The Desert

Our latest and greatest adventure was a total success: San Pedro de Atacama.  The 24-hour bus ride there was slightly less than exciting, but I found some sleep-inducing motion sickness drugs to hold me over.  Although I was out for most of the drive, the scenery that I was awake for was either spectacular or nothingness.  The desert operates on those kinds of extremes...

We found out upon our midnight arrival that taxis don't operate in the tiny town of San Pedro after 10 or 11 p.m.  After asking around and calling the hostel a few times, we found a pseudo-taxi to take us to our place, Backpackers San Pedro.  It's on the outskirts of town away from the busy center, which was actually a super nice change from Viña.  We were there during a holiday weekend so the place was pretty crowded, but we met a lot of cool people at our hostel, whether throughout the day or during the nightly bonfires.  There were also three cats and two rabbits that wandered the hostel haphazardly; Vicky and I especially were pretty enamored with them haha.  The rabbits were pretty hostile towards the cats, though, and attacked them regularly with no real reason.

Anyway, that's a digression... San Pedro de Atacama is renowned as the world's driest desert, which leads to some obvious issues with water supply.  Taking the long-weekend crowd into account, water doesn't always last and the town shuts water and electricity off on occasion to conserve.  I was usually fortunate enough to get in a shower early enough to avoid the issue, but not everyone was so fortunate.

Anyway, enough of general conditions; what's really exciting is all the excursions we went on.  Our first day, we happened across a fellow UAI intercambio student who had been tripping around the area for some nine days, so she gave us some good tips on where to go and who to go through.  Her connections proved invaluable throughout our stay.  So our first day we kicked it with some of her tour guide friends to Laguna Cejar and Valle de la Luna.

Laguna Cejar is one of three saltwater pools in the middle of this desert.  Apparently the Atacama region used to be a giant lake, but some climate shift happened so as to cause most of the water to evaporate, leaving a vast salt plain as well as these pools.  Two of the pools are restricted because they're home to flamingos, but the third is open for swimming.  The novelty of these pools is their incredible 75% salt concentration (as a reference point, the Dead Sea has a 50% salt concentration), so that you float.  The pools are shallow on the outer rims, but reaches a depth of some odd meters; on the opposite side of the pool is a ledge with a giant dropoff into clear blue water.  We didn't jump it (honestly I was kind of scared about invisible rocks), but that's one of the "things to do" there.

(Photo cred: Marie LaBossiere)

It's also worth noting here that the backdrop for all of San Pedro is a series of Volcanoes and snow-capped Andes peaks.  Our tour guide, Alfredo told the traditional legends for each, which regrettably I don't remember clearly enough to make sense here.  What I do remember is that the primary peak (the perfect cone looking one in this first picture) is called Licancabur, and the one to the right is his beheaded brother, Juriques.

Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley, is so named not only for its desolate, moon-looking landscape, but also because it contains some mineral (yeah, I'm lame and don't remember what it's called) that is found most plentifully on the moon.  We went through some crystallized-salt caverns in the Valley and then made our way to the Duna Mayor (Major Dune) in time for the sunset.  As the salt and rock formations hid the sun, the Andes opposite turned gradually from red to blue.

(Photo cred: Strangers)

(Photo cred: Marie LaBossiere)

The next day, we rented some bikes for the afternoon and rode to some nearby ruins, Pukará de Quitor.  It was originally a fortress for the Atacameños until it was overtaken during the Spanish Conquista.  I honestly don't know how the Spanish managed to rush the giant hillside; with the altitude change all three of us were taking our sweet time meandering through the rubble to the peak.  It did have some sweet views, though.

So the holiday that this long weekend celebrated was All Saints Day, or Day of the Dead.  As such, the local cemetery (which was super close to our hostel) was swarmed with vendors selling flowers and decorations.  One day we took a stroll through; pretty much completely different from the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.

We also hit the local church, located in the central plaza.

One night we took an "Astronomy Tour," which took us up to some hills to hear a Belgian astronomer, Steve, answer whatever questions were thrown his way.  The desert sky is so clear that a number of international space programs are based in the Atacameñan region.  We had telescopes at our disposal, which Steve and his assistant helped us manage.  It was seriously incredible to just stand there and see all of infinity before you.  To end things perfectly, we watched the almost-full moon rise from behind Volcano Licancabur and erase the dimmer stars that had until then been perfectly visible.  

Our last big excursion was to the Tatio Geysers.  The trip started early--4 a.m.--and was incredibly cold.  We'd heard several reports to go "bien abrigado," well bundled-up, and to anticipate altitude sickness.  A two-hour bus ride later found us in the mountains surrounded by boiling spouts of water and steam; the water in the geysers is around 85 degrees celsius, which translates to approx. 185 degrees fahrenheit.  They were gorgeous, though, especially with the sunrise coming over the snow-capped peaks.  There were also thermal pools there, which had been converted into one big pool to swim in.  Vicky and I were satisfied to dip our feet in, but Marie went all the way.  I don't feel too bad about missing out, though; the water was kind of nasty...not to mention the freezing temperatures to deal with upon getting in and out.  

On our way back to San Pedro from the geysers, we made several stops to enjoy the scenery as well as to scope out the tiny village of Machuca, which has a population of approx. twelve or so families.  There are some houses, some souvenir and food stops, and a llama pasture.  There was also a church up on a hill, which doesn't look too impending on the outset, but throw in the altitude change and we were all out of breath by the time we reached the top.  On a few other stops we witnessed some local wildlife, like flamingos and vicuñas, which are kind of llama-esque.  

(Photo cred: Marie LaBossiere)

So that about sums up the adventure side of things, but of course we met a number of pretty cool people.  It was a pretty cool change from Viña; it seemed like the people were more eager to make meaningful conversation and listen as well as be heard.  We made friends with people from our hostel, tour guides, tour agency employees, as well as random people on the street.  The bus ride back was long, of course, but it was at least light out as we departed from San Pedro, which allowed for a clear view of the Andes rising out of the desert and finally disappearing into the vastness.  

Trippin

The past couple weeks have made for a bit more exciting subject material for you all.  What with warmer temperatures and all, we've been more antsy to get out.  A couple weekends ago, Marie, Vicky, and I spontaneously decided to hit up a nearby town further into the interior, Limache.  It was roughly a 45 minute train ride and an absolutely gorgeous trip.  It's so nice to leave the city feel of Viña and land in the middle of mountains and country.  We walked through Limache a bit, then asked a random dude if there was any place to go horseback riding; he directed us toward Olmué, about a half-hour micro ride further into the rural interior.  We asked the micro driver to let us know when we got close to a horse-riding place; I was a little on edge about actually finding anywhere, but sure enough we were dropped off a short, dirt-paved distance from a place that rented out horses. We snagged some and meandered around the winding paths out on the countryside - at least as far as the horses would cooperate.   It was absolutely gorgeous.

After that, we headed back to Limache and took the train back to Viña so that Marie and I could make it back for a free circus that Marie's host mom had found.  It was pretty basic circus stuff, although I was impressed with how many foreign acts made an appearance.  China, Mongolia, Russia (or Belarus; couldn't understand the announcer too well), the U.S., and Ukraine were all represented and did their countries proud.

The other day Judith, Marie's host mom, took us to see a free film about the end of the Pinochet dictatorship.  In the...1980s (I think?  That sounds about right...) there was a vote taken to decide if the dictator would hold power for an additional eight years or if the country would take a democratic turn.  Every day for a period of time, television networks were to broadcast 15 minutes of propaganda per side - Si for keeping Pinochet in power and No for booting him.  The film (titled No) documented the struggle in creating the "no" propaganda.  Marie and I had a class and had to sneak out early, but it was interesting (if not super hard to understand).  It was especially relevant since today Chile is holding local elections.

Also this weekend, our program took us out to Isla Negra, the location of another house belonging to Pablo Neruda.  We spent several hours just wandering the beach and the tiny town (including a stop at a little cafe for some jugo natural - fruit juice).  It was so cute and secluded and we all decided that it would be a pretty great summer home location.  The beach was gorgeous; Neruda really had it made with his beautiful house overlooking the view.

On a more serious note, you all can be praying for Antonio and his family as they mourn the loss of his brother-in-law.  He had been in the hospital for awhile and seemed to be on the upswing when he suddenly passed away a couple nights ago.  From what Alice says, Antonio's family is big and really close, so it's gonna take some time and lots of support to adjust.

Spring Has Sprung

Things are finally starting to get nice around here - less rain and more sun!  We've gotten some chance to take advantage of Spring, especially since this past weekend was a long weekend (some Catholic holiday...?).  One day we hit Concón for empanadas and a walk along the beach.  I double checked and the Pacific is, indeed, way too cold for swimming.  Especially coming from a background with the Caribbean.  Also for the long weekend, Florencia's parents were in Santiago (her mom had some event thing with work) so she stayed here.  Needless to say, all of my time spent at the depto was filled with drawing, playing with her toys, reading, and trying to convince her that I really do need naps.

Over the weekend, there was an event in Valparaíso called Mil Tambores (A Thousand Drums), where groups of drummers vied for attention while reggaeton performers set a mellow mood.  I think there was also some circus-type thing as well; like, earlier in the day there were kids activities.  Apparently Sunday, the day we didn't go, there was body painting and parades and all.  What we did see was still a pretty hefty dose of culture, though.

Also, our most recent group excursion was to Santiago for a soccer match between Chile and Argentina.  I love Chile and everything... but they never really had much chance at winning haha.  Argentina scored two goals within the first few minutes of the game and Chile had nothing to show for it until the final three minutes, when they scored their one and only goal.  It was so cool to see Lionel Messi play, though!  Our assistant director, Jaime, argues that Messi is the greatest futbolista the world has ever seen.  It was overall a fun cultural experience, though, with vendors and way-too-enthusiastic fans all over the place.  Our group got into the Chile pride too, and almost everyone was decked out in red shirts and face paint.

Tremors!

Not to sound like a broken record, but life is moving at a pretty normal pace, with a few mentionables:

• We went to an asado (i.e. cookout) at a friend's house in Valparaíso last weekend.  Valpo is way harder to navigate than Viña, and Freya had to meet up with us to guide us up the winding road to the off-season hostel where she and ten other students live.  It was a lot of fun, though, to meet all kinds of crazy travelers from around the world.
• I can now say that I've tried vegemite.  Freya (above-mentioned friend from the asado) is an Australian student who's been here since last semester, and the other day she brought a big tube of it along with a pack of crackers to share with the class.  It was interesting; not bad at all, actually, but maybe that was just the cracker covering it up...?
• I've been able to get more involved with church recently, including the start of a small group (as of last week), attending a missions seminar featuring a Chilean missionary recently returned from Mozambique, a lunch for exchange students, etc.
• Marie, Vicky, and I bought bus tickets to San Pedro de Atacama - the worlds driest desert located in the northernmost region of Chile.  We'll be gone from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, although the ride one-way is some 22-24 hours (yet also considerably cheaper than plane tickets...)
• I have now been through two tremors.  Well, ok, that's false.  Rephrase: I've been through a lot of tremors, but I've been conscious for two of them.  They've typically happened in the wee hours of the morning so I sleep through them, but last weekend one hit around 10:30 p.m.  It wasn't too exciting; my bed started shaking as if the neighbors downstairs were being rowdy and it took me a second to figure out what it actually was.  Today another, considerably stronger one hit, reportedly rating a 5.7 on the Richter scale.  I was at school for this one, waiting for the bus in a little study area when all the sudden the windows started rattling all crazy and there was this sound like persistent rolling thunder.  Instead of fading, though, it kept getting louder and I could totally feel the building shaking at its foundations.  It passed in a matter of seconds, but it was certainly impressive.
  [Sidenote: Actual big-deal, for-real harmful earthquakes are classified anywhere above a 7 on the Richter scale and only happen once every twenty years or so here.  The last one was in 2010; everyone still talks about it and there are a lot of buildings still under repair.  All that to say, there is essentially zero chance of me being caught in an earthquake, so don't exhaust yourself worrying about that :) ]

"We're in a band!"

A couple weeks ago, Jaime (one of the international office directors) started making rounds asking if any students played instruments and would be interested in forming a band to play for "El Día de la Universidad" - University Day.  He ended up with a good core group composed of three exchange students and two Chileans (including himself); mid-last week we finally got around to meeting each other, choosing songs, and rehearsing.  We were a bit pressed for time and only had four days to fine tune everything, plus we were lacking a drummer so we had to figure out who would switch around instruments for which songs and all that jazz.  After two months without so much as touching a guitar, it was so refreshing to chill with a guitar in my lap and let my muscle memory do the work (even though my fingers were raw by the end of our first seven-hour jam...rough).  There was also some last-minute panic the night before the gig when we couldn't get ahold of a drumset and the other band playing before us refused to let us use theirs.  Everything fell together though, and Jaime, our self-proclaimed manager, calmed his nerves enough to shred a few killer solos on electric.  The performance was short - only a three-song set list - but all the rehearsals and late nights are what made it, and we all agreed that we want to keep playing and learning songs together, whether or not we have a gig to play.  

Los Gringos Locos 

Buenos Aires

Last week we had off of school for the Fiestas Patrias here in Chile (equivalent to our 4th of July), and since I don't have class on Fridays anyway, the break was extra long.  To celebrate, Marie, Vicky, and I decided to kick it over to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Eliana, my roommate from last year, spent six years in Buenos Aires growing up and has some family over there, the Booths.  We made contact with them both while planning and throughout our time there - they were quintessential to the trip, honestly.  Like I said in my previous post, they provided transport from the airport, a cheap place to stay, suggestions on what to see, maps and directions for the metro, food on occasion; they're seriously some of my favorite people now. So thank you, Ely, for sharing your family with us!  They are marvelous!

There is absolutely too much to write about from nine days tripping around the "Paris of South America," so I'll just go for summarizing some highlights.  

Graciela - Ely's aunt and our most valuable crutch - hooked us up with a place to stay: a women's home run by the Salvation Army.  It was cheap, central, and looked like a castle.  Evangelina, who is a "Capitana" in the Salvation Army and in charge of the home, helped us immensely with things like shampoo and changing money.  We were right near the essentials - supermarkets, laundromats, restaurants, the metro (i.e. the subte), and an ice cream shop.  

One of our first days there, we took a tour bus around the entirety of BsAs (the city, not the province) to get a feel for what we wanted to see most.  It was really a cool setup; these buses would come every 20-30 minutes so you could get off and on at stops and take all the time you wanted to see the place.  We stopped first at Caminito, a little artisan sector in barrio La Boca.  It was definitely one of our more colorful stops, and there were artists and tango dancers every few feet.  We also stopped at the Barrio Chino - Chinatown!  Marie and I had never been to a Chinatown before, so Vicky showed us the ropes haha.  

Most other days we just took a metro out to different barrios (neighborhoods or districts; BsAs the province is composed of......like 48 barrios I think) to see the sights.  In my opinion, Buenos Aires has such beautiful architecture that I could spend the whole day just staring at buildings.  There is an enormous European presence, so the whole city is this clash between old colonial-style architecture and sheer modern ones.  There are also book stores and stands all over the place.  And not just pleasure reading - like law and psychology and philosophy.  I was impressed.  

Anyway, that was a tangent.  We spent some time walking the weekend artisan feria in San Telmo.  The feria was pretty much a cobblestone pedestrian street crowded with stands and vendors yelling out offers, more people walking up and down selling coffee and food, and shops lining the road selling mostly antiques.  And of course breathtaking architecture towering overhead.  

Another day we took a tour of Teatro Colón, a gorgeous theater with the world's third best acoustics.  Unfortunately, there were nothing showing while were in BsAs, otherwise we absolutely would have gone to get the full experience.  

We also stopped by the Recoleta Cemetery.  Sounds creepy, but it was super cool.  It's just a public cemetery; it's pretty big and reflects the European designs inherent to the city.  

Plaza de Mayo was a pretty frequent stop for us; it's surrounded by a lot of government buildings, including the Casa Rosada - the "Pink House" equivalent to our White House.  Also nearby was the obelisco, a monument in the middle of 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world.

We also hit the Buenos Aires zoo and some of the surrounding parks.  The zoo was pretty average for a zoo, except for these little creatures called maras running free all over the place.  There were stands every so often that sold food that you could give them.  

One night we went to a tango show, which was incredible but I have no pictures.  Thankfully, the show rotated between vocal showcases and band arrangements as well as straight up dance performances, because I'm one of those people who gets frustrated when the dancers block my view the instrumentalists in the background.  Marie and Vicky didn't sympathize with me haha.  Also hit the Museo de las Bellas Artes, a free art museum with works by people like Goya, El Greco, van Gogh, and Monet.

We saw some cool stuff, but I have to say that the absolute highlights were hanging out with the Booths.  They had us over for lunch one day and dinner another; both times they helped us with practical things like buying tickets to Montevideo, Uruguay (which we couldn't use cause of bad weather - the port closed and we just went for a refund and more time in BsAs instead of trying to reschedule) and printing and whatnot.  But every time we saw them I felt so welcomed and comfortable; we got a lot of cultural tips, too, like how to drink mate, a tea common in all of South America, but more so in Argentina than Chile.  

Marie, Vicky, me, and Laura (Ely's cousin).  Not pictured: Graciela and Alberto (Ely's aunt and uncle), Andrea (Ely's other cousin), Benito (Andrea's pug)

I omitted a lot, but suffice to say that I'm a fan of Buenos Aires.  Hopefully I'll get to go back someday; who knows, I mean the entry fee I payed is valid for ten years.  Plus, then I'd get to fly over the Andes again :)

Laid Back

Not a whole lot has happened lately, mostly just hanging out and doing homework (sounds like Grove City...), with a few noteworthy moments in between.

1. Paula moved out last week.  From what I gather, sounds like she's going to be living with her mom now per her mother's wishes.  
2. September is a major patriotic month, so everything is decked out and, apparently, food prices at the feria have jumped.  There are a lot of vendors lining the streets pawning off plenty of typical Chilean trinkets for cheap.  Might have to take advantage of that...
3. Vicky and I went to the dunes in Con Con yesterday.  Her host brother Felipe drove us out there and showed us around the little city a bit once we climbed and descended an enormous dune.  There were people around renting sandboards, but it was late and we (well, ok, I) were wiped by the time we got to the top.  
4. I've been in pretty consistent contact with Graciela, my former-roommate Ely's aunt who lives in Buenos Aires.  She has been so amazing in helping us get ready for our trip out there (we leave Thursday!); it seems like I get multiple emails from her every day for the last week with new things that she's doing for us.  Along with just being super sweet in all her emails, she's hooked us up with a lot of other essentials:

• Cheap housing in a safe area with all of the necessary commodities
• Suggestions on must-see spots along with websites to the most essential ones
• A ride from the airport (and food since we're getting in fairly late)
• Towels 

It just never stops!  It's like my favorite thing right now.

We'll be gone for a grand total of nine days, the majority of which will be spent in Buenos Aires, Argentina and a few days at the end in Montevideo, Uruguay.  I'm going with a couple friends, Marie and Vicky, and we've been researching like crazy this past week.  I'm pretty pumped!