Ciao Santiago

The last few days in Santiago have been relaxing. We have been eating some good food and shopping a lot.

Monday (May 25):

We went to the clinic on Monday to collect data on children with speech sound disorders. Ate at the Blue Jar (amazing-thanks Fodors). Shopped. We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant. A little different, but still good. It’s always a good time reading menus already in another language translated into Spanish. We make some good guesses most of the time.

Tuesday (May 26):

We met Silvanna at 8:30 to finish up the data collection on our children for our theses. The school went well again and we finished with 21 children. Thank you Silvanna! That lady is amazing. We sat with her for a good hour when we got back and talked about speech pathology and she asked for some suggestions, but we mainly just learned from her. Then she gave us some good suggestions of places to eat and shop, but they were too crowded. Sad.

Wednesday (May 27):

Time to go home. = ( Where did the time go? We both made sure we were up this morning to eat breakfast (since we’re going to miss it). Today we’re packing up, running little errands, eating our favorite foods one last time and heading home. Our plane takes off at 9:00pm. Another fun travel over night! We are going to miss it here.

Ciao Santiago.

Back to Santiago

Friday (May 22):
We caught the bus out of Ancud @ 8:06...the bus left @ 8:05. Our hostel couldn't get hold of a taxi so we had to run to the bus stop with our luggage. It was a good mile away. But, we managed to flag the bus down as it was pulling away. Thank goodness. It was another 2 hour bus drive plus a half hour ferry ride. We arrived to Puerto Montt at 10:30. We had high hopes that we would be able to find a bus up to Santiago, but we were wrong. The next bus didn't leave until 5:30. So...we get to see another city for the day. Puerto Montt. Number one there isn't a lot to do in Puerto Montt. Number two it was pouring rain. We ended up shopping at the ferria for two hours and then we went to a restaurant for lunch. We ended up over staying our share of time and hung out at the restaurant for 4 hours. The restaurant didn't have many people coming in and there was a stove to keep us wrong. A little awkward, but we stayed warm and dry. Then still had another hour until our bus left out of Puerto Montt so we hit up the restaurant in the bus station and hung out there for a while. So much fun in PM. Then...for the dreaded '13' hour bus ride that ended up being closed to 16. We had the semi cama bus though so we got to lean back a little and try to sleep. We arrived back to Santiago safely. Got to our hostel (YAY!) and felt more at home. We had some breakfast and took a long nap. We have a new sweet room at the hostel. We can see the Argentinian Embassy in clear view. We have been going to the last few places we want to see in Santiago and lots of shopping. On Friday we went to Cerro Santa Lucia. It's a big hill in the middle of Santiago and you climb up a castle and see some other neat buildings on top of this hill. Then we went to dinner in Bellavista to a restaurant called Siciliano. We had pasta for our first time since we've been here. Amazing.

Saturday (May 23):
Christy went on a run and then we both went on a walk in the park. We witnessed a sweet exercise dance class. Christy was soooooooooooooooooooo excited. By the time Carah gave into dancing in the middle of this huge public park, the class ended. Lo siento Christy. We decided to push out plane tickets back to next Saturday night so that Christy can join in next Saturday (just kidding). We found a vegetarian restaurant. We got a little lost, but we found it. It was super good. Homemade juices, interesting dips, hummus, salads, lots of good things (esp for Christy). Then we went shopping at a market called Los Dominicos. This wasn't like any market we had seen before. It was extremely nice and 'upperclass'. We saw a lot of new items that we hadn't seen anywhere else in Chile yet and a lot of handmade goods. Then we left as soon as our last shopping was done so that we didn't go bankrupt. We headed back to the hostel to change and head back out to do some more shopping/eat guac in the bellavista area. The spot where Carah really wanted to shop (off the street people) the cops had shut down for the night. Who knows why? Silly carabineros. We went and ate some guac and platanos from the place we had been before.

Sunday (May 24):
Lazy day.
Budgets.
Research.
Food.
Shopping.

churches, churches and more churches (may 21)

Today we embarked on a tour of churches on the island of Chiloe. The guide picked us up at 9:30. Another girl our age from France joined us on the tour. The tour overall was exceptional. Just us and another girl with an awesome guide. The only thing that was promised that we didn’t get was a tour in English, but at the end of the day it didn’t matter. It was time to learn. The french girl spoke some English, but for some reason she refused today. She has been living in Argentina for two years and she sounded like an Argentinian. Really complicated to understand her, but we both managed. We drove nearly half of the island in a day. We visited 7 churches along the way, including the second oldest and the oldest church in Chiloe. They are built from the Spanish influence (the Jesuits). By the end of the day they all looked the same, but nonetheless a good tour of the island as a whole. We got to see city and country life all over. Our guide was animated and shared a lot of the legends of the island. He’s a fisherman so he knows a lot about the island and it’s heritage.

We went to lunch in Castro…another city on the coast. Christy had fried salmon for the first time ever and Carah had a salmon sandwich (as we would call it). It was two pieces of salmon with cheese, tomato, and chorizo in the middle. Very interesting.

Then more churches, back to home, dinner at a pizza place, and back to the scary hostel.

Headed out in the morning on a 8:00 bus back to Santiago. Should be about a 24 hour bus ride. Loads of fun.

Cold sweats, curanto and el trauco

Monday:

10 hour bus ride. Suck.

Made it to Ancud on the great island of Chiloe. We are staying Llahuy (we don’t know how to pronounce it). Carah thinks it is possessed, in fact she was so scared that she didn’t sleep at all last night. Christy woke up soooo sweaty but it was still sooooo cold. Cold Sweats.

Tuesday:

This morning we slept until like 9:30, had breakfast, remembered we were in Chile and not going to class, then went to see La Fuerte de San Antonio- one of the last Spanish strongholds in South America. When the natives were rebelling for independence all the Spaniards fled to Chiloe. They lost.

Then, we walked to the regional museum and saw a giant whale skeleton among other island memorabilia. We went to a rather plain cathedral and then went to a tourism agency to try and figure out what we wanted to do with our few days here. We decided to sign up for an afternoon tour thing that we weren’t exactly what it was but we thought it would be something outside and pretty. Even though it was cold and rainy. While we were here, Carah realized that she didn’t have her bank card. She ran to the bank to see if it was still in the ATM, the tourist lady came to help and with teamwork the card was recovered. Que suerte Carahita, que suerte. We then went to the feria to check out some chiloe crafts…. we got some presents… you should be excited. One of the most popular items at the feria was the “trauco” (troll). One of the many legends in Chiloe is that is a woman gets pregnant and doesn’t have a husband that she was impregnanted by the troll.

Our afternoon tour started at 3 and the normal guide wasn’t there so the lady we met earlier took us in her car. She was super nice. We could understand her when she talked and she was very patient with us. She took us to a couple different beaches and this super weirdo museum thing with badly stuffed dead animals. We drove all through the coastal countryside, maneuvering around pot holes, horses, cows, people, and dogs. It was overall a very enjoyable day. We ended by deciding to try some new food that is native to Chile called curanto. Well, Carah tried it- christy was afraid of the meat so she got some clams and asparagus soup. It was interesting- we both miss home-cooked food.

Now, we are fully enjoying our English tv. Tomorrow, we are going on a church tour extravaganza!

we could get used to this....

So we kind of like Chile. A lot. We're starting to get used to this lifestyle.

Last night we went to the termas. The termas are the natural hot springs that are formed because the volcano is so near. They were great fun. A bus driver picked us up around 8:00 and we arrived there around 8:45. It was a nice facility. There were a few different hot springs and they all had ladders going into them. The one we were in had a little cabin built over part of it for a place to change and put your things. The people in Chile are friendly. We met some older men in their 40's who work at the market here in town. They told us all about their items they sell. It's good for practicing our Spanish.

This morning we ate a nice breakfast downstairs and then made plans to go to the volcano caves today. The ride there was hilarious. This old short man in his seventies picked us up in his old taxi. He goes inside the hostel for a while and we have no idea what he is doing. Then he comes back out with a shovel. Carah almost made a run for it, but he said he needs it in case there was too much snow up the mountain. (Good thing we didn't have to use it). The roads were being repaved for the majority of our ride up the volcano. It was really rough and scary because the driver never knew were to stay on the road and would swerve in and out of cones and piles of rocks. Oh Chile. Then once you get to the volcano, the roads are just rough because it's a volcano. I'm pretty sure his little old taxi was not made to rough roads and rocks and holes and craters, but it did. He was a trooper. I just had to stop watching eventually. Humerous all in all. We made it in one piece to the caves. We were the only ones there so a nice lady gave us a tour. She only spoke Spanish, but she spoke slow and articulated for us. We are finding it easier to understand people here than in Santiago. We're not sure why...but we like it. The cave was beautiful. She explained the whole cave for us... how it was made, what formed it, what everything was made of, why there was water, why there are no animals or vegetation, where the moss/lichen come from...we loved it. We walked pretty far into the cave. It was nice because they had lights on the walk ways and bridges where there were big drop offs. When we were at a certain point in the cave she told us to use our imaginations and just enjoy nature and then on the count of three to open our eyes. She turned off all the electricity in the cave. We opened our eyes to the darkest dark we could have ever imagined. We weren't sure how to handle ourselves. We were all really quiet for a while and we were kind of scared. We were relieved when she started talking again. When you're standing there looking around you can't even see the palm of your hand. After you are in the dark for a while you start to see spots of light, but she explained to us that it's a reflection off of your retinas (something like that). Overall, the cave experience was amazing! Once you get out of the cave they let you take a little hike around the volcano and show you where to go. It was fun until we got to the wooden bridge that passed over a big canyon that avalaches have formed and Christy couldn't get across it. She has a wooden bridge fear. = ) So we ended our hike. Plus it was pretty cold and we weren't too prepared for the weather. Then we put on our game faces to brave the drive back. We're still in one piece. Thank goodness!

As for tonight, just being lazy. Maybe some dinner. Just enjoying life.

"Sign me up for the races..."

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo horsie. Yesterday after we arrived in Pucon we went cabalgata-ing. That’s code for horseback riding in the Chile. Freaking amazing. There are not many words to describe the amazing scenery. We signed up for a horseback riding trip through our hostel and a van came and picked us up at 1:00. It was about a 25 minute drive through town and some rough back roads. Another couple from Britain were in the van when they picked us up. Their names were Claire and Robert…very British. Once we arrived to the horseback riding establishment, our horses were ready and waiting for us. Christy got to ride ‘treinta y ocho’ y Carah got to ride ‘Esperanza’. Fue un buen tiempo. We went over some quick rules/tips, put on our chaps, and hit the road. We traveled 4 hours through streets, fields, and rivers, paths, trails, and little towns of the Mapuche people. We took a break halfway through to eat sandwiches y cafe/te in the field past the river. Our guide was a sweet lady who spoke English very well. She taught us slang vocabulary (that we can’t remember) to help us in times when the Chilean people are trying to rip us off. By the end of the horeback riding session, Christy told the guide she was a pro and to ’sign her up for the races…”! The rain started getting heavier towards the end of the tour, but they gave us ponchos to keep us dry. Very good day all in all. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Once we got back to the hostel, we rested, showered, and headed out for dinner. After getting lost in the small town of Pucon because no one could understand “Arabian” because you pronounce it “Ah rah bee in” and they sound SO different that I mean, who could really understand our gringa speech. We had a WONDERFUL dinner of Ahrahbeein food and then followed the sound of music to this gymnasium where there was a Cuban dance show- sweet. Then we headed to this quaint bar where we enjoyed a nice bottle of Gato.

Then, we came home and went to bed.

This morning we woke up to rain, oh and did we mention it was raining? Oh and then there was also some rain, and on top of that some more rain. AKA we have been doing pretty much nothing in this awesome city. We went to the bus station to figure out the bus schedule. Then, Carah got her hair cut for like $10. We came back to our hostel and ate some more awesome vegetarian food. In a couple hours Christy is getting a massage, and then at 8:00 we are going to the hot springs!!!

We are excited. We are also very sore from the cabalgata.

Word.

Vamos a Pucon!

Our trip south has finally arrived!!!!

Yesterday we took it easy. We worked out, took our laundry to the lavenderia, and ate a nice lunch at a cafe. We then went to meet Silvanna at the school to give her some paperwork, but she wasn't there due to class. We have a lot of friends here now and some other people helped us out. Since we have heard from the majority of people that Pucon and Chiloe are rainy and cold we decided to go to the ferria (market) to buy some hats and gloves. Cara got a hat with a llama on it. = ) Since it was one of the sunnier days in Santiago, we decided to go to cerro San Cristibol. This is a big hill/small mountain that has the Virgin Mary on top. She was given to Chile by the french at the same time Rio de Janeiro was given the big Jesus and the USA was given the Statue of Liberty. She's big. On a hill. It's amusing. The way up is by climbing the steep hill for an hour or by the taking the funiculares. The funiculares are these old/scary things (but safe) that take you to the top. They're on a train track looking thing and they take you up. Christy and I had escape routes for what would happen if the cable broke. We're still alive though, so obviously they didn't break! Once you get to the top, you're free to get off and walk around. There are some vendors around and some nice places to take pictures. Then you can climb higher all the way up to the virgin. There are lots of benches to sit and pray and look at the scenery. You can see all of Santiago on top of Cerro San Cristibol. It's really quite amazing how big the city is. We thought we had the city conquered, we found out we were wrong. Although it was a very nice/clear/sunny day outside, it was still almost impossible to see more than a 10 mile radius around the city due to the smog. There is also a chapel on top of the hill. It was very beautiful inside. The walls were made of rock with the story of the Virgin Mary painted/engraved into them. After that, we walked back down to take the funiclar back down. Yea, we survived.

Our next mission was to get packed, pay the hostel, pick up our laundry, eat....and get to the bus by 10:50. We did it. It was super close, but we did it. The bus ride was doable. The bus was full. We got the bus where the seats reclined half way back...so much better than the regular coach buses for a ride that long. On the buses here they treat you very nicely. They hand out blankets and pillows. They open and close your blinds for you. They serve you breakfast in the morning. Sometimes it's a little awkward getting a nudge to wake you up, but it's kind of them. The bus ride ended up being about 11 hours total. 11:00 at night till 10:00 in the morning. Once we arrived, we were approached by locals trying to get us to stay in their hostels. I guess we can't hide it that we're from 'gringalandia'. We already had a hostel in mind that was recommended in Fodor's. It's called 'ecole'. It was voted best hostel in Pucon in 2008. We found our way here in the sprinkling rain. It's a quiet little hostel that looks very eclectic from the outside. It's painted in bright colors and looks like a log cabin. We got our room reserved and then ate breakfast at the vegetarian restaurant here. Christy is super happy and wants to eat every meal here forever and ever. We both had veggie omelets and potatoes and toast and jelly and cafe con leche. At one we're scheduled to go horseback riding. This should be amusing.

Moms and Dads...we're safe. No worries!