Viña del Mar y Valparaíso Sep 7-8, 2012

This was our first first trip as a group with USAC. These two cities are about an hour and a half bus ride west of Santiago and lie on the coast.

Some interesting information:
Both cities were more influenced by English settlers than by those from any other country, which can be seen in the architecture of most of the buildings. There were several times as I walked down certain streets that I felt like I was in London again because of the architectural resemblance.
Valparaiso is the current home of the Chilean Congress, not Santiago. If I recall correctly, after the coup in 1973 that overthrew the government, the congress and most government business was moved to Valparaiso. However, the president still resides and works in Santiago. I'm not sure what the logic was for having the different parts of the government in different cities, but that's how it is here!

The cities are beautiful and I felt like I was in the Chilean version of Seattle. The seafood was fresh and excellent, and the people were diverse. We were confronted by gypsies a few times which was interesting.
One thing that blew me away (and continues to astound me about Chile) was the diversity in the landscape. As to be expected from a city by the ocean, there was a lot of green all around. Lots of trees a foliage around and in the city, and then, on the north end of Vina del Mar was an amazing display of sand dunes... really?? Sand dunes right by the ocean along with every other type of green plant?? I have found that almost all of Chile contains this kind of counter-intuitive landscape and foliage.

Pategonia

Well, Pategonia was super awesome. It didn't start out too hot (Tania has decided that I am the bad luck bringer), but it ended up being really cool. We first flew into Punta Arenas at about 2am. There wasn't any transportation from the airport at that time, so we found a comfy spot of tile floor and slept until about 8am when we got a taxi into the city. A few hours later we took a three hour bus up to Puerto Natales and got a hostel for the night as well as figured out all we needed to know about getting to Parque Torres del Paine where we would do our trekking and such. The bus would leave the next morning at 7:30. However, when I woke up the next morning, I was feeling rather sick and Tania wouldn't let us go. We slept in until noon and I felt a lot better, so we took the 2:30 bus to Torres. We arrived in Parque Torres del Paine around 4:30 or 5 that evening and hiked for two hours to our first campsite which was full, so we had to set up our tent near a few other tents down by the river, giving some anxiety to Tania.

We wanted to see the actual Torres del Paine (the mountain that looks like a wall of three enormous spikes and another wall), but when we got up early in the morning, it was extremely windy and rainy like it had been all night and we couldn't see Torres so we decided that we should wait for a few hours for it to clear up and if it didn't, we would just start our trek around the other side of the park to get to Glacier Grey (a four day hike). It didn't clear up until about noon and if we went up to Torres, we wouldn't have had time to start our planned trek, so we just proceeded on to our planned route. We hiked the two hours back down to the main camp and got about 40 minutes up the other way when we passed some other travelers. A German couple and then a Chilean couple told us that the rest of the trail was closed due to snow. We could make it to the first campsite, but because the second and third were now closed, most people weren't being accepted at the first campsite. The only thing we could do was to turn back. It would be a six hour hike to the first campsite on the other route. 

(refer to the picture of the map. We started on the east side, hiked up to Camp Chileno for the first night, and then wanted to go up on the Northern path - called the backside trail - going toward Glacier Grey, being able to see it from the North East side. Since that was closed, we needed to go on the "W" trail which is the south half of the trail to the glacier).

It was already into the evening a ways and we were no longer sure we wanted to continue hiking all that way. We stopped at the main camp again and decided to just camp there and decide what to do for the rest of the time we had. It was a good thing we did because half of the campsites of the "W" were closed as well and we wouldn't have been able to make it to Glacier Grey by foot for at least the next three days. We only had four days left in the South, so, out of frustration, we decided to leave the park the next day and go see other attractions in Pategonia. (By the way, Pategonia is the entire southern area of Chile and Argentina, full of glaciers, lakes, straights, parks, and wildlife). 

We left the park the next day and got to Puerto Natales where we asked around to see which places we could go for how much money. We decided on an all day boat-tour for the next day up a lake/straight to see a couple smaller glaciers. That turned out to be adventurous and a lot of fun. The boat ride was exciting and beautiful. One glacier was next to the straight, so we rode by it and the other was inland a ways so we got out and hiked a short ways to see the grandeur. On the way back, we stopped at a place along the way where at a restaurant that seemed to be specifically for this tour since there was nothing else on the shore but horse stables. Just before lunch and after it, a storm hit us which made the ride more fun and adventurous. Most people stayed inside the boat but Tania and I decided that it was boring to do that. So we got wet with the rain and waves slashing over the side but it was a ton of fun! We started talking to the captain of the boat and a few others in the cabin and before we docked, they let each of us govern the boat for a while which was a ton of fun :) .

It was fortunate that we spoke to the guys in the cabin because they asked us about our plans for the trip and we told them we wanted to see Perito Moreno in Argentina, another glacier that is much bigger and more famous than the two we saw that day. We were planning on booking another all day tour for this, but one of guys gave us the idea of renting a car. He said it would probably be cheaper and give us a lot more freedom. When we docked, we looked into this and found a place to rent a car. It turned out to cost us about $10 more overall (a difference from $180 for the tour for both of us to $190 for the car with insurance and documentation for crossing the border and all that jazz). This turned out to be a really great idea. We stayed at a hostel in Puerto Natales that night and then picked up the car in the morning and started off toward Argentina and Perito Moreno.

A side note about Argentina:

Up until January 7, Argentina required a reciprocity fee of $160 from US citizens wanting to fly into Argentina, but not those driving or busing in. As of the 7th, US citizens using all means of transportation are required to pay the fee online, in advance, and bring a receipt to the border. Without this receipt, a US citizen cannot enter Argentina. ... I had no idea about this, so when I found out about it (luckily while we were in Puerto Natales looking into the tours and such) I was not very happy about the sudden change. I decided to just pay it because I really wanted to see Perito Moreno and I figure that I will be going to Argentina a couple more times this semester anyway... at least I hope I will.

The drive to the glacier was about 5 or 6 hours. The border was only about 30 minutes from Puerto Natales and this became the second reason we were glad we rented a car. (The first was that we didn't have to be packed on a bus with a bunch of other people). At the border, we were in and out very quickly and didn't have long lines or a bus full of people to wait for. Over the next few hours, we were able to enjoy beautiful scenery and even a far off view of Torres del Paine. Before we reached the glacier, we had to stop in a small town before the glacier called El Calafate to exchange our money to Argentine pesos and grab something to eat. This was a bit of an adventure because finding an ATM that was open in the early afternoon seemed to be impossible for some reason. We finally made it to the glacier and had an amazing time. Yet another reason we were glad for having the car was that we stayed at the glacier for as long as we wanted to. This glacier is particularly famous for the breaking and falling ice on the front edge of it right next to the land that we were standing on. The whole time that you are there, you hear cracking and breaking ice and occasionally get to see blocks of ice break off and fall into the water. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything in my life so breathtaking as Glacier Perito Moreno. After we had our fill (actually, they were closing the park so we had to leave), we got in the car and drove back to Puerto Natales. 

We were told that the border closed at 8 and we decided that we couldn't make it, so we drove a couple hours from the glacier and stopped to sleep for a few hours and then we would continue on to the border and get there when it opened in the morning. This worked out fine, but when we got to the border early in the morning, we found out that it was open 24-7 during the summer... oh well. The car wasn't that uncomfortable to sleep in with out reclined seats... :p

This would be our last day in Pategonia and we hoped we could go on another tour near Punta Arenas to see penguins and other wildlife. However, when we go to Puerto Natales we found that first bus we could get on to go to Punta Arenas was in the afternoon which made it so that most tours (at least cheap ones) were out of the question. So, when we got to Punta Arenas, we decided to walk around its beautiful cemetary, hang out in a cafe and then go to the airport.

Our flight took off at 2:30 in the morning which gave us time to watch the soccer game on TV of Chile vs Bolivia (the under 20 league, so it doesn't really mean anything, but it was still fun). We got back in Santiago at 6am and thus ended our adventures in Pategonia.

Random Blurbs

By Request:

 I guess a lot of people don't know the actual reason that I'm here in Chile so, by request from an individual who shall not be named, I will oblige. ;)

 I'm on a Study Abroad program in Santiago, Chile for the Fall semester and will be here until just before Christmas. I'm taking Spanish classes (for the first time in my life :p ), a political science / economics class focusing on the political and economic relationships between South and North America, and a Latin dance class. Motivation for the adventure? I've always wanted to speak Spanish and have been trying to travel abroad ever since I went to the U.K. in 2005. This is my last year in college and since I only need one more semester before graduation and I won't start med-school until next fall, I decided to fill the time with as much awesomeness as possible. I figure this will be extremely beneficial for me because I should be able to become at least fairly conversational in Spanish by the end of these four months and this type of experience will look really good on my med school applications. Another opportunity I have here is a program that I will join volunteering in a home a couple times a week with children who have cancer. I'm not sure this opportunity could be more perfect for me since my plan is to be a pediatrician. :)

Chilean Culture:

So, I fit in here very well because personal bubbles do not exist in Chile. When greeting someone, you greet them with a kiss on the cheek, the only exception being for males greeting other males that they aren't close to. The first time a girl I just met kissed me I was taken back a bit but it's an easy thing to get used quickly. :) Along with greetings, people are very touchy-feely so you're regularly in physical contact with people while conversing with them. This is something I usually have the tendency to do anyway, but have learned to restrain myself back home. Therefore, this way of communication is more natural for me. Now if only I could actually speak to these people...

People here LOVE American music. I came here expecting to hear a lot of Latin music but almost everything I hear is American pop music, particularly from the 80s and 90s. This is really interesting to me because a lot of these people don't speak any English, but really love to hear the English songs. Some of them who barely speak English even sing right along with their favorites. Just something interesting to me. 

Other random interesting things:

In Santiago, there are a ton of stray dogs. Every street (literally every street) you walk down there are at least a couple dogs either wandering around or laying down somewhere. I guess it's also very common that dog owners will let their dogs out for the day to let them roam around and then bring them back in at night. So not every dog you see is a stray but there are a lot of them.

The metro in Santiago is super nice. It's very clean, easy to navigate, and the trains come quickly and travel smoothly. I think I'm really enjoying the big city and not just because it's Chile. I'm told that Santiago has 6.5 Million people and I'm really enjoying all the people and all the attractions.

This may be obvious, but an interesting observation I've made is that the younger the Chilean is the more likely they are to know English. A lot of high schools in Chile are requiring that kids know English before they graduate but this is a new thing so current college-aged kids typically know a bit but not as much as their younger counterparts. Another thing that is new to Chile is diversity. In the last ten years there has been a large shift in immigration and lot of other ethnic groups have moved in. There is a significant Asian population here now. Also, Peruvians are kind of like the Hispanic equivalent to the U.S. here. Typically, they are more poor and just trying to get a better life. Chile is the richest country in South America right now, especially since Argentina's collapse 11 years ago, so there has been a major rise in immigration.

Anyway, I think that's as much randomness that I can conjure up right now. As the amazing adventure continues I will write more. :)

This is a view from Cerro San Cristobal at sunset overlooking the South-Western side of the city and The Chilean Coastal Range which is the Western branch of the Andes.

First two days

I flew out of Peoria Tuesday evening and landed in Dallas for a layover where I met with the other students from USAC going to Santiago on the group-flight. It was nice to get acquainted with them and we all connected quickly. The flight was fun even though it was a red-eye. One awesome thing about it was watching the sun rise over the Andres as we flew over the coast of South America.

When we landed, we eventually met with our program director, Luis, who checked us in and put us on a bus to the hotel. The rest of the day was spent at the hotel having orientation and lots of food. The morning of day two in Chile was just a little more orientation and then our families came to pick us up. Oscar, my host dad, came to get me. He owns a photocopy store I think, and doesn't speak much more English than I speak Spanish so our conversation was broken but we were able to get to know each other a bit somehow. Monica, my host mom, works for an airline in their office downtown. Oscar (23) and Felipe (19) both go to college but I don't think they go to the same one I do. Everyone is gone all day long at work or school. It seems that the earliest anyone gets home is around seven at night and dinner is usually served around nine or ten. We also have a maid, Nelly, who is at the house all day everyday except for Sunday. I've been given a room that is attached to the main house where I also have my own bathroom, which is nice. It's basically what we would call the mother-in-law suite, so I have an external entrance. Even though we live in what seems like a really nice neighborhood, we have to keep everything locked all the time. We have gates in the front and bars over all our doors and windows. So I guess crime here is quite the problem. The cold is starting to get to me now. Yesterday wasn't too bad, but it's definitely winter here. Utilities are super expensive here so no one keeps much heat going in their houses. I have a nice space-heater for my room, but it's still really chilly (no pun intended... heh heh heh). Tomorrow, Oscar (dad) will take me to more orientation with the USAC group where I'll begin to get familiar with the metro system and a bunch of other logistics like money. After a few hours of orientation tomorrow, we'll be free for the weekend and then classes start on Monday. My class schedule is really nice. I have three hours of Spanish every morning. Monday I have a three-hour economics class and Tuesday I have a Latin Dance class, so school should be a lot of fun this semester.