After a well deserved rest from a long 11+ hour drive, we rolled out of the hostel this afternoon to explore our new habitat in ValparaÃso. It was too dark to see much of anything when we arrived, so we took this opportunity to orient ourselves to our new surroundings.
I keep noticing a lot of similarities between California and Chile. ValparaÃso reminded me a bit of San Francisco with it’s various different neighborhoods and it’s extremely hilly topography…
…with old houses…
…of various pastel colors lining the streets.
They also have a busy harbor on the Pacific ocean…
…and even electric powered buses that follow the power lines hanging overhead. That’s so SF!
A couple hills over from our hostel was the Naval and Maritime museum that we perused to kill some time…
…and kill some encroaching enemy warships.
We lost a few good soldiers in the battle, so we paid our respects at the cemetery a few hills away.
And then it was full speed ahead…
…back up another hill…
…via one of the many rickety funiculars the city has so that we could find some food.
On the way back to the hostel we got stuck behind this bus with UTAH license plates!
Now I REALLY feel like I’m back in California! What the heck is this thing doing here!?
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 27, 2009.
Filed under: Chile,South America,Travel | 1 Comment »
We had planed on checking out some hot springs after yesterdays grueling hike, but due to unforeseen circumstances (a.k.a. BBQ meat, corn and beer (the beer was not barbecued)) we never made it. So instead of taking a nice long relaxing soak in a hot tub of water, we are going to take a nice long drive in a Nissan. Allllll the way back up highway 5. Past Santiago, to the city of ValparaÃso. That same drive (and then some) that we split into two days, we will now tackle in one day!
We were sent on our way with a farewell escort…
…and then herded along in the right direction by some wild sheep…
…who as it turns out were not quite sure of the right direction themselves.
So, we went the other direction, and left them to figure out how to get back into their field.
About 10 hours later, we had made it back to Santiago and were now headed west on the 68 freeway to ValparaÃso, only to be stung by a traffic jam. Moments after exiting the toll booth, we were stopped dead in our tracks by bumper to bumper traffic. And we were making such good timing too! Google Maps had clocked the entire trip at around 16 hours, and we were so close after having only been on the road for 10. So we sat, and we waited. Sat, and waited. Sat, and waiting. Sat, and waited for the clean up crew to remove a large vehicle that had crashed into the side of the wall in a tunnel through a mountian. Finally after we got out of now smog-filled tunnel, we made it to ValparaÃso in about 40 minutes with only a few drops of gas left in the tank and a few drops of room left in the bladder. After driving in circles for a good 20 minutes trying to find the hostel, we finally threw our map out the window and followed our instinct. Ahh good ol instinct comes through again. At least we now have a working toilet and a shower! Totally worth the drive.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 26, 2009.
Filed under: Chile,South America,Travel | No Comments »
Ya know, it’s interesting how there can be quite a few similarities between Queenstown, New Zealand, and Pucón Chile despite them being so far away from each other. There’s something about really large mountains surrounding a lake that just screams out “ADVENTURE SPORTS!!” And since we were suffering a bit from an adrenaline withdrawal after having left good ol’ Queenstown we decided to answer the call of duty, and bring our levels back up to abnormal. Today’s adventure of choice:
Scaling the active Villarrica volcano!! Now that’s one thing Queenstown does not offer!
We woke up at the crack of dawn and grabbed a quick breakfast before walking over to the meeting point. After suiting up with our gear, and throwing some snacks, lunch and water in a backpack, we hopped in the truck…
…ready to trek over 9000 feet to the crater…
During a rough and bumpy 40 minute ride to the base of the volcano the guides presented us with the option to take a ski-lift part of the way up.
HA! We don’t need no stinkin’ ski-lift! We’re warriors!
Oh crap, 9000 feet is kinda tall. On second though we’ll take you up on the ski-lift offer.
And with that, the ski-lift took us up the volcano a little farther — just to the edge of where the snow was…
…which meant it was time to strap on the cramp-ons so we could dig in to the icy snow.
Despite the icy/snowy conditions, within the first 45 minutes I was already peeling of layers of clothing to cool off.
This hike was no joke! The heart was pumping and the sweat was pouring. We forged ahead, zigging, and zagging up the mountain side with our pickax and cramp-ons keeping us from sliding all the way back down to the bottom.
We kept up a slow and steady pace for about 4 hours! Only stopping 3 times along the way to take a few photos of the volcano…
…as well as other nearby volcanos.
We stopped once more for a lunch break and a few more photos…
…and then continued on up and over the jagged icy rocks…
…that had some really cool ice formations…
…that formed an ice throne for me.
Finally as the 5th hour approached, we had reached the summit! Exhausted and tired, we clawed our ways to the tippity top of the volcano…
…determined to see the lava filled crater.
And while the crater was just too deep to see any molten magma, we could certainly hear the burping and gargaling lava, and smell the farting sulfuric fumes spewing from the pit.
The crater was gigantic! Take a look at the full size version of this photo:
and check out how tiny the people are on the leftern edge of the rim to get a sense for just how big of a whole it is. It’s one of only 4 volcanoes on the world that has an active lava lake in the crater! I wanted to see if I could get a better vantage point to witness some actual molten lava, so I hiked all the way around the crater, taking in some great views along the way…
…including some cooled off lava chunks…
…and some glacier wave formations.
Unfortunately, even from the highest point on the edge, I still wasn’t able to see deep enough down the hole to see any magma. If only I had a helicopter to see far enough down the hole! 🙁
After about an hour at the summit, it was time to head back down. We had two options, hike or slide. Since hiking would most definitely result in some blisters forming, we all agreed that sliding down would be the best (and most fun) method of descent. So we put on all of our gear again, and slide down most of the mountain on our butts.
It was SOOOO much fun! Some trails were faster than others, some more windy than others, but every single one was a blast!
It brought me back to my days of Topstone Dr. in Bethel, CT where we would spend hours out on the hill sleding down snow covered hills. Eventually after about only 40 minutes of sliding, we reached the point where there was no more snow to slide down.
So we footed it all the way back down the whole way that the ski-lift had taken us, and all the way back to the awaiting van. We all piled in and headed back to the shop where it was decided that we celebrate or accomplishment with a barbecue back at the hostel.
Ya know you’re in South America when BBQ meat tastes this good! DELICIOUS!
A great way to end the evening. Relaxing in the back yard with some steak, corn on the cob and a beer with our friend Villarrica looking over us from off in the distance…
..under a firey sky.
A great day in Chile!
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 25, 2009.
Filed under: Chile,South America,Travel | 1 Comment »
OK, I’ve calmed down a bit since my hostel rant. I’m not gonna let that ruin my experience. It’s just frustrating when things don’t work. We have opposable thumbs for a reason… to make things work! But I digress.
The one great thing that the hostel did have was a beautiful Norwegian…
…gorgeous light brown eyes. This big fuzzy brown (with highlights) guy was so friendly and playful. Such a sweetheart! There’s nothing like a big friendly dog to make you forget all your worries!
Today’s original plans were pushed back until tomorrow due to some minor weather issues, so today we explored the nearby lake with its black volcanic sand beach.
On the way back from the lake we saw a parking lot full of cars and bleachers full of stands. So we wandered a bit closer and found an equestrian show jumping event underway.
What better backdrop could you imagine for such an event?
Wish you could have been there to see it too mom! 🙂
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 24, 2009.
Filed under: Chile,South America,Travel | 1 Comment »
I say “on” because I can’t poop in you. More specifically, the toilet here is broken.
I don’t ask for much, but I don’t think a working toilet is too much to ask for. I’ve been camping before. I’ve relieved myself in the shrubs. I’m not opposed to the idea by any means, but if I’m paying money to stay somewhere I shouldn’t have to walk out to the back yard just to take a piss. I don’t really mind it myself actually, but I’m trying to be considerate of the property owners and other guests staying in the hostel. Would you like to look out your window and see someone watering the plants? I didn’t think so. Neither did she.
In the last 6 months, we’ve stayed in some really nice places, as well as some not so nice places. This hostel here in Pucón is by far the worst. I’m really not too picky, all I ask for is that a place is relatively clean, and that things work. This place is clean enough, but nothing works.
I shouldn’t have to wait 25 minutes to pee just because there is only one toilet for the entire place, and someone else has decided to take care of the Three S’s. What about MY needs? Provide people with a second option. I’ll pee in a bucket if you OK it. Just give me something that works, anything!
I shouldn’t have to shower on the ground floor with a wide open window that doesn’t close.
If you want to watch me shower, I expect a generous tip! Similarly, I shouldn’t be able to look into the only bathroom/shower and see people using the only toilet while I’m standing between a couple bushes trying to pee. Don’t brag that you have a toilet and I don’t. It’s not polite.
If I can’t close the window, I should at least be able to close the frosted glass door to the shower/toilet area. But I can’t.
And if I can’t do that? Then I would at least expect that I could close the accordion style shower curtain.
Wishful thinking.
Wanna hang a towel up somewhere in the bathroom? Ha! Dummy.
Wanna put your toiletries bag and clean clothes down somewhere dry? Keep dreaming.
And please explain to me how with all of these things that don’t work…. how you managed to have a bidet installed?
There’s no need. Put a friggin piece of plywood over it and give me a place to put stuff down for petes sake! I’m sure it probably doesn’t work anyways. At least now it would serve some function.
Tired of this rant yet? Too bad… there’s more!
Wanna find your way to your room? Neh. No lights on anywhere.
Oh, you somehow managed to fumble and stumble your way through the dark up the flight of stairs past the constantly beeping alarm? Congrats! Now you can stumble and fumble your way over to your door that has a padlock on it. Yeah. A door that locks from the inside (with no way to get in) AND locks from the outside with no way to get out. Where’s Fire Marshal Bill when you need him?
Don’t you worry kids! If in the event that you found yourself locked in/out of your room, you could always just climb over the top of the door through the gap created from putting a rectangular door in a triangular door frame. You know the one, it’s that same gap that lets tons of light in when someone actually does manage to find the light switch in the hallway.
At least you are in a room right? Yeah, that’s true. A roof over my head right? I shouldn’t complain. Well I’m not in this case. It’s small, but that’s okay with me. I don’t need a hectare to sleep in. The beds are fine even if they are a bit close to each other. Whatever. I told you, I don’t ask for much.
Except… curtains or a screen on the window. Something to keep the bugs out and the light out in the early morning. When you stay up late at night ranting about your crappy hostel, you’re gonna want to get some Z’z so you can be well rested to make a run for it in the morning!
BUAHAH! I thought I was finished with this post… nope. The loud music just started blaring. No sleep for me.
It’s a shame really, I don’t want this to ruin the experiece of the town for me. It seems really nice outside of these walls.
Authored by: Digital Knowmadd on January 24, 2009.
Filed under: Chile,South America,Travel | 1 Comment »
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