Yay! Sabbatical!

We have 70 days to travel in South America. Here's how we're enjoying it.

[colchrishadfield]

The Chilean Andes - from Antofagasta to the clouds hanging high over the Amazon basin. Lovely to see, and remember.

[10weeksoff]

Been there

[oeforthree]

A couple of years ago - barely into our mid-20s - my girlfriend Harriet and I found out that we’d inadvertently created a baby.

Yep, she’d fallen pregnant. I’d knocked her up. A poppy seed turned into a kidney bean, which grew to become an avocado, and then a mighty pumpkin, before emerging in...

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Will be watching this one closely

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Valle de Elqui - stars and grapes

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Feb 3 - Valle de Elqui I

They kick us out of the bus in La Serena at 6:00am, and somehow manage to get on a (luxury) bus to Vicuna straight away. After the noisy ride on the bad bus, we fall asleep like babies in the executive-level seats/beds.Too bad it is just an hour away. In Vicuna, we load up on cash and take local mini-bus to Pisco Elqui. The road winds up through a beautiful valley, the sun is slowly coming up, painting the hills orange and illuminating the strikingly green vineyards. There's not a cloud in the sky, there are cacti everywhere and the air is dry. We're going to like it here.

Pisco Elqui, is a ghost-village at 9:30am, wine and beer bottles everywhere (more than usually seen in Chile), no cars…strange. In our ho(s)tel (which is veeeery nice and cozy and wow), they explain that there was a free concert of some very popular Chilean band, so the population quadrupled, everything was total chaos and fun until early morning. We're bummed we missed the party and happy we missed another "Gauchito Gil" situation. While waiting for the cabana (it is early), we get a tasty breakfast (the place is run by Germans, they know what we Europeans like) and towels so we can enjoy the pool. It has views of the mountains, is surrounded by citrus trees, proper kitsch. We like.

At 2pm, we move into our beautiful cabana and head out to visit the Pisco vineyards and distillery. The vines grow close together, forming a uniform  cover, protecting the grapes from the sun, there are no "aisles", so the grapes are collected from beneath. Different. Then they distill the grapes and that's either it or they age the liquor in oak barrels. There are myriad different cocktails one can make from Pisco, the most famous is simple Pisco Sour. I try two and am flat on my ass. It's the sun :-)

Quick dinner (pastel de choclo) and we are picked up (7pm) by our driver to go to Cerro Mamalluca observatory. This region is the best in the world for stargazing, as it is elevated, has the least clouds and humidity, so the visibility is excellent year-round. For once, not being fluent in Spanish is an advantage - our group is just 4 people (instead of 30+), so we have time to play around with the telescopes. The visibility is truly surreal, we see galaxies with a naked eye, the Milky Way is bright like a neon sign, there are more stars than we've ever seen. Through the telescope, it is magic. We see Jupiter and its moons up close, colourful nebulae, beautiful constellations and even a comet. Wowsome. We fall asleep on the way back.

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Vina del Mar

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Feb 2 - Vina del Mar

This is one of the rare mornings where we take things easy. Relaxed breakfast, lounging around, planing the next days, reading, writing…Around lunch time, we get on the 612 bus (the buses are seriously hardcore in Valpo) headed to Vina del Mar.

In contrast to to the artsy, non-conformist Valpo, Vina del Mar is a touristy seaside resort town full of luxury high-rises and condos, crowds everywhere, souvenir stands, noise, heat…we quickly abandon the beach (not good for swimming anyway) and head inland to find somewhere to eat. Lonely Planet recommends one place, and it is truly excellent, best and most inventive empanadas so far. It is too hot outside so we cool off in a Starbucks (I know I know) before heading back to the beach.

The sun is more bearable now, the waves are high, local youngsters show off their body-board-surfing skills. Around 6-ish, we get on the bus for another hair-raising ride back to Valpo.

To soothe the nerves (that's the excuse of today), we get a 1/2 liter of delicious ice cream and enjoy it on a terrace with views of the city, the graffiti and of a fire from one of the taller buildings. Everybody watches as firemen take care of the situation.

One last climb up the streets to the hostel, grabbing our backpacks and heading back down to the bus station (we convince a colectivo to change its route and take us directly).

At 11pm, we are leaving lovely Valpo behind, in a pretty low quality bus (in South America standards), to the perpetual sunshine land up north. Yay!

[10weeksoff]

Views of Valpo

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Feb 1 - Valpo II

Good breakfast of home made bread and orange jam, real coffee (no Nescafe), and free refill fruit-bowl, then a walk along av. Alemana, full of graffiti and dogs, towards Pablo Neruda's house - La Sebastiana. We don't know what the fuss is about so we buy the entrance tickets with low expectations. The house ends up being marvelous, very well designed to accommodate and entertain many guests. Strange sea- related objects everywhere and beautiful views, accompanied by interesting stories from the Nobel prize poet's life. We didn't know a house tour can be so interesting and entertaining. To top it off, there is a concert of an Andean orchestra downstairs, a total joy to listen to. We buy a CD. After the tour, we walk slowly down more picturesque graffiti streets and through an open air museum (huge graffiti by different artists, one is being painted as we pass by). Hungry like the local street dogs, we find a restaurant that serves a good lunch menu for an incredible 2500CLP (an all time low). Well fed, we dare venture to the bus station to shop around for tickets to the next destination (successfully). Right around the corner is Mercado Cardonal, we don't resist and buy some fruit ("pepino" and cactus fruit), and eat it under palm trees nearby. A bus (bus rides are a lot of fun) takes us back to the main square. The clouds are gone, it is late afternoon - great light for a tour of the harbour. We get on a crowded boat to admire Huge cruise ships, tons of colorful fishing boats, half the Chilean Navy ("Win or Die"), immense cargo ships being unloaded, seals lounging on pontoons, pelicans fishing and of course views of the hills of Valparaiso dotted densely by houses/tin shacks. After taking a gazillion pictures, we take the oldest "ascensor" up to the middle of our hill, and walk the rest of the way through yet more graffiti jungle as the sun sets. Later we found out that one of them was done by the Inti, dubbed "the new Banksy". A short power nap and we're back in the streets, looking for a restaurant with live music. We find one that promises just that, but the musicians don't start by the time we finish eating and drinking (11pm). We're half asleep, so we decide the chupe de camarones was a good enough experience (really excellent food) and call it a day. Yay!

[10weeksoff]

Awesome! streets of Valpo

[10weeksoff]

Jan 31 - Valpo I

7:30. Getting out of the bus in Santiago. We want to go to Valparaiso. Of course, those buses leave from another station. We take a taxi there and buy a ticket. Of course, it leaves from yet another station, this time luckily only walking distance. We eat the biggest hot dog on the planet (complete with avocado and other assorted yummy stuff) and board the bus that leaves on time. We get to Valpo around noon, take an overpriced taxi to the top of Cerro Allegre to check in to our beautiful hostel. Lunch (amazing "pastel del choclo" and an even better carrot cake) and explore the graffiti covered streets winding up and down the on the hills of Valparaiso. At 3pm, we take the Tours-4-Tips guided walk (we are just 5, nice). Our guide is Francisco, a local student, who knows a lot about his city and adds a bit of personal opinion to his narrative. We like it a lot. He explains the rise and fall of Valpo, takes us to a secret "alfajores" shop, we ride the funiculars (the city is built on steep hills), admire the graffiti. At the end, we are given a potent pisco sour and give a generous tip. Tonight we cook in the hostel, so we browse through the local emporios (shops on the hills) for ingredients before taking a colectivo home. The risotto is excellent, as is the company of two danish girls, a danish Santa and a girl from Nepal. We chat and share a red "carmenere" wine until midnight, then retreat to our quiet double room on the top floor. Yay!

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Volcano Villarica, visible from everywhere

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Our Ferrari Uno - a sauna and gym on wheels

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Hiding from the sun in Huerquehue national park

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Laguna Azul. Ingenious name ;)

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Jan 30 - Huerquehue

We pack our stuff yet again, leave them in the b&b after checking out, and get in our Ferrari Uno, direction east.

Fist stop - Ojos del Caburga waterfalls, very nice place in the shade, with an even nicer, strikingly blue lagoon nearby. Lunch - watermelon.

Second stop - Caburga (we are lost). There is an overcrowded beach, we opt to head back and find the right way to Huerquehue national park.

Third stop - Tinquilco lake. It is so hot we quickly abandon the idea of trekking and choose kayak instead. The lake is beautifully clear, mountains surround it, we make stops to swim and relax in the cold-ish water. Our guide, Val, is very knowledgeable, we reward her with a watermelon:). 3 hours pass by.

Fourth stop - Rapa Nui campsite. We like this area so much, we picnic (watermelon and cookies) and swim in the lake until it is time to head back.

Fifth stop - rental agency in Pucon, returning the red Ferarri Uno.

Sixth stop - dinner (burritos) and wifi (Newen restaurant again)

Final stop - bus station, boarding the overnight bus to Santiago de Chile.

[10weeksoff]

Villarica volcano crater

[10weeksoff]

Villarica volcano climb