DATE: May 9, 2006
New Photos:
Atacama
Chile (Temuco to La Serena)
My last week in Chile was up in the Atacama Desert, followed by an interesting trip back to the capital, Santiago, as well as a night in Valparaiso on the coast.
I just realized my journal smells like campfire. Hm.
In the desert, I camped again. One morning, at the crack of dawn, I went on a 50km mountain bike ride through the "Valley of the Moon" to see the sunrise, completely alone. It was fantastic. So quiet! Somehow I also ended up going up a giant hill that I hadn't expected, and by that point it was well into the sizzling day (I'd originally planned on a 30km bike ride but managed to make it 50 accidentally). Pretty exhausting, but worth it! Afterward, ate a massive lunch in a pizzeria with a crusty old French cook and a friendly Uruguayan waiter. Oddly enough, in the afternoon I randomly decided that sandboarding sounded like a GREAT idea (this is the Uruguayan's fault), and hopped back on another bike to ride out to some sand hills. Oh, it was a blast. :) Would have been easier with a chairlift...
Met a couple of Argentines that are chefs at the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires. They kindly cooked up a feast for me that night, of which I puked the entirety around 2am, and 5am, and 7am... you get the picture. I also managed to puke through our salt flat tour the next day. I'm sure the other tourists loved it. And the NEXT day, same tour group, had diarrhea. In the desert. Read: no vegetation behind which to hide. It was interesting finding sudden moments of privacy among rocks and boiling geysers, but luckily nothing terrible happened, and though I was so sick I could hardly stand, I got some pictures that will remind me forever of the amazing scenery! I didn't really eat for a few days after that. I'm still not sure what caused it, but am wondering if perhaps all that excercise in the super-dry desert might have shocked my system enough to set it off?
Be it the sickness or the incredible touristy-ness of San Pedro de Atacama, I wasn't as impressed with the place as I'd expected. I think it would have been more enjoyable with my own transportation. My favorite excursion was the bicycle ride, which was also the cheapest... Anyway, I think either a bicycle or a motorcycle/car would be the best way to explore the area. The tourist herds were a little too much.
Next I had to head back to Santiago. This involved several loooong bus rides,as well as a day in a semi with a guy that's been driving trucks for 25 years, 6 days a week. Showed me pics of his kids and we had an interesting conversation (He's never left Chile!) - I appreciated the ride and he appreciated the company. I tried to pass myself off as an Argentine for the first hour, and succeeded (though he admitted something seemed a bit strange). It was a good challenge, but I couldn't keep it up, for my own sanity, and had to confess that I was actually American but wanted to see if I could pull it off. He was amused.
I briefly headed to the coast to check out the historical city of Valparaiso, older than San Francisco but very similar in many ways. The first night, fresh off the bus, I screamed at a guy trying to rip my purse off my neck. It made a mark. Unfortunately for him, if he'd succeeded, there was only a chess board and a deck of cards in the purse. I almost wish he'd gotten away with it, so I could imagine his face as he opened it up. Idiot. Oh, and he was wearing a bright orange hoodie. Who does that? I wanted to pull the young buck aside and give him a few tips, not to mention a good punch in the face... but before I knew it he was sprinting away, no doubt disappointed. The whole street was watching... looks like I've got some good lungs. ;)
Anyway, Valparaiso proved to be an interesting city. Many people don't like it, preferring the cleaner beach-resort towns nearby. It was exactly the kind of place in which I enjoy walking around, though. Every turn brought a new surprise. It has twisted hills with colorful old buildings where I lost myself, was told I looked like a Chilean college student so needn't worry about pickpockets (uh huh), and had a fantastic lunch in a very elegant restaurant where the waiters were obviously surprised at a "table for one, please." The lunch was so tasty I took a picture. ;)
Finally, it was on a plane back to Seattle. And here I am. It's been great! But tomorrow I head back to South America for a few more months before going to work in the UK. Life keeps changing and that's the only thing that remains constant.
Today, it's been a year since I started this adventure. Hard to believe how fast time flies.