Chile

Not in any particular order...as there are too many good experiences to remember.

Best experiences:
- trip from San Pedro to Bolivia: breathtaking scenery
- horse riding with the gaucho in Cochamo: Indiana Jones, get lost!
- trekking in Torres del Paine with Jonathan: testing our limits and opting for margaritas at the beach next time!
- a day at the estancia with Ben: stepping back in time and galloping full speed through cow fields
- climbing the Villarica volcano with Charlotte: testing our limits (again!) and sliding down on our butts!
- bus rides, even the night ones: watching the scenery, learning Spanish from stupid movies, and talking to random neighbors
- people watching while sipping coffee at a plaza...especially in Argentina, since you get real coffee there!
- breakfast: sitting down at the communal tables and never knowing who you are going to meet
- New Year's eve and being 'adopted' by a Chilean family...fake champagne with egg-white froth
- goofing with Jonathan: so easy to laugh and be stupid...brings the kid out of you
- horse trip at la Cumbre and dinner with the old couple
- meeting people from all over, bumping into them days and weeks later 1,000km away

Best food moments:
- Asado in Cafayate, La Cumbre, and while horse riding in Cochamo
- Empanadas in Cafayate and La Cumbre
- real lomo steak in Bariloche with Charlotte
- Soup and rice with Jonathan while camping
- ice cream in Mendoza
- 1/2 a fanta with Jonathan at the last leg of our trek
- cafe in Salta
- pastries in Bariloche
- pisco in Valparaiso
- plato unico in Putre: one choice meal- rice, egg, hot dog... amazing when stuck at 4,000m
- mate and terrere with Dani and Esteban in Cafayate
- tiramisu in Bariloche with Charlotte
- raspberries in Pucon
- dinner in the mountains of La Cumbre and breakfast with homemade dulche de leche
- dinner in Mendoza with Ben, yummy wine! yummy desert!
- sandwiches with avocado in Chile...the best avocados ever!

Unique moments (so many really, practically one per day, which makes you feel so alive, but here are a few):
- playing with kids in Bolivia
- old woman on the bus to Chiloe
- old woman at the embassy
- playing scrabble on the harbor in Coquimbo
- landing in Arica in the middle of the desert
- flying over the glaciers, wao
- repelling the 30m cascade in Puerto Varas, why?
- snoring guy in Mendoza, that Charlotte almost through out his bed
- playing cards with Argentinians in El Chaten, with Jonathan
- couple at the hostal in Valdivia: funky house, welcoming hosts, learned a lot about the culture
- opening the door to the hotel San Francisco in Mendoza: finally a real towel and shower
- racing through Ushuaia to get a bus...funny now, but almost belongs to the section below
- 3 am at the bus station with Jonathan...almost belongs below as well
- speaking with Argentinians all night and realizing I'm doing it in Spanish!
- walking in the desert and feeling like it's the end of the world
- walking on the salt lake and feeling like it's the end of the world
- walking in the cochamo valley (so green) and thinking it's the end of the world!

What I won't miss:
- sharing dorm rooms with 7 strangers, especially the ones that snore
- the WC at the bus terminals
- the taxi ride from outside Mendoza back to the shopping center: noooooooo!
- the police station and hospital in Valparaiso
- completos: those nasty hot dogs in Chile...not that I've eaten one, just the sight is gross!
- regeton: annoying music that all the Chilean kids listen to...same beat, no rhythm
- Nescafe....people of Chile, you need to drink real coffee!!!

All in all, the trip was just a fantastic experience...the positives far outweigh the negatives, which anyways become something to laugh about later....except sleep deprivation which is never a laughing matter...especially when you see how I look (picture of me in Bariloche at the coffee house) without sleep.

I can't say it enough to anyone considering a backpacking trip: go for it! It's so much fun, so enriching, so enlightening, and so re-energizing: makes you feel so alive and appreciative of what you have but most importantly it brings you back to earth and puts so many things into perspective. Just priceless! (hmm, sounds like a commercial).