In the aridness of San Pedro de Atacama

27. Apr 201528. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

It took me 23 hours to get from Pisco Elqui to San Pedro de Atacama in the north of Chile. That is because I had to change buses twice and because of the delay caused by the road conditions around Copiapó and Antofagasta. A terrible flood had hit this arid region shortly before, as a result of unseasonal heavy rains. Rivers swelled and poured water and thick mud all over the area. To make it worse, the mud that now covers the towns, is contaminated as the water ran through this regions many mines before reaching the cities.

I was lucky that the roads were open again and when I peaked out of the window of my bus at 2 am I saw a ghost city covered in mud where bulldozers were busy cleaning up the streets.

Thankfully, the region’s main tourism spot, the area around San Pedro de Atacama, had not been hit by the floods and the blackout caused by these had been fixed when I got there. San Pedro de Atacama is a pleasant little tourist town and the gateway to the Atacama desert and tours into Bolivia and its famous Salar de Uyuni.

The Atacama desert is said to be the driest place in the world. You can feel the aridness of this desert region with every pore of your body. Everything instantly becomes dry, your sinuses, your hair, your skin.

Hoewever, the area is stunning:

Guatin, aka the Valley of the cactus, is a beautiful valley that boasts the regions biggest cactuses – because they may not be removed here. Many of them are around 100 years old.

Surprisingly, the inside of a cactus contains very solid and thus valuable wood. This one is worth around 800 USD!

The cactus fruit was a little harder to find as it was not the right season, but we finally got to try some. You’ve got to sqeeze it and you can eat the gluey green mass that is inside. It looks gross, but it’s said to be very healthy and tastes a bit like a sour kiwi.

From the upper entrance to the valley, just like from San Pedro and around, you can see the majestic snowcapped volcanoes on the border to Bolivia.

The Valle de la Luna and Valle de la Muerte are two of the most fascinating landscapes around SPdA…:

With my roommate and soon to be travelmate Laura. I am glad you convinced me to leave a day earlier to the “Tour de Uyuni” :-)! Can’t imagine it without you!

Thanks to the recent rain there were more salt deposits at the surface and the landscape was whiter than usual.

This most striking Volcano is called Licancabur. Doesn’t it look just like Mt. Ngauruhoe, aka Mt. Doom?

Southamerican “hideaways”

27. Apr 201527. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I know I’m incredibly lucky with the time and region that I grew up in. I did not have to worry about anything when I was a kid and in fact there is not too much to worry about ever since I’ve grown up. One thing I’m really grateful for, for example, is my own space. I always had my own room in my parents house where I could hide away. As a twen I shared a flat at Uni and I still had my own room and after that I’ve always had my own apartment. While travelling through (parts of) South America I saw tons of teens and twens that were making out in the parks, at the beach or on any bench they could find – because they don’t have their own space at home (or aren’t allowed to make out there). Twens still live at home with the family and will most likely only move out once they get married (or a well paid job and open minded parents). While I’m glad it’s socially accepted to openly make out in parks I couldn’t help to think about where they’d go if it’s too cold outside our if they want to become more serious. As it turns out, there are certain “love motels” in Argentina and Chile, for example, where rooms are rented by the hour and where teens and twens – amongst others – meet when they still don’t have their own apartments. Interesting concept, but pretty expensive, I guess?! I haven’t really come across one yet, but apparently they are all over…

Pisco Elqui – relax, relax, relax

26. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Heading further north I opted for a stopover in the Elqui Valley.I had a very relaxing three days at “El Tesoro de Elqui” (http://www.tesoro-elqui.cl/eng) in Pisco Elqui – thanks to my brother, who knew about this heavenly place because he’d partied with the two german proprietresses ages ago in Braunschweig, Germany.

It was about time for a vacation, i.e. a break from travelling. Which is why I mostly dozed on a sunbed at the pool, ate, drank and slept.

My only exercise was a 4 km bike ride to the oldest Pisco distillery in Chile: “Los Nichos”. After all, I had to finally figure out how Pisco is made! Unfortunately I was too late for the last tour, but fortunately three girls from Viña del Mar turned up at the same time and they were just as diappointed as I was. After a free Pisco tasting the guy behind the counter showed compassion with us and simply gave us a free private tour (in spanish, that is, …)!

And here is why it is called Los Nichos: in the cellar the owner enjoyed drinking in the company of his friends. This cellar has several niches where the pisco bottles were stored to age and each friend was allocated a niche as a tomb, a place for his ghost to rest after death. One niche, however, remains empty. If I understood it correctly the man was simply too big for his niche…

Chilean Food and Drinks

25. Apr 201525. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I really enjoyed travelling through Chile – also because of the Chilean food and drinks.

Here are some of my favourite dishes:

1) Ceviche (raw fish, occasianally mixed with other seafood): definitely one of my favourites, although some people (including Chileans) say that Peruvian Ceviche is better – I have yet to try and compare that.

2) Ice Cream: it really surprised me to find such amazing ice cream in Chile. My favourite stores are Mikafé in Hanga Roa, Easter Island, and Emporio la Rosa in Santiago. Favourite flavours: chocolate with toffee, dulce de leche, frambuesa menta, lúcuma and mango. Oh and not to forget that fantastic avocado (yes, avocado) ice cream at Vinilo in Valparaiso.

3) Empanadas: particularly those filled with fresh tuna and seafood (Easter Island).

4) Lomo a lo pobre: loin cut of beef on a mountain of french fries and fried onions topped with a fried egg.

5) Alfajores: two round cookies with a sweet filling, usually dulce de leche, covered in glaced sugar, chocolate or coco.

6) Completo Italiano: a hot dog with tomatoes, mashed avocado and mayonnaise.

7) Lomito Completo: Sandwich/ Burger with sliced cooked sirloin steak, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, tomato and loads of sauerkraut. Try this at Fuente Alemana in Santiago!

8) Machas con Parmesano:

Favourite Drinks:

1) Jugos Naturales: freshly made fruit juices, e.g. pineapple!

2) Beer and Wine (try the Carmenere as you will hardly find it anywhere else in the world)!

3) Pisco Sour: Pisco is a clear brandy that is destilled from white muscat grapes. A Pisco Sour is a Cocktail with Pisco, sugar, lime, one eggwhite and crushed ice.

4) Terremoto (earthquake): young white wine, Pisco, sugar, pineapple ice cream…

Valpara(d)iso

22. Apr 201525. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

After two days in Santiago I had enough of the big city life and made my way to Valparaiso, which is only a two hour busride away at the coast. I instantly fell in love with this city because of

its colorful houses
,

the harbour,

the incredible graffiti paintings,

the magnificent views

and its relaxed vibe.

While it’s easy to explore the town on foot I again recommend to do the free walking tour (tour for tips), simply because you get loads of information about the city, its inhabitants, the graffiti and places to eat and drink – all from a “Porteño” (a person from Valparaiso). While some parts of the city are considered unsafe, it is very safe to walk around Cerro Allegre and Cerro Conception, where almost all hostels are located.

For a delicious meal with a great view go to “Fauna”, their roof terrace is amazing and there are lots of locals, too. Another great spot for dinner is “Vinilo”. For coffee and cake in a cute little garden go to “Café Flora”. (All on Cerro Conception)

Santiago: Big City Life

19. Apr 201521. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Santiago hit me big time as I hadn’t been in a large city ever since Buenos Aires, which was over a month ago. It is amazing to see the snowcapped Andes from the city. For some reason I hadn’t expected Santiago to be this close to the mountains. It made me realize how narrow this country is. Because Santiago is surrounded by mountains and hills, the city is almost always covered by a cloud of smog. That, the amount traffic and the many people was just too much to handle and thus I escaped the city on my first day for a bike and wine tour at Cousiño Macul on the outskirts of the city. Highly recommended! It does not involve a lot of cycling, just a short ride to the vineyards. But it includes a wine tasting and an interesting tour around this old winery.

Plus, you have to get there, which is part of the fun if you take the metro – it is a great place to people watch. I don’t think I have ever seen this many women breastfeeding their babies on public transport!!! It made me realize how conservative we are in Europe. Here it just seems very normal. One three or four year old kid, however, sat on his mothers lap and simply got out the breast himself… I would imagine that being rather unusual, but who knows?!

Pablo Neruda’s house was a highlight in Santiago, as was the view from San Christóbal, the city’s biggest hill.

On day two I took the free walking tour (tour for tips), which had been recommended to me by numerous people and I, too, highly recommend it! I especially enjoyed the markets, a Santiago institution, where you can also go for a great meal.

The large cemeterio was nothing like any other cemetery I’ve seen before. It is so big that a sceen at the entrance lists the funerals and their location. Apart from the usual graves there are large buildings, e.g. one designed like an italian shopping mall, including an elevator, some enormous mausoleums and the presidents buried here all have very special graves, too.

This was the point when I finally learned a lot more details about chilean history, i.e. the presidency of Salvador Allende in the early seventies, the 15 year long dictatorship under Pinochet and the turn to democracy in 1989. Chile’s constitution established that at the 1988 plebiscite the voters could accept or reject Pinochet and to Pinochet’s surprise he was rejected by 54,4% – which also shows that the country was basically split into half! Most importantly our sympathetic chilean guide explained to us that the Pinochet era, after 25 years, still divides the country. That is because some people benefited while lots of others suffered, disappeared or were killed. This topic might even split families into half, resulting it to be a tabu at family reunions!

Pucon – waiting for Volcano Villarica to erupt (again)

18. Apr 201518. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Volcano Villarica erupted a couple of weeks ago when I was still on Easter Island and we saw the spectacle on the news, but were also worried about the evacuation of Pucon and all other villages surrounding the spitting beast. It was over in a day and ever since Villarica has been puffing away in the usual manner. The Pucon alert system was put on yellow when I arrived and while numerous TV teams were nervously roaming around, eagerly waiting for the Volcano to erupt, the locals stayed calm and relaxed!

It did not erupt while I was there (and to my knowledge hasn’t ever since) … That said, because of the high alert it was impossible to climb Villarica and also the neighbouring Volcano Lanin, which, too, might erupt sooner or later. The option of climbing the in-between extinct Volcano Quetrupillán wasn’t very appealing. Instead I took the early morning bus to National Park Huerquehue (I’m still unable to pronounce that!) and climbed 1200m up to San Sebastian (6h return). Once again, it was worth the pain, for the extraordinary nature, bird life and especially for the 360° view from the top (including a view of the Volcanoes):

Kuchen and other signs of German Immigrants in (southern) Chile

18. Apr 201519. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

The lake region in southern Chile is full of signs of German immigrants, which can be a bit scary (at least for a german), as it seems out of place. It just seems weird that there are such strong influences that are still visible. Unlike in Namibia, I rarely heard anyone speak german, though, which came as a relief (that would have been even more awkward). However, a surprising number of Chileans speak quite a bit of german – even if their ancestors were not german speaking – and there seems to be a positive attitude towards germany and the germans in general (something you wouldn’t necessarily encounter in many countries in the world, be it for historical or cultural reasons).

There is one german word that even made it into chilean spanish: “Kuchen” (cake). Chileans LOVE Kuchen and they eat it at any time of the day, even for breakfast (something I have only experienced in parts of southern germany – it is definitely not that common in my home country).

However, if you ask german travellers what they miss most while travelling you will never get Kuchen as an answer. It is always, yes, always, BREAD! Unfortunately the early immigrants either didn’t know how to bake good bread (unlikely, as they knew how to make good Kuchen) or no-one wanted to eat it and it vanished eventually (unthinkable!) or the bread that we are used to nowadays was only introduced in Germany after the emigration wave. If anyone knows, your input is much appreciated! (I only found one bakery, in Pucon, that had amazing german bread and I bought a loaf and inhaled it’s wonderful smell before indulging in the taste – the bakery is called “Rostock”, most certainly after the german city with that same name, and it’s on O’Higgins).

Here is something esle that I much appreciated: beer brewed after the german Reinheitsgebot, meaning it only contains hops, malt, yeast and water. One brewery even uses a german subslogan: “Das gute Bier” (the good beer).

In the region around Puerto Varas and especially in the german colonial town Frutillar all Klischees were confirmed: houses, names, Kuchen, sausage dogs – and fjnally I even found some “Gartenzwerge” (garden gnomes)!

Purto Varas with view of Osorno Volcano and Llanquihue Lake

Pingüinos!

11. Apr 201511. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ 3 Comments

I went to Punta Arenas for two reasons: to catch a flight to Puerto Montt and thus skip a 36 hour busride – and to see the Pengüinos (spanish for Penguins) on Magdalena Island! They were about to change their fur and leave the Island (in fact some already had but there were still hundreds left). Aren’t they the cutest animals!?! See for yourself:

And so are the sea lions on neighbouring Martha Island, even though they hunt the cute little Penguins…

Ice, Ice, Baby!

10. Apr 201510. Apr 2015 ~ Nina ~ 1 Comment

I forgot to mention that before heading off to Chile and the Torres del Paine Nationalpark I had an overwhelming encounter with ice. No, not ice cream (I’ll get back to that in another post), but ice in its purest form: glacier ice!

The Perito Moreno Glacier is the no. 1 tourist attraction in Argentinian Patagonia although it is tiny compared to all the other glaciers in Patagonia! But it’s the only glacier that you can easily get this close to. And seriously, tiny is not a word you’d use to describe it. From the so called balconies on the mountainside opposite the glacier it looks huge! I could have spend more than just 2,5h looking at its beautiful blue colours, the blue being lighter or stronger depending on the thickness of the ice, and listening to the creaking sound of the ice moving or the thundering roar when parts broke off.

Of course I didn’t leave it at that. I had to walk onto the glacier! A popular way to explore the glacier up close is by way of a mini ice trekking.

You’ll be equipped with crampons and two knowledgeable guides then take a group of twenty people for a different glacier experience, one that takes you over little crevasses, some of which are filled with water, and up and down the characteristic glacier towers. It was more strenuous than I had imagined, for the steel crampons are heavy and walking up and, especially, down is harder than expected (bloody knees!). But I highly recommend it! At the end you’ll even be rewarded with a glas of Whisky, on the rocks of course (taken directly from the glacier).

There is also a big ice trekking that takes you further up onto the glacier for several hours. Depending on the crampons they use for this trek it might be worth doing, but if you have troubles with your knees it might not be advisable…

A little hostel side story from El Calafate: in Argentina and Chile hostels mostly have mixed dorms, but in that particular hostel we’ve been four girls in my room on the first night. One moved out and the next eve the rest of us disbelievingly looked at the new suitcase in our room that had the size of a wardrobe!! As it turned out it belonged to a 22 year old Brasilien guy… when asked why in the world he was travelling with such a huge suitcase (on a 5 day vacation!) he replied “cause not all my shoes fit into the smaller one”!!! We almost cried laughing!