So I'm pretty much a terrible excuse for a blogger, journalism student and writer in general right now because it has been so long since my last entry. That being said...I'm still under the impression that I should be living this experience as much as possible and not trapping myself behind the computer screen...haha.
I've been lucky recently to have the opportunity to travel around and outside of Argentina. A couple of weekends ago I went to Mendoza (wine country in Argentina) and spent a weekend biking around bodegas and relaxing in thermal waters...all with the Andes Mountains as my backdrop. First of all, being born and raised in North Central Florida...mountains aren't really on my radar. Second of all...the Andes are in a class of their own. It is absolutely breathtaking and my words/photos do not do it justice. I was also with a really good group of people from my program...which always makes traveling better.
Thermal Water park...in the middle of the MOUNTAINS
Monday my roomie Tara and I broke off from the rest of the group and headed to CHILE. Unfortunately Tara had some sort of food poisoning and was not in good shape during the 10 hour bus ride...I felt terrible for her. But we made it to Santiago (more or less) in one piece and called her friend Christine who is studying in Santiago and graciously let us crash at her place for a few days before acompanying us farther along in our journey.
Interesting snag we hit at the Santiago bus station...we found the taxi area and asked the first free taxi we saw to please take us to Christine's house (we had the address). He looked back at us and replied with a short, curt "no" before loading another family into his taxi. Bewildered, Tara and I asked the next taxi we came across, only to receive the same response. Within our first 15 minutes on Chilean soil, it was very clear that things here were different than our life in Buenos Aires. Third time was, sort of, the charm because the taxi driver at least let us into his car...although he had to radio headquaters to figure out where exactly the apartment was located. Did I mention that it was rainy, dark and freezing? Don't forget the crippling food poisioning of my compatriate. All in all, a not-so-easy arrival...but things absolutely went up from there.
Our days were spectacularly planned thanks to Christine, who unfortunately had class...but Tara and I enjoyed exploring the city on our own. We saw La Moneda (the government building), climbed a few of Chile's many hills, walked through Pablo Neruda's Santiago home (my favorite) and Christine made sure to show us everything the Santiago nightlife has to offer while introducing us to a bunch of her Chilean friends.
Scenery in Santiago
Thursday evening we were off to Valaparaiso, a small town on the coast with a very cool bohemian vibe. "Valpo" (Chileans love their abbrevs...perhaps even more than we do in the States) can be summed up by its great food, cool people and even cooler street art. There we saw Pablo Neruda's second home (he had three in all) and an old jail that has now been turned into a park and is covered in probably the coolest/most creative graffiti I've ever seen.
Obviously, we hit up the nightlife there too....much of it by recomendations by our fantastic hostel staff. For somebody who had never stayed in a hostel until I came to South America...I have been completely converted. For usually 10-13 dollars a night you get a bed, a place to keep your things and typically meet a heap of hipsters. I've been very fortunate that all the hostels I've stayed in have been clean with great staffs...I've heard horror stories, but I think those things can happen anywhere at any time.
Valpo's well-known houses
Graffiti at the Parque ex-Carcel in Valparaiso
Obviously, we hit up the nightlife there too....much of it by recomendations by our fantastic hostel staff. For somebody who had never stayed in a hostel until I came to South America...I have been completely converted. For usually 10-13 dollars a night you get a bed, a place to keep your things and typically meet a heap of hipsters. I've been very fortunate that all the hostels I've stayed in have been clean with great staffs...I've heard horror stories, but I think those things can happen anywhere at any time.
Saturday we made our way over to Vina del Mar, a 15 minute Metro ride from Valpo. Vina is the more touristy, snootier cousin of Valpo with beachfront hotels and a casino that was, really, nothing too spectacular. Tara, Christine and I basically passed our whole day sitting on the pier chatting and had coffee and desserts at this beautiful cafe while the sun set. A wonderful, relaxing end to a frenetic week in Chile.
Sunset in Vina del Mar
Now I'm just trying to fit everything I possibly can do into the time I have left in Buenos Aires. Quite a few people have made their BsAs "Bucket Lists" and I think I'll probably follow suit. Some of the adventures I've already got on my radar: a "puerta cerrada" (closed door) dinner at a chef's house...only 16 guests are allowed to come and you don't get the official address until just before it happens...I think Anthony Bourdain would be proud; seeing PIAF at Teatro Liceo...basically a stage version of La Vie En Rose, which tells about the life of French singer Edith Piaf and her crazy life; trip to Iguazu waterfalls with my program; trying to get my post-class travel plans squared away (Peru and northwest Argentina); speaking as much Spanish and spending as much time with native speakers as possible.Tara and I braved the 25 hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires from Valparaiso, but honestly, it wasn't too bad. We had the front row on the top floor and met a really nice Chilean guy on his way to Buenos Aires for an anthropolgy conference. Oh yeah...there was also the view.
Not too shabby, eh?
Not too shabby, eh?
More to follow when I have my "official" list. Love and miss you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment