the morning was pretty difficult since we were out deep, the tide was high and the waves were big. It was only me and a 20 year old instructor who had been surfing his whole life. He was great. Then in the afternoon, I went out with him again and a few more people and it was much easier. We were catching the beach breaks and I actually made it up and stayed with the wave a few times. Hopefully this will happen more as we move up the northern coast of Chile in January.
Sarah is a friend of dogs. While I was surfing, she managed to befriend at least 3 stray dogs who joined her while tanning on the beach. One even followed us all over town, waiting for us while we did internet and everything. It was very cute.
Then the parents arrived. The last few days have been filled with food, touring and lots of wine. From barbeques in Santiago to cooking dinner in Viña del Mar, we are living the life. We have been staying with the sister of Sarah's dad in Santiago. It is a huge family and a huge estate and it was all parties with bbqs, paellas, going out to salsa and everything. We are in Viña del Mar right now at her other apartment. This is a seaside resort next to Valpairiso and is gorgeous. We have spent the last few days sightseeing during the day and having wonderful dinners and wonderful wine at night. Tomorrow we are going for a winery tour and lunch at Viña Casas del Bosque. My brother and Sarah's mom are arriving soon and we really look forward to it.
Life is good.
From Santa Cruz we went out to visit Montes Winery. We had a private tour with a very nice tourguide who gave us some of the premium wine to taste even though it was not included. The whole winery is built feng shui with music playing in the barrel room and all the energy flowing out of a fountain in the center of the winery. It is really cool. The wine was fantastic and we tasted four kinds: a cabernet sauvignon/carmenere blend, a cabernet sauvignon, a syrah and their premium wine the M. All were very good and are all exported to the states. We also had an awesome cab driver who pointed out all sorts of things inside and outside of the city on the way to the winery such as what school he went to and what different fruits and vegetables were growing in the countryside. It was a good day.
The next day we moved on to Pichilemu, the surf destination of Chile. We spent the day on the beach getting tan and also eating empanadas that are awesome and cheap. The beach is gorgeous, black sand stretching as far as the eye can see with big waves breaking over the sandbars out in the horseshoe bay. We relaxed the first day and then on the second day I took surf classes. In the morning was pretty difficult since we were out deep, the tide was high and the waves were big. It was only me and a 20 year old instructor who had been surfing his whole life. He was great. Then in the afternoon, I went out with him again and a few more people and it was much easier. We were catching the beach breaks and I actually made it up and stayed with the wave a few times. Hopefully this will happen more as we move up the northern coast of Chile in January.
Sarah is a friend of dogs. While I was surfing, she managed to befriend at least 3 stray dogs who joined her while tanning on the beach. One even followed us all over town, waiting for us while we did internet and everything. It was very cute.
Then the parents arrived. The last few days have been filled with food, touring and lots of wine. From barbeques in Santiago to cooking dinner in Viña del Mar, we are living the life. We have been staying with the sister of Sarah's dad in Santiago. It is a huge family and a huge estate and it was all parties with bbqs, paellas, going out to salsa and everything. We are in Viña del Mar right now at her other apartment. This is a seaside resort next to Valpairiso and is gorgeous. We have spent the last few days sightseeing during the day and having wonderful dinners and wonderful wine at night. Tomorrow we are going for a winery tour and lunch at Viña Casas del Bosque. My brother and Sarah's mom are arriving soon and we really look forward to it.
Life is good.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Penguin and glacier photos!!
Just a brief highlight of our journeys down south because we finally burned the gig memory card onto a DVD.
Penguins on a beach! Penguins on a beach!
More penguins!
Sea lions lounging
Our first attempt to trek through the snow... posing with the glacier sign!
Yay icebergs!
We of course have a lot more, but the internet here is too slow to upload more. But this gives you an idea!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Volunteer tourism
So I have just read Jennifer Conlin's article in the NY Times entitled, "Trips to Help Shape the World." It's briefly about volunteer vacations and these newish organizations that organize one-week (or more) excursions to some underdeveloped country, where you do some volunteer work and go on sightseeing tours withyour own guide and everything. It's a new twist on tourism intended to promote a sense of goodwill while still maintaining your tourist status.
Now, while I have certainly done a good share of sightseeing and relaxation on this trip, I feel like these volunteer vacations are contradictory and frustrating to anyone seeking viable volunteer options. Spend a week playing an African orphan and then dine in a 4-star restaurant? This is completely ridiculous. Organizations like Cross-Cultural Solutions ask that you pay thousands of dollars to spend a week in a location, not including airfare. Who can afford that? The people who actually want to do some good in a place can't just hand over $3000 for a 2-week placement. That's a 3-month budget for me. And forget about doing a long-term placement with one of these organizations. A 3-month placement with Cross-Cultural Solutions costs nearly $6000.
Furthermore, our great frustration with LIFE Argentina was that there was absolutely no continuity. Children who live in unstable environments need continuity, and they need to know that friendly faces don't just come and go every few days. While I think that some help and some support is better than no help and no support, long-term placements are ultimately going to be the best. The volunteer gets to establish a solid connection with the community he/she is working in, and the people become familiar with the volunteer and hopefully will learn to trust and respect that figure. These programs seem to ignore that basic principle, and at times the volunteer component of these "vacations" seems to be an afterthought. Volunteering shouldn't be a frivolous expense.
I think what my biggest problem with "volunteer vacation" organizations (sorry, Cross-Cultural Solutions, but you are getting the brunt of my disgust) is that at the present moment, these are the most publicized and easiest ways to volunteer abroad. (Volunteer South America is a great resource for free and low-cost options.) There is a severe lack of information about organizations that don't charge thousands of dollars for your services (and keep that in mind, CCS charges thousands of dollars for your mere presence in an underdeveloped country), and I fear that this is because there is also a lack of such organizations in general. What angers me the most is that while these organizations maintain that such high costs are necessary because they benefit the community you are working in, as well as pay for your food and housing (though not always), Eben and I know for a fact that such costs are completely unnecessary. Inti Runakunaq Wasin in Cusco, Peru, asks for a $50 donation, regardless of how long you stay (coincidentally, most volunteers are long-term). What exactly is CCS (and LIFE Argentina, for that matter) spending its money on? I smell a rat.
In a nutshell, if you're looking for a different sort of family vacation and happen to have an actual income that affords you the luxury of dropping several thousand dollars, then an organization like CCS can probably offer a neat way to spend your vacation. But if you want to do actual volunteer work, then these organizations are money-suckers that do little good for the world.
Now, while I have certainly done a good share of sightseeing and relaxation on this trip, I feel like these volunteer vacations are contradictory and frustrating to anyone seeking viable volunteer options. Spend a week playing an African orphan and then dine in a 4-star restaurant? This is completely ridiculous. Organizations like Cross-Cultural Solutions ask that you pay thousands of dollars to spend a week in a location, not including airfare. Who can afford that? The people who actually want to do some good in a place can't just hand over $3000 for a 2-week placement. That's a 3-month budget for me. And forget about doing a long-term placement with one of these organizations. A 3-month placement with Cross-Cultural Solutions costs nearly $6000.
Furthermore, our great frustration with LIFE Argentina was that there was absolutely no continuity. Children who live in unstable environments need continuity, and they need to know that friendly faces don't just come and go every few days. While I think that some help and some support is better than no help and no support, long-term placements are ultimately going to be the best. The volunteer gets to establish a solid connection with the community he/she is working in, and the people become familiar with the volunteer and hopefully will learn to trust and respect that figure. These programs seem to ignore that basic principle, and at times the volunteer component of these "vacations" seems to be an afterthought. Volunteering shouldn't be a frivolous expense.
I think what my biggest problem with "volunteer vacation" organizations (sorry, Cross-Cultural Solutions, but you are getting the brunt of my disgust) is that at the present moment, these are the most publicized and easiest ways to volunteer abroad. (Volunteer South America is a great resource for free and low-cost options.) There is a severe lack of information about organizations that don't charge thousands of dollars for your services (and keep that in mind, CCS charges thousands of dollars for your mere presence in an underdeveloped country), and I fear that this is because there is also a lack of such organizations in general. What angers me the most is that while these organizations maintain that such high costs are necessary because they benefit the community you are working in, as well as pay for your food and housing (though not always), Eben and I know for a fact that such costs are completely unnecessary. Inti Runakunaq Wasin in Cusco, Peru, asks for a $50 donation, regardless of how long you stay (coincidentally, most volunteers are long-term). What exactly is CCS (and LIFE Argentina, for that matter) spending its money on? I smell a rat.
In a nutshell, if you're looking for a different sort of family vacation and happen to have an actual income that affords you the luxury of dropping several thousand dollars, then an organization like CCS can probably offer a neat way to spend your vacation. But if you want to do actual volunteer work, then these organizations are money-suckers that do little good for the world.
Bernardo O'Higgins and sunshine!
We are on the move once again, bouncing around from city to city. We've had lots of gray skies and rain, which is a bit of a bummer. Temuco, a city that is known for its Mapuche presence, was very large but kind of disappointing. Eben and I explored the Mapuche markets, but they were like most of the other markets we have been to. We only stayed there for a day before hopping on the bus to go to Chillán.
Chillán offered some much-needed sunshine. This town is the birthplace of Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's liberator who has large statues of himself all over the country. We did some exploring, saw the earthquake-resistant cathedral right off of the gorgeous main plaza, and went to the Escuela México. The school was donated by Mexico after the earthquake in 1939 and has a library whose walls are covered by two large murals depicting the histories of Mexico and Chile. Very cool! We also checked out the indigenous handicraft market in town (more of the same).
After a day in Chillán we went down to Concepción, where O'Higgins declared independence. Yay! Concepción is a cute university town, and I really liked it there. Eben and I tried to check out the university art collection, but it was sadly closed (even though it totally was supposed to be open). Instead we weaved our way through the antique and used book market that was in the university plaza. There were so many interesting booths and was such a neat way to spend the afternoon. Eben and I managed to find some English-language books, which is always exciting in this country of Spanish-only books, so we stocked up a bit and had a little chat with one of the booksellers who had a great Latin American politics selection. :) Afterwards we went to the Galería de la Historia, which houses some really intricate dioramas of Concepción's history and several maté cups from Argentina (why? who knows). Upstairs there was an exhibit of local high schoolers' art, some of which was just okay, but there were a couple drawings that were awesome (mostly graphic design things, but very fun to look at).
Our journey to Santa Cruz, where we are now, was a bit of an adventure. We took a bus from Concepción to San Fernando, where we were told we could catch a colectivo to Santa Cruz. Except instead of going to the terminal in San Fernando (or any terminal for that matter), our bus dropped people off on the side of the highway. We have often been on large buses that stop on dirt roads or on the sides of highways to let people on, and occasionally people request to be let off at a random spot in the middle of nowhere. Never before has the bus actually refused to go to a terminal, though, in favor of staying on the highway. This was weird. So Eben and I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do (hello, I am on the side of a Chilean highway), and then just started walking in the general direction of San Fernando. We eventually caught a colectivo taxi to the terminal and got our bus ticket to Santa Cruz, and I'm happy to report that we made it one piece. :)
So this brings me to Santa Cruz, a town where cars actually stop for pedestrians and where public garbage cans are made from used wine barrels. Arriving in any Latin American town on a Sunday is a bit frustrating because absolutely nothing is open. Neither one of our books (Footprint and Lonely Planet's Shoestring Guide) had a single hostel or hospedaje listed for Santa Cruz, and since the bus station was quite desolate when we arrived, we had no clue of where to go. Luck was with us, though, for when we popped into a video store to ask if they had any idea of where an hospedaje might be, the clerk was like, "Why yes, next door!" Sweet! So yesterday consisted of eating giant ice cream cones (apparently ice cream is important enough to warrant opening the store on a Sunday; the supermarket, not so much), drinking some carmenere (yum), and learning to play poker. Today we will be slightly more active and walk through some nearby vineyards and go on a vineyard tour later this afternoon. I like being in Wine Country!
Also, regarding Eben's last post, I have to say that rolling down the snowy volcano side was AMAZING. Yes, at one point, I completely lost control and was sliding down headfirst (then sideways, then on my stomach, then sideways again, then just flipping over and over...) with absolutely no control and an icepick in hand (not a good combination, folks), but it was the most fun I have ever had in my entire life. My God. It was every child's dream of the perfect Snow Day. Ahhhh so fun!!!!!!
The family starts arriving in 3 days! Goodbye, budget!!
Chillán offered some much-needed sunshine. This town is the birthplace of Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's liberator who has large statues of himself all over the country. We did some exploring, saw the earthquake-resistant cathedral right off of the gorgeous main plaza, and went to the Escuela México. The school was donated by Mexico after the earthquake in 1939 and has a library whose walls are covered by two large murals depicting the histories of Mexico and Chile. Very cool! We also checked out the indigenous handicraft market in town (more of the same).
After a day in Chillán we went down to Concepción, where O'Higgins declared independence. Yay! Concepción is a cute university town, and I really liked it there. Eben and I tried to check out the university art collection, but it was sadly closed (even though it totally was supposed to be open). Instead we weaved our way through the antique and used book market that was in the university plaza. There were so many interesting booths and was such a neat way to spend the afternoon. Eben and I managed to find some English-language books, which is always exciting in this country of Spanish-only books, so we stocked up a bit and had a little chat with one of the booksellers who had a great Latin American politics selection. :) Afterwards we went to the Galería de la Historia, which houses some really intricate dioramas of Concepción's history and several maté cups from Argentina (why? who knows). Upstairs there was an exhibit of local high schoolers' art, some of which was just okay, but there were a couple drawings that were awesome (mostly graphic design things, but very fun to look at).
Our journey to Santa Cruz, where we are now, was a bit of an adventure. We took a bus from Concepción to San Fernando, where we were told we could catch a colectivo to Santa Cruz. Except instead of going to the terminal in San Fernando (or any terminal for that matter), our bus dropped people off on the side of the highway. We have often been on large buses that stop on dirt roads or on the sides of highways to let people on, and occasionally people request to be let off at a random spot in the middle of nowhere. Never before has the bus actually refused to go to a terminal, though, in favor of staying on the highway. This was weird. So Eben and I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do (hello, I am on the side of a Chilean highway), and then just started walking in the general direction of San Fernando. We eventually caught a colectivo taxi to the terminal and got our bus ticket to Santa Cruz, and I'm happy to report that we made it one piece. :)
So this brings me to Santa Cruz, a town where cars actually stop for pedestrians and where public garbage cans are made from used wine barrels. Arriving in any Latin American town on a Sunday is a bit frustrating because absolutely nothing is open. Neither one of our books (Footprint and Lonely Planet's Shoestring Guide) had a single hostel or hospedaje listed for Santa Cruz, and since the bus station was quite desolate when we arrived, we had no clue of where to go. Luck was with us, though, for when we popped into a video store to ask if they had any idea of where an hospedaje might be, the clerk was like, "Why yes, next door!" Sweet! So yesterday consisted of eating giant ice cream cones (apparently ice cream is important enough to warrant opening the store on a Sunday; the supermarket, not so much), drinking some carmenere (yum), and learning to play poker. Today we will be slightly more active and walk through some nearby vineyards and go on a vineyard tour later this afternoon. I like being in Wine Country!
Also, regarding Eben's last post, I have to say that rolling down the snowy volcano side was AMAZING. Yes, at one point, I completely lost control and was sliding down headfirst (then sideways, then on my stomach, then sideways again, then just flipping over and over...) with absolutely no control and an icepick in hand (not a good combination, folks), but it was the most fun I have ever had in my entire life. My God. It was every child's dream of the perfect Snow Day. Ahhhh so fun!!!!!!
The family starts arriving in 3 days! Goodbye, budget!!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
4 towns in 4 days
Since Sarah last updated, we have been on a whirlwind tour of southern/middle Chile. We went through Castro, Puerto Varas, Valdivia and we are now in Pucon after 4 days straight of sightseeing and then hopping on a bus.
Castro, it is indeed beautiful, even if it is overcast. The reason we couldn't see the church before Sarah's entry was a big fundraiser for disabled children that was being held all over Chile. To raise money, they had a block long hotdog that they sold pieces of. The hot dog itself wasn't that long, but with a contraption made of 2x4s and a ton of baguettes, hot dogs, avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, the hot dog was really really long. We eventually did see the church and it was awesome, completely made of wood and very provincial or country. We also took a bus out to another town to check out that wooden church and that was pretty cool. It was an adventure since we took the local buses with very vague directions and no idea how to get around the town that we were going to. But it was fun and Castro was a nice little town.
Puerto Varas, a couple hours away from Castro and really close to Puerto Montt, this town is a big tourist draw for excursions on the lake and up Volcano Osorno. We spent the day walking around, hanging out by the beach, trying to find old crumbling mansions (with limited success). It it a very cute town that takes all of 20 minutes to navigate every block in the center. The church there is a copy of a church in germany, fairly exact except for the vivid blue ceiling on the inside. Since we weren't going to climb this Volcano, we went to Valdivia the next morning.
Valdivia is a university town that is awesome. First of all, we found the best hospedaje ever. This old mansion is falling down and looks like a haunted house, but you can rent rooms there. It has a creaky metal gate, crumbling stone steps, none of the floors in the house are level, it is fantastic. Second, down at the riverfront market there are a ton of sealions hanging out looking for handouts from the fishermen. They make strange noises and flop around. We went exploring looking for a fort, but we were unable to find it. Apparently there are a bunch of forts just outside of town that the Spanish built back in the early 1700s. I would like to spend more time in Valdivia later.
Finally, Pucon. This town is a very touristy town that, like Puerto Varas, is an excursion jump-off point. We are actually staying two nights here so we were able to do something today. The choices were endless from white-water rafting, kayaking, and canoeing to ziplining to volcano climbing. So we decided to climb Volcano Villarica. The volcano is active and smoking. However, we found out at the top that the smoke is pretty toxic, so while we stood at the edge of the crater, we weren't able to see very much because it stung the eyes and burned the throat. The climb itself was fairly difficult (for us who have never done this before) since it is all through snow and you have to carry a lot of equipment on your back including snowpants and jacket for when it gets windy at the top, crampons in case the path is too icy, an icepick, lots of food and water, a helmet, and other assorted odds and ends. We went at a pretty slow pace with well timed breaks, so it was very nice and then the best part was that we slid down from the top on our butts. We strapped some special slidy pants on over our snowpants and just took off. At various points, Sarah and I both went head over heels but it was a blast. I would climb up again just to slide back down.
We are now recovering from our climb and slide with various sore muscles and bruises here and there. Tomorrow we go on to Temuco on our journey up to Santiago to meet the parents in less than 10 days.
Castro, it is indeed beautiful, even if it is overcast. The reason we couldn't see the church before Sarah's entry was a big fundraiser for disabled children that was being held all over Chile. To raise money, they had a block long hotdog that they sold pieces of. The hot dog itself wasn't that long, but with a contraption made of 2x4s and a ton of baguettes, hot dogs, avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, the hot dog was really really long. We eventually did see the church and it was awesome, completely made of wood and very provincial or country. We also took a bus out to another town to check out that wooden church and that was pretty cool. It was an adventure since we took the local buses with very vague directions and no idea how to get around the town that we were going to. But it was fun and Castro was a nice little town.
Puerto Varas, a couple hours away from Castro and really close to Puerto Montt, this town is a big tourist draw for excursions on the lake and up Volcano Osorno. We spent the day walking around, hanging out by the beach, trying to find old crumbling mansions (with limited success). It it a very cute town that takes all of 20 minutes to navigate every block in the center. The church there is a copy of a church in germany, fairly exact except for the vivid blue ceiling on the inside. Since we weren't going to climb this Volcano, we went to Valdivia the next morning.
Valdivia is a university town that is awesome. First of all, we found the best hospedaje ever. This old mansion is falling down and looks like a haunted house, but you can rent rooms there. It has a creaky metal gate, crumbling stone steps, none of the floors in the house are level, it is fantastic. Second, down at the riverfront market there are a ton of sealions hanging out looking for handouts from the fishermen. They make strange noises and flop around. We went exploring looking for a fort, but we were unable to find it. Apparently there are a bunch of forts just outside of town that the Spanish built back in the early 1700s. I would like to spend more time in Valdivia later.
Finally, Pucon. This town is a very touristy town that, like Puerto Varas, is an excursion jump-off point. We are actually staying two nights here so we were able to do something today. The choices were endless from white-water rafting, kayaking, and canoeing to ziplining to volcano climbing. So we decided to climb Volcano Villarica. The volcano is active and smoking. However, we found out at the top that the smoke is pretty toxic, so while we stood at the edge of the crater, we weren't able to see very much because it stung the eyes and burned the throat. The climb itself was fairly difficult (for us who have never done this before) since it is all through snow and you have to carry a lot of equipment on your back including snowpants and jacket for when it gets windy at the top, crampons in case the path is too icy, an icepick, lots of food and water, a helmet, and other assorted odds and ends. We went at a pretty slow pace with well timed breaks, so it was very nice and then the best part was that we slid down from the top on our butts. We strapped some special slidy pants on over our snowpants and just took off. At various points, Sarah and I both went head over heels but it was a blast. I would climb up again just to slide back down.
We are now recovering from our climb and slide with various sore muscles and bruises here and there. Tomorrow we go on to Temuco on our journey up to Santiago to meet the parents in less than 10 days.
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