Living the South American Dream

Cusco, Peru

shanewl — Sun, 16 May 2010 10:29:00 GMT

Cusco was our first stop in Peru. It was always going to be on the list of places to go in South America and it does not disappoint. This is one of those cities that the tourists pour in to and the tourism operators and hotel owners know this. We certainly weren’t the only tourists climbing off the bus at the bus station and immediately a swarm of people enveloped us with voices disjointed from their speakers claiming to have the best and cheapest accommodation in the city. Pamphlets are thrust into your hand and you also have to run the gauntlet of taxi operators who will usually reach for your luggage to cart you off towards their vehicles. Every sort of accommodation is available and at this point of the trip we only wanted a shower and a bed so made do with cheap accommodation of $15/night. This ended up being one of the better hotels we stayed in as the room justified the price and the service and friendliness of the staff made up for the rest (can’t remember the name though). Our toilet had a view of the whole city and don’t kid yourself, you may say you’re going to spend the whole time sight-seeing but at the end of the day cable TV is a must (which thankfully the hotel had). We ended up staying 5 nights, certainly a longer stay than most but definitely worth it and there is no shortage of things to do. Cusco is one of those cities where you can stay as a tourist or immerse yourself in the life of the locals and eat at the central market or enjoy free tourist activities. We incidentally came up with the slogan ‘en Cusco nada es gratis” (in Cusco nothing is free). Everyone will try and coax you into their establishment with ‘freebies’ but there is no such thing as a free pisco sour lol! Tourism is a main stay and you can be gouged if you’re not careful. For those looking for a free opportunity to go the top of the hill with the big statue of Christ make sure you inform the people in the booth at the entrance to the mountain (the same place as some important Incan ruins) that you are going up to see the statue and not the ruins or you will be charged. The climb is definitely worth it with sweeping views of Cusco and the most beautiful green rolling hills covered in wild flowers and grazing llama. We spent about 2 hours up there simply relaxing in the sun and taking in the vista. Cusco has a curious system where should you want to visit any of the main attractions (including the museums and Incan ruins) you must purchase an all access pass which costs about $40/person. We didn’t pay and instead made our own fun. The central market is a must in Cusco. It is one of the biggest we found and FULL of food. Massive servings of freshly blended mango juice for $2 where the women will wave you to their stalls with a newspaper in hand that you read while your juice (of which there are about 20 options) is being prepared. Make your way there in the morning for a breakfast of between $2-4/person, depending on your selection. The sweet tamales (a type of corn dough) are one of the greatest things you will eat in South America. If you’re lucky you will get one with sultanas instead of a cinnamon stick (which as I found out can’t be eaten). There are also savoury versions which you can enjoy with a plate of lechon (pork), yes a big plate of pork for breakfast. Wash it down with hot chocolate, coffee or tea (including herbals) or make your way back towards the juice ladies for a glass of quinua, a juice made from a local grain served warm and usually flavoured with apple. By the end of our trip the ladies knew us at the tamales stall and it certainly makes the stay more hospitable to get to know the smiling locals who are always happy to have you.

We were also in Cusco for Easter and saw la Procesion de la Dolorosa (the procession of mourning). Locals come from all over and guard themselves a seat outside the main church in Cusco to watch the procession of clergymen and churchgoers follow behind a glass coffin with ‘Christ’ inside and a life size statue of the virgin Mary, resplendent in black finery to communicate her pain and mourning. We sat with a chatty bunch of old ladies who were delighted to have two young men like ourselves take such an active interest in the faith. The procession takes about 2 hours to be completed with locals throwing brilliant red flowers over the floats and bands continuously playing hymns of mourning. At the end of the procession fire trucks and ambulances sound their sirens. It is very haunting and a little terrifying to hear the wailing of the trucks as the body of Christ disappears behind the massive wooden church doors.

The streets in Cusco are full of people selling knick knacks and souvenirs and this was where I did most of my souvenir shopping. The further you go from the main plaza the better the prices or you can shop for luxury items on the main plaza (which by the way is exquisite, one of the most beautiful in South America). A word of advice though if you want to buy high end items wait to get to Lima and head to Larcomar Shopping Centre for much better prices on more or less the exact same items.

Cusco is a beautiful city with lots of cobbled back streets and plenty of window shopping to be done. If you’re into Incan history this is the place to learn about it and it’s also essential to head to Cusco if you want to make it to Machu Pichu. Machu Pichu only takes a day to see but three days round trip and deserves a whole post of it on, coming next.

Potosi, Bolivia

shanewl — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:42:00 GMT

When I left for the trip to South America one of my friends was adamant that my plans would change and probably quite drastically as well. First of all there was the earthquake... enough said. Then there was the decision to leave Argentina and Uruguay for the end of the stay in South America. These were big changes but what we never really planned on were the little towns we had to stay in as we passed from one major centre to another. Sucre was a must, we had been told. Potosi was nothing spectacular, at least that was our impression. With this in mind we reluctantly decided to bus three hours to Potosi and spend the night before jumping on another bus to La Paz. In the end we spent three nights in Potosi and probably received the best history regarding Bolivias colonial heritage from all the places we visited in Bolivia.

When we first arrived by bus to Potosi we were dissapointed to say the least. The city owes its heritage to the massive (and I mean massive) dirt pile that dominates the entire citys skyline. Potosi was originally home to the worlds largest silver mine and at one point in history was the largest city in the world dominating Rome, Paris and London. What has been left, however, is a hideously scarred monstrosity overlooking the town with equally bleak buildings built to support what is essentially a mining town (with an equally grand lead mine just 20minutes down the road). At first we were determined to spend as little time there as possible and given the frosty reception at our hotel it seemed justified. We had subsequently become a little fed up with sharing single beds in order to avoid questions at reception and had thus decided to declare ourselves a couple and book a matrimonial room. The woman at the counter flat out refused to allow two men to share a bed even though we made it clear that the driving factor was the desire for the private bathroom. She tried to convince us that the room had a prior booking after having shown us the room and we had declared out intentions. In the end we decided to stomach the decision as we were only staying one night and could tolerate a shared bathroom for the night. In this instance it pays to shop around for accommodation if you dont already have anything booked. Whilst we werent overjoyed with our choice it was at least comfortable and smelled a lot better than the alternatives.

Our first night changed our minds on Potosi and demanded we make plans for a longer stay. We walked towards the old part pf the city and were shocked to see grand and intricately decorated churhes on every single block. The colonial architecture predominated and with the countrys bicentenial celebrations approaching the streets were full of marching bands, military parades and stalls selling all sorts of wares. Quite simply Potosi is a must see in Bolivia. It informed and drove the direction of colonial America under Spanish rule and is riddled with history. We made sure to visit La Moneda which used to be one of the biggest mints in the world and gives a very valuable insight into the city, and Spains dominance in the new world. We also thoroughly enjoyed the tour at the Monastery of Santa Theresa. It has some priceless works of art and everything to inform the visitor of life in a prereform catholic monastery. The women in these monasterys were only allowed to talk for two hours a day and were not allowed to see, hear or touch their families when they visited. Incidentally it was a tremendous privelege for young women to enter the church in this manner and extremely large dowries were payed for the honour meaning that the museum has a fantastic collection of art and works in gold and silver. We also highly recommend visiting the main church off the main square at sunset as one can climb the bell tower which commands the whole city gazing directly at the Cerro Plata (silver hill).

To our delight there is also a central market which serves pasteles de queso, buñuelos, api and tojori. We had the best experiences by returning to the same lady every morning for breakfast as they do seem to appreciate your patronage.

We managed to pass our days strolling through the city enjoying the architecture or watching the processions in the street. There is also plenty of opportunities to enjoy sweets and pastries although admittedly Bolivia doesnt quite perform as well as Peru with regards to sweets and desserts. Potosi is a tourist destination and as such there are a lot of places that seek to exploit the uneducated tourist. We honestly find the best places are usually cheap, full of locals or both. However, If you are doing a trip through multiple countries in South America Bolivia is not exactly a culinary haven. If you eat cheap or with the locals expect a lot of rice, deep fried chips and a single slab of beef or quarter chicken. By the end of Potosi we were a bit tired of the same old fare but still could not bring ourselves to settle for pizza or a hamburger.

Sucre and Potosi complemented each other quite well and we were very happy to visit the two cities. Potosi makes a great experience but doesnt boast the amenities that would necessitate a return any time soon.

Next, La Paz.

Sucre, Bolivia

shanewl — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:53:00 GMT

Sucre was once the official political, administrative and religious capital of Bolivia. After Simon Bolivar strolled through South America and freed latin america from the tyranny of Spanish rule most of the original centres of operation shifted accordingly. Now La Paz serves as the political and administrative head of the country (if I recall correctly). Sucre, however, does retain some command and is also listed as UNESCO world heritage. As a result, unlike the rest of the country, there exist municipal regulations regarding construction and the like. What this means is that Sucre posseses a unique charm and character usually sullied by grime and poverty throughout the rest of Bolivia (and indeed quite a lot of South America). Our first impression as we drove through the city with a very amiable taxi driver was uplifting. Lovely white edifices, quaint balconies protruding from exteriors and lovingly rendered bay windows that lent the narrow lanes and streets a real colonial charm. We had decided that we would spend our time in Sucre in a more upscale location and checked our first options, three and four star locations. They were awfully over priced for what they offered until we stumbled on Hostal Torres (I think). Approximately $12 per night replete with balcony, cable tv, large spacious beds (to fit two) and a kitchen. The trade off was shared bathroom but when you´re the only guests in the hotel its not really shared now is it?

Sucre was hands down our favourite city of the trip so far. It was at this point that we discovered how wondrous the central markets were. Unlike in good old Aus where you head to coles or woolies for your groceries most Bolivians make their way to the central market. Here all colours imaginable are on display in the multitude of fruit, vegetables, grains and meats on sale. A warning!! The meat is unrefrigerated and on display all day.... However, aside from buying produce in the central markets one may also find prepared food for consumption immediately. Our next three mornings in the city thus consisted of a brief fove minute stroll to the central market where we partook in the most scrumptuous breakfast for the princely sum of approximately $2 AUS. Breakfast would consist of pasteles de queso, delicious fried pastries with chees on the inside (picture a pillow about 30cm accross made of pastry with melted cheese filling the airy centre), this was accompanied with ones choice of Api (a sweet, berry-ish, purple coloured drink served piping hot with cloves and cinnamon) or Tojori (a corn based drink, again served hot inviting the sensation of drinking a thin, sweet porridge). Normally two pasteles de queso each would suffice and upon leaving the delightful ladies who ran the stalls (about 5 stalls in total) we would pick up a Buñuelo as well. This was another small sweet pastry that one covered in icing sugar. Admittedly this wasnt the healthiest breakfast but it was the best, and incidentally, cheapest meal around and nothing cheers you up as much in the morning as the friendly invitations from the vendors and their daughters to seat onself at the row of tables lined up out front of their stalls.

Our days in Sucre consisted of exploring the streets and parks and photographing the accompanying edifices and statues. Sucre was also lit up during the night the colonial architecture, a reañ delight. We also discovered the single greatest lemon meringue pie on the continent at this tiny, unassuming cafe just 20m from the hotel.

On this occassion we also lucked out with the once a year indigenous music festival in one of the neighbouring pueblos (unfortunately cant remeber the name). So after three hours on the bus on a saturday morning, having passed through rolling green hills and farmland we disembarked on the towns outskirts and made our way into the hubbub. This place had three things, people, music and FOOD!!!! And my god was there a lot of people. There must have been tens, potentially hundreds of towns represented and what entailed was one long procession of flute playing, drum banging and dancing as the men and women bedecked in their traditional finery wound their way through the tiny packed streets lined with vendors selling food, spices, artesenal wares and everything else. We passed about 4 hours in the ruckus before finding a bus to take us back to Sucre where we finished the day with handmade chocolate and strolling through one of the main parks.

Interestingly Sucre never struck me as nearly as touristy as some of the other parts of South America. I gues because its a little of the beaten track and really only offers colonial attractions, which for Andres and I are the real drawcards of the towns and cities we visit. Some of the nicest food we had was found in Sucre as well as accomodation with the greatest value for money. The people here were also extremely polite and friendly and polite. Sucre subsequently became one of the highlights of our trip but I must admit travelling with a native Spanish speaker opens doors normally unaccessable to a foreign tourist. Travelling with tour groups means you are generally confined to interaction with other foreigners who have as much knowlewdge on the local area as you do.

After three days in Sucre we thought about heading to La Paz but not before some locals insisted we see Potosi, the next major tourist town over. As it was we could only get our next bus from there anyway and decided on one night which would subsequently turned into three as we discovered the history and legacy of the town demanded a more dedictaed stay.

Uyuni, Bolivia

shanewl — Mon, 5 Apr 2010 08:13:00 GMT

Im not sure how to report our experience at Uyuni. It was mixed to say the least and not the nicest introduction to Bolivia but we were afforded some great experiences. The main reason we came here was to see the massize salt lake, the largest in the world. Picture yourself on a boat (or in this case a 4wd crammed with 3 loud and obnoxious brits, a polite Argentinian and Uruguayan and a well spoken and likeable gay couple ;) with nought but water on all sides. Now change the water for salt, white and respledent, glorious in its majesty and dominance of the landscape.

We arrived by bus, very dusty and bumpy bus leading me to first recount the story of our journey accross the Bolivian border. Buses in Chile are comfortable, plain and simple. Tolerable for an overnight journey and adequately heated and outfitted. Buses in Bolivia are not... In order to avoid certain taxes passengers are required to change buses at the Bolivian border, literally in the middle of the desert with broad sweeping mountains on all sides (and a smoking volcano to add to the scenic drama.) We left Calama at 6am and tolerated a cold ride to the border with everything but the clucking chickens and goats accompanying us. The indigenous population in these parts is very pronounced and the women can easily be spotted for their colourful shawls and unique habits for carrying goods (slung in a ruck sack accross their back and tied accross their chest, typically carrying food stuffs or children ;) As if the journey (and smells) were not difficult enough to bear the little boy in front of us decided to return that mornings meal all accross his mother and floor, the smell of which dominated the confines of the bus. This part of the journey passed without much more to remark aside from the dramatic landscape and hairaising corners on precipeses. We reached the border where we disembarked and switched buses with other tourists and locals travelling in the opposite direction. We also found that our bus ride would be cheaper if we payed for the second leg of the journey in Bolivianos and promptly changed our remaining chilean pesos for Bolivianos with a man offering change services.

Clearing immigration without affir we climbed onto the second bus and were severly disappointed... The dust was the worst, pervading every aspect of the bus whilst the seats were worn and uncomfortable. What little rest could be had was taken until we reached Uyuni and cheacked into a ridiculously overpriced local hostel with no amenities (not even running water. Have you ever tried to wash yourself out of a tub of freezing cold water, not the nicest experience). That being said we passed the afternoon with a pleasant experience as a travelling market (yes a market that travels around Bolivia selling just about anything you can imagine) was in town with food, sights and sounds to be experienced. We enjoyed out first taste of llama, cooked by a street vendor with potatoes on a stick (called pincho in Colombia). It was deliciously tender and salty and a great way to satisfy our appetites after snacking on dulces (sweets), fruit and buñuelos (or at least the local version of buñuelos) deep fried batter tasty in all its deepfried goodness. We managed to score some local knowledge from a local tourism operator and booked ourselves in for a day tour of the Uyuni salt flats and Isla del Pescado (island of fish).

When the photos are uploaded they will describe the scene more adequately than I could ever hope, even with an expansive and expressive vocabulary such as mine ;) Whilst the ride was in a Lexus it was cramped and difficult to enjoy esècially with crass and vulgar Brits talking about their perverse sexual habits and complete incapacity to deal with the lack of modern conveniences encountered in Bolivia. Salt on all sides was the feature of the landscape and ran some 120m deep in all directions. It was also a principle export of the region with salt miners dotted around the rim of the flats. The Island of Fish was amazing, a humped monstrosity erupting out of the salt flat to command sweeping views of nothingness but luxuriouly smothered in grand and elegant cacti and, curiously, home to (what I think) a rhea, a large flightless bird not unlike an ostrich. The Brits in this case couldnt believe their eyes that an ostrich was to be found in South America and I certainly wasnt compelled to correct them nor enlighten them lol...

The trip back was thankfully quick and restful,two hours accross the featurless expanse (as I had managed to snag the front seat BOOYEAH) and upon our return we indulged in some more street vendor food before waiting for the overnight bus to Sucre. Bolvia, we would soon discover was marvelously cheap with a lot to offer to both the budget travaller and spendthrift alike.

San Pedro de Atacama

shanewl — Sun, 4 Apr 2010 03:30:00 GMT

San Pedro was a stop on the trip' at the insistence of friends. It was something of a cultural and colonial heritage point of chile on the border of Bolivia with something of an indigenous presence in the area. It was our first real ecounter with the massive tourism drive in South America. With the main street dominatd by tourism operators and hostels not the mention hundreds of of dogs and their leavings, watch your step!!! In these places it is nigh on impossible to find authentic local cuisine, even when it claims to be so. The dominance of international food is a real turn off especially where pizza and pasta places dominate and menus are written in english (a necessity for the unilingual traveller but a negative for us). That being said we managed to entertain ourselves out of a delightful little hostel on the river (we were in an oasis in the desert). Food wise we found a great place on one of the main roads that did the greatest roast chicken and chips I have ever had and we found cheap and flavourful fare near the bus terminal (a dirt lot) that catered to the drivers and chofers shuttling tourists and foreigners between the tourism capitals. We passed two nights here searching for tickets to our next stop, Uyuni in Bolivia and contemplating which of the natural formations to spend our money on (exorbitantly overpriced and travelling in bumpy, dusty jeeps). In he end we opted for what, at the time, seemed like a real treat. Biking to the cejar lagoons 20kms away. Yeah right, sounds like a logical option, middle of the driest desert on the planet, salt lagoons and kilometers of dirt road.....

To summarise, we got to the salt lakes but it took my culo (ass) three days to recover from the bumpy dirt road, I believe I also came up with a great mastercard advertisement.

Bike hire for two - 40,000 chilean pesos

Water for bike trip - 9,000 chilean pesos

Entrance to cejar lagoon - 10,0000 chilean pesos

Hitchiking back to San Pedro because you can´t be assed riding 20kays back to town - price less.

There are some things in life money cant buy for everything else theres mastercard (incidentally i lost one of my cards in Viña del mar and the second refused to function in Bolivia, a word of advice, go visa.)

The lakes were absolutely incredible...... absolutely incredible. We went swimming in one and floated like in the dead sea, Andres managed to smash his head four times on the same awning by the water side lol. We also saw our first flamingoes and relaxed in the sun before heading back to town. After another 1.5 hours on the bike we made it back to the highway before giving up and flagging down the first 4wd ute we saw. Amazingly the guy stopped on our first try and was remarkably friendly and amiable. Our bikes piled in the back between dump truck tires we carried on into town doing the trip in 10min in stead of three hours :/

To end our stay in Chile we caught an evening bus to Calama. An overpriced frontier and mining town. We stayed the night before a 6am bus to Uyuni in Bolivia. Buses would only travel during the day due to the treacherous conditions and freezing temperatures. The nightmare of this trip deserves a story of its own and will will proceed proximately ;)

BTW as I type this I am catching up on a month of missed documentary so please excuse whatever poor spelling and mispronunciations ensue...

Chañaral

shanewl — Sun, 4 Apr 2010 03:09:00 GMT

Chañaral was an uexpected delight and ansolute highlight f our trip in Chile. Part of our travel plans was to catch buses at night to minimise our down time in hotels. However the trip direct to San Pedro from Viña was simply too long. Ww stopped in the middle if Chañaral and wernt sure what to make of the town at first. By this point we had come to associate Chile with first world prices for most everything, including food and transport and accommodation. That being said we found a nice and comfortable little hotel on the main street (which ran for about 200m lol) and headed straight out. Food is more or less hit and miss in Chile and you do not et what you pay for!!! Generally verpriced food is just that and the price does not justify the quality. >In this instance we payed cheap and received cheap for lunch (having arrived early morning). That afternoon we set out up the hill where the light house is situated to get a fantastic view of the town, bay and surrounding desert. A perfect evening was had with antipasto from the local market, a packet of chips and some bits and pieces whilst watching the sun go down over the water. As soon as the sun disappeares the temperature drops so we promptly went home and passed the night with television.

The next was different. We started the morning with continental brekky and then geared up for a trek along the beach. Aside from thje water being literally freezing the whole bay is contaminated with copper so swimming is prohibted. We met a poor soul who had come north for work after the devesation in the south from the earthquake. He had found no job opportunities and spent the night on the beach. It is curious that despite Chiles first world status the gap between rich and poor is greatly more pronounced and when you are poor you are POOR!!

We carried along the beach, completely deserted given the low tourist seasn (chañaral still attracts tourists mainly for the reason we were there, a stop over). We found some development along the peninsula and carried on past benches and jetties towards what was a massive gathering of pelicans (having been drven from the beach by the rotting carcass of a massive sea lion).

What we soon found became the wildlife highlight of the trip. A whole herd(?) of sea lions gathering at the base of the jetty were restauranters and artesenal fishermen would dump the carcasses of their trade drawing in the pelicans and sea lions in a furry of feathers and blubber. It was a real spectacle and Andres proved himself an avid aildlife photographer getting some beautiful shots. We then stopped for lunch in the neighbouring restaurant where we once again found that the best food need not cost an arm and a leg..

For the avid traveller take note. Do not come to South America without working Spanish if you want the authentic experince, I cannot stress ths enough. You MUST eat where the locals eat or you will suffer the same tastless and tired fare the world over. Chile especially with row upn row of fast food and hamburger joints. The seafood we got in Chañaral was exquisite and obviously, fresh. The best places are the busiest and the cheapest, couple with this the sound of the sea lions in the water, the crash of the waves and the stylings of a local musician on the terrcae without but his voice and faithful guitar, let it be said that age is a barrier to nothing as this sectegenarian p`lyed us with sweet tunes to accompany and equally sweet lunch of sopa de mariscos (seafood soup), pescado a la parrilla (grilled fish) and pan y salsa gratis (free bread and dips). We passed the rest of the day meandering through the streets before waiting for our bus, to arrive at 11 that night.

Disturbingly this was the night Chile was to experience a series of nationwide blackouts and we spent most of the night by torchlight in the reception of our hotel to escape the chill wind outside.

Next stop San Pedro de Atacama. Smack bang in the middle of the Atacama Desert.

Valparaiso

shanewl — Sun, 4 Apr 2010 02:56:00 GMT

Part of the trip to the Chilean coast and Viña del Mar included jumpng on the train to the neighbouring city of Valparaiso. Viña is modern but Valpo has absolutely exquisite tiny little streets with the hills kissing the ocean and quickly retreating upwards with wonderful, colourful buildings, apartments and cottages sweeping upwards with the lay of the land. We caught the metro accross and let it be said that the public transport system in Santiago and chile is second to none. The day was a little bit cool and perfect for walking around. Curiously though while it is easy to get lost in the city and the winding back dtreets there is actually little to remark about the area. We did start the morning looking at some f the seaside castles one of which received the newly inaugurated president of Chile the same day we were looking at it :)

We ate as a little cafe overlooking Valpo but the tranquility was sadly sullid due to the afternoon traffic noise below us on the main avenues. A highlight of the trip was staying a with our friend Damian and Raul and going out clubbing in Valpo. The cocktails were great and reasonably priced though not dirt cheap and unfortnately due to the tsunami warning the night life was a little bit lacking. Still the music is fantastic and its is absolutely hilarious listening to all the native spanish speakers singing along to lady gaga without a clue of what they are saying haha. We finifhed the night at about 2-3 in the morning but i had only had about 4 drinks through the night. I will mewntion though for the potential traveller smoking is not prohibited indoors like in Aus. It was awful and impossible to acclimatise to. Everything stank of cigarettes the next day and my favourite hoody ended up with a massive cigarette burn in it from a wayward butt. Oh well it was the perfect excuse to go shopping and buy myself a brand new Zara jacket ;) After this we head to Chañaral. It is a tiny little town on the chilean coast between Valpo and San Pedro (our next designated stop).

Viña del Mar

shanewl — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:10:00 GMT

Caught the bus from Santiago to Viña del Mar, basically the Chilean equivalent of the Gold Coast in Australia. Lots of tall buildings, rich people, casinos, cafes, restaurants etc. Stayed in Hotel Hispana, nothing spectacular but the breakfasts were nice. Got plenty of photos of Viña. The city was nice but has some bad sides but there are hotels where the rich and famous stay and some great photo opportunities on the beach. cant really remember our first day and night but there are two events that stick out in my mind about Viña. The first was dinner with a couple of our friends in their beachside apartment, lovely little place, great food and conversation and brilliant sunsets over the water (my first). Spanish at this point was still very elementary and I was feeling the effects of moving to another country from a place where I was always able to communicate effectively and articulatey. The second event was much more exciting and terrifying.

So there we were in the street. Andres and I. We had just stepped into a pharmacy to pick up some tablets for heartburn when an aftershock hit. There was nothing particularly scary about it to start with, being the 8th one I had experienced. Nothing scary until we realised it wasn´t stopping. The cabinets in the store started to sway backwards and forwards and the power poles outside did the same. We stepped outside at Andres´insistance and waited it out, that was it. We carried on up the street and about 5minutes later another one struck. Milder than the first but disconcerting nontheless given their close proximity to one another. Andres turned to a young guy in the street and exchanged some comments with laughter. That quickly died when we saw people running promptly followed by a police vehicle blaring "evacuacion tsunami". Eveyone in the street seemed to stop and look at each other before all turning their heads to find the tsunami evacuation signs pointing to the nearest hill. Naturally we ran with them. Viña and Valparaiso (the neighbouring town) have a population of about 1.2million people. Now picture people in cars, with children, on foot, carrying produce and purchases all heading in one direction. The defining image on my mind was this poor woman behind us, desperately trying to phone her family with tears running down her face while trying to keep up with the increasing pace of the crowd. I also remember turning to Andres at one point and asking "are we actually running up a hill for fear of a tsunami?" When we got to the top of the hill we had no information and couldn´t return to our hotel. So we waited and waited... and waited some more. Finally, with not a little trepidation we moved down hill towards the main road and back towards our hotel 3 hours later!!! Of course the hostelier had also made a run for the hills and we only got into the hotel for lunch at about 4pm with a friend (Raul) of ours who had incidentally picked the wrong day to visit his home town. All was fine until the second warning came halfway through our meal, ARGH! This time though we stayed put, only a two minute run to the nearest stairs up the side of the nearest hill. The only real regret about the whole incident was that we had failed to capture any images or video of the event. In my mind the insuing panic did more damage than what any tsunami might have done (an exagerration of course). Stalls had been turned over in the panic, cars had crashed at intersections and the entire town shut down thereafter. An experience to say the least but I must admit I remember a deep sense of terror whilst running when I pictured in my minds eye the water of the sea tearing after us through the narrow streets.

Santiago

shanewl — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:11:00 GMT

Not sure where I left off and am writing this two weeks late lol but will back track and write about each of our stays in order. Finally got to Santoago after three days in Buenos Aires. Aeroliñeas Argentinas put us up in The Savoy which was lovely. Aeroliñeas finally agreed to fly the stranded travellers to Mendoza and bus us to santiago. 12 hours on that bus 12!! at least it was the first class part though ;)

Finally met up with Andres at 7 in the morning, quite cool and pleasant but straight back to a beautiful little self contained apartment.

Andres was in the earthquake that killed over 1000 people. He was om our 14th floor apartment when it hit. Thankfully my flight had been delayed by 12 hours so I touched down 12 hours after the quake instead of 12 hours before. Incidentally the aftershocks took a little while to get used to, the first one set my heart beating and the second sent me running for the door and the emergency exit lol. They became less of a novelty and more of a daily occurence. As usual the news greatly over exagerrated the effects on santiago and the city was functioning perfectly. Very efficient and clean.

We found our favourite place to eat was a brilliant place called La Hacienda which did the best cooked meats I have ever had. Lots of lovely little cafes and the pastries were great but really a hit and miss as far as coffee was concerned.

We have friends in Santiago informing our decision to stay there. Unfortunately Chile is quite developed and commands first world prices for about everything. City is lovely but the earthquakes have destroyed a lot of the old architecture making it a little boring. Food was expensive and attractions few and far between.

Had a lovely time with friends though. You know you have been invited to a great party when the woman sitting accross from you is Chile´s Judge Judy and two of the guests are absent because they are presenting on the nationally televised earthqauke fundraiser ´Chile Ayuda Chile.

Santiago was a lovely and despite the lack of stand out features will definetly go back to spend more time with our dear friends.

Next stop os Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. The holiday spots for Chile on the coast ;)

Photos: The Savoy Buenos Aires

shanewl — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:18:00 GMT

Our stay in Buenos Aires with compliments from Aerolineas Argentinas

24 hours of torment.

shanewl — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:12:00 GMT

Where to begin? The last 24 hours (well 36 or thereabouts) have been up and down and all around. I’m starting to think if the rest of the trip is going to be anything like this I will run out of time to record everything.

First of all I arrived in Sydney international airport at the correct time on Friday morning for a 12:45pm flight. What a surprise when I checked in I was informed that the flight with Aerolineas Argentinas to Auckland (stopover on its way to Buenos Aires) was delayed 1 hour. Furthermore, I would be spending the night in Auckland. Crap! That’s ok, an opportunity to see Auckland? No such Luck. 3 hours of delays later we were told we would not be going to Auckland today because a faulty navigation light prevented the plane from landing in Auckland at night. Ok so they say they will put us up for the night. Yay! Free hotel. Wrong again.

“Ladies and Gentlemen su attencion por favour (your attention please). Due to the docking of 2 cruise ships and Mardi Gras this weekend Aerolineas Argentinas was able to only find 116 available rooms in Sydney”.

Riiight. So with 300 passengers without a flight where do we all go? Ok so back I went to my friends place in Sydney and more or less spent the night waiting for the morning, 6:30am check in.

Got to airport, checked in late and had to run to board on time missing out on the opportunity to cash in my complimentary meal ticket. Damn it!

We were in the air!!! Finally, I had half expected a resounding cheer to erupt from the passengers when we were airborne. Flight was fine and over quicker than I hoped. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to a lovely Colombiana called Ingrid and we chatted for half the flight.

Anyway. When we touched down in Buenos Aires I was ecstatic. Finally in South America. Until I realised something was wrong. When we disembarked and waited for our bags we were told no flights were going into or out of Santiago (in Spanish of course). I made out one word that I understood “Terremoto” (earthquake).

I was terrified for Andres and to make matters worse no one was speaking in English (my Spanish is ok but I have a lot of trouble listening and understanding). Thankfully James (another aussie who speaks English and Spanish) stuck by my side and we got on brilliantly. Phew! Cleared immigration in Argentina and waited and waited and waited for our bags.

30 of us were then told Aerolineas would cover our stay at The Savoy in Buenos Aires until we could fly back to Santiago. I was desperate (and still am) to get to Andres but the hotel is exquisite. Crystal chandeliers, large plinth chairs, a life size porcelain horse in the entrance and a grand, winding staircase. Opulent and dramatic the hotel is delightful and has full amenities (excluding gym and pool, both of which I am desperate for after the airline food). I have subsequently been adopted by several of “Las Madres” (the mothers) in the group who take great delight in challenging my Spanish and affectionately patting my arm during broken conversation as I vainly attempt to fully understand their fluent and rapid Spanish.

We have two nights here (maybe three if the airport remains closed, we will request Aerolineas to pay for a third night if that is the case) and I intend to make the most of it. Early morning stroll revealed a distinctly European influenced city with grand, gilded edifices and elegant and beautiful buildings constructed next to practical and modern designs. A little on the dirty side and with the distinct odour of motor vehicle pollution pervading the olfactory senses, my first venture outdoors (alone) revealed more or less what I had expected for the city. Incidentally there is a MacDonald’s 2 doors down from the hotel lol.

Oh and no jet lag!!!! I have already acclimatised more or less and feel fantastic. Spanish is improving exponentially in the first 24 hours. All I need now is my heart and soul back by my side and I will be ready to begin the trip J