Chile

Just spent almost a week relaxing in Talca, about 4hrs south of Santiago, in the wine region of Maule. Found this cute hostal in the middle of vineyards...with a pool, what a treat!!!

Got there late last Friday and wanted to just take easy for a day or two, but got talked into doing a hike the next day. As much as sitting by the pool sounded fun, I wanted to explore and exercise a little, so I was up at 6am off to the bus station. After a 2 hr ride, I got to the Vilches National Park. By luck, this girl I had met in the hostal in Valparaiso ended up on this same bus and we ended up doing the trek together (there was no one else around, so I was glad to have a companion!). The trek was relatively easy, 2hr30mn each way through the forest, crossing small rivers, and climbing up the mountain. The path ends at this mirador overlooking the whole valley, really breathtaking. There was a huge waterfall in the distance that you just wanted to run to and jump in (it´s so hot here, 30´s celcius!) but that meant another 3hr hike. No time. Had to make it back for the last bus at 5pm. The bus system here is quite interesting...you can flag the bus down from anywhere and get off wherever you want... which makes the whole ride slightly inefficient...listen to me, with my gringo attitude...just saying that it´s weird to me that people will stand 10m apart (and i´m not exaggerating!!!) and the bus will stop twice, instead of the people walking towards each other. It´s like a milk run. You´re constantly stopping to let someone off or on. I think it´s cool to have door to door service, don´t get me wrong....but why people won´t walk 10m or at worst 50m to consolidate the stops...don´t know.

On Sunday and Monday, I took it easy, lounging by the pool. There were some fun people at the hostal, so I enjoyed just hanging out. On Monday, a group of us did motivate to go wine tasting...well, not that hard to motivate...we visited 2 vineyards nearby, Hugo Casanova and Colinia (the syster vineyard to Kendall Jackson). The first one was a family-run type vineyard where everything is done by hand, from the picking to putting labels on the bottles. The second was more massive and industrualized. Both had generous tastings, so the end of the day consisted of more lounging by the pool. The carmenere wine, only produced here in Chile, is quite good, full bodied, almost a little thick, and very potent, 14degrees. But actually cabernet sauvignon has the highest production in Chile.

The next day, I went for a little train ride from Talca to Constitucion on the coast. The train is this old OLD train (2 wagons) that goes along the Maule river from village to village, dropping kids off to school, bringing supplies to the various villagers, and taking tourists on this lovely ride through the valley. The landscape felt like Breakback Mountain, with pine trees taking over the hills and falling into the rocky river bed- such a contrast with the vineyards on the west side. The ride took about 3hrs but it flew by...such beautiful scenery. Plus it felt like going back in time. The conductor had to blow the horn (old school steam-like train sound) at every crossing. And the villages were more like tiny regroupment of houses for the sheperds and the treemen (the whole economy on this side of the coast is wood), all stuck in the time, ie: 50yrs ago, or dare I even say 100yrs ago!

In Constitucion, I ended up finding a german tourist to split a cab to go to Putu, these amazing sand dunes along the coast. You felt like in the Sahara...not sure how they ended up there...quite spectacular. In the afternoon, I grabbed lunch in the mercado (mussle soup...last time though! as there was a bug in my soup, yuk!) and walked over to the beach to see the rock formations. Took the bus back to Talca...2hrs...again one of those stop and go rides.

After another day of rest at the hostal & a 4hr bike ride to the hills nearby, I took off to go explore the 7 Tazas waterfall, but unfortunately the bus route is not open yet...season starts next week...so i took the 1hr bus back to town...oh well. More pool and tanning for me!! hehe.

Tonight, off to Puerto Montt on the night bus...will transfer to Puerto Varas right away, as it´s the more cozy village to stay at...on the lake. Only there for one night to organize a hike over New Year´s....figured i might as well be in the mountains and star gazing than anywhere close to a city with all the crazy parties. For Xmas week though, I´ll be on the island of Chiloe...won´t be as hot...actually more like Irish landscape & climate... but will be exciting.

Just spent 5 amazing days in the mountains..hopefully I manage to upload pics so you can see...the landscapes speak for themselves.
On Monday, I arrived in Putre, and to tell you the truth when I got off the bus, I thought ´where the hell am I?´ Two others travelers got off the bus too but took off right away. I dropped my bag off at this little hostel,that must have been a stable in its former days...very simple rooms...but clean...all I can ask for. I walked around town and felt like I was alone on earth...the town was empty...apart from one or two convenient stores...well, ´store´ is a big word... the town is made of brick and mud walls...yet it has a cute center square and all the infrastructures you can think of, from a cultural center, to the post office...all that for a tiny mountain village of 1,200 people at 3,500m. After a few days there though I started to look at the town in a different way and to enjoy its particularities. Most striking is the contrast of the traditional Andean women (exactly as you picture in your history books or Tintin!) and the new generation of young girls, especially those going for that punk look. On my last night there, the town was hosting a huge Andean music festival. Perfect timing, great way to wrap up my adventure in the Altiplano.
Day one was spent resting...with the altitude, you need to adjust and sleep before going on hikes or doing any physical effort. Many travelers get altitude sickness. I was ok, other than a few headaches.
Day 2= The salt lake of Surire, an unforgetable adventure. Turns out the 2 travelers from the bus were staying at my hostel, and we ended up booking 3 tours together. For Surire, 4 other travelers joined us, which made for an interesting and diverse group. The pics will say it all...although they can´t capture half the greatness of the landscapes and the power of nature...I can only say how incredible it was to be there all alone (well with the small group) walking through the salt like...it felt like being on the moon... out of nowhere, as we´re driving along the mountains & volcanos, this white lake appears...surreal... we drove around it and stopped at thermal baths... some courageous souls ´jumped´ in... the blue water against the salt lake was amazing... we continued on to a flamingo reserve...along the way we could observe vicunas and lamas grazing away...such cute animals. The flamingo reserve was just spectacular...it´s hard to describe such landscapes when you have nothing to compare it to...we paused for 10min of silence...which made you really appreciate nature, its beauty and its force. On our way back, we stopped at a refuge for dinner...again, amazing how out of nowhere we can get a really decent meal...soup and alpaca meat with rice. On our drive back to Putre, we were treated to an amazing starry night, making the whole day just unforgetable.
Day 3: Lauca Park. This time, it´s just me and Tal & Bamzi, my friends from the hostel (they are traveling around the world for a year!). Our guide takes us through mountain villages, explaining the rich history of the Andean culture which then mixed to the Spanish invaders´ culture. We hiked up this rocky hill at the bottom of the Lauca Park volcano, again amazing scenery with lagoons all around us. The volcano is so impressive. We actually felt the earth more, which ended up being that quake that most of you read about. It felt like being on a boat and getting sea sick. Only lasted under a minute. Had no idea though that it would translate into a quake in the valley, quite scary. Hiked also at the bottom of the lake Chungura with the volcano in the background...just like on that travel show on channel 25 that i had seen a few months ago.
Day 4: Colorado mountain. Once again with Tal and Bamzi, such a great couple- glad I met them and got to spend a few days with them. We ended going on this hike of a lifetime ... up to 4,825m. The guide wasn´t really clear on the hike we were about to embark...he said 2hr1/2...but it ended up being 4hr1/2..up this crazy hill, full of rocks and sand. The altitude made it really hard to breathe. As we got closer to the top, we had to stop every 10 steps and breathe. My heart was going 100km/hr and my legs were like marshmallow. Each step required such will power and strength...I´ll remember it during my next marathon...as it was truly the hardest physical effort I ever experienced. The hike down took about 3min donwhill and then a good hour across the open field of dried mud and sand. We got back early enough to get a good dinner in town as this local joint (Rosamel)... soup is big here...always at the start of each meal...loved this little place...only one menu option...all the local workers seem to go there...can´t beat the price...I went there on my first night with a german girl i was rooming with... but the 2nd time was even cooler, as the lights weren´t working and we ate with candles. My last night there also happened to be a music festival celebrating Andean culture from Peru, Bolivia and Chile. There was a food fair (which as you know, i love!) where I could try all these products I had never seen before, fruit and pisco drinks. Quite fun. Also, a big Bolivian band was playing. The night was cold though, as every night, so I didn´t stay until the end. Back in the room, I had to sleep in my thermals again... it gets to about -15C in the night...or about 12c in the room. Brrr.
Day 5: took the bus back down to Arica... back to Sunny Day hostel, and off tomorrow to Iquique.
So far, so good...more than good, so great! Plus I´m getting tan...although my nose is burnt...the sun is so strong. Good to be back by the water...off to another harbor tomorrow...will visit the fish market, I´m sure!