San Pedro de Atacama – 24 May

San Pedro is the highest place that I have been to (2400m ASL). On the lips of many travellers travelling to high altitudes, is altitude sickness. People’s bodies react differently to the altitude: Nausea, vomiting, light headedness, shortness of breath. I seemed to suffer from none of these (at least at San Pedro), but my body made up its own symptom…slow mindedness. I’ll explain.
When buying something, it would take me 20s to do a simple sum to calculate my change. I was Skyping April in Canada, with a 3 hour time difference, and we arranged to chat at 8pm local time. Great, 8 minus 3 = 7! Yes this was the pulp of my mind for about 2 days. Eish :)

As not to strain my brain I did a mellow first trip to the Salt Lakes (Lagoa Cejar). Our guide couldn’t speak English so communication was funny. An American couple, on their honeymoon, were informed about their increased “power” when they would arrive in Santiago due to the difference in altitude ;) (increased oxygen). Two things stood out for me:
Being able to lift your hands and feet out of the salty waters without sinking.
The photos taken afterwards which don’t have perspective (look below).

I randomly bumped into Gary and Sallie (Team Fantastico), they moved into the same hostel on my second day. We all went sand boarding, which was the most fun thing I did in San Pedro…my highlight! After talking to the girl selling the tours a bit, we got offered a schweet deal! Sand boarding in Death Valley with sundowners in Moon Valley. We all got “pro-boards” (which is basically a snowboard) and headed off with Pato as our guide.

We arrived as the first group to a smooth dune. Pato gave us some instruction at the top and we made our first cautions run down the dune. After two runs we developed the need…for speed. So we started waxing our boards. Needless to say that this caused some of us (read me) to have some glorious wipe-outs. Carolina, a Chilean girl I’d befriended (and the only Spanish speaking person to take the tour, ironically), was feeling confident and asked me to take some pictures. It is on this run that she had quite a spectacular fall that had everyone “feeling her pain”, and I snapped a pic as her board went over her head :) Priceless. Like a true champ, she got up and was wanting for more.

The Moon Valley was named because it resembles the surface of Mars…and something went wrong in translation, so it got called the Moon Valley (at least that is what I think the story was). Sundowners were enjoyed with a spectacular view.

Alex (Team Fantastico) had been to San Pedro a short while before, suggested the geyser tour. In case you are wondering, it is difficult to see anything without going on a tour. The whole town is filled with little agencies. Back to the tour…you have to be ready for pickup at about 5am, 2 hour ride to see the geysers at sunrise when they are the most active. It was interesting to see, especially the difference when the sun comes out. Almost no more steam! But it was either being tired or that I had done the sand boarding the day before, that I was not as impressed as expected. Maybe it was too build up. Still glad I went.

The last day I spent walking around in town and besides all the people on the street trying to sell you tours, San Pedro has a nice atmosphere. A small, but green, central square is a great place to just sit and chill.

Getting in was cold – Floating on the salt lake – Me after the swim

 
Rinsing off. Perfect timing – White men CAN jump! – Are they walking on water?

Sunset with Pisco sour

Fitting boards for sandboarding – Death Valley – Our group

Sunset in Moon Valley – Moon Valley – Carolina and I (Pato said we looked like a great honeymoon couple, hence the smiles)

 
Gary with his signature pose – Sunset profile of Carolina

 
This is one of the better early morning views. LOTS of steam – At the mouth of a geyser

Before sunrise (lots of activity) – 30min after the sun hits the ground. Everything dies

This bus remind you of “Into the Wild?” – Pato taking another tour – The cactus looked sad, so a hug was in order

 
San Pedro’s main square – One street away. Quite dusty

Mendoza

Some people think that my trip to Mendoza, Argentina is a bit of a weird “detour” to take. Well, I had two reasons for travelling there: I’d heard a lot about the Argentinean wines (so needed to sample for myself) and I wanted to visit Tago (to whom I was introduced by a mutual friend, Nick). So I made my 3 day detour to Mendoza before setting off to San Pedro de Atacama.

Having not met Tago in person before, I realised that I would possibly not be able to recognise him when he came to pick me up at the bus station…oops :) At least we spotted each other without hassle. I immediately felt at home with his friendliness that was somehow familiar.

Since I wanted to taste wine, Tago took me to the wine area just outside Mendoza and dropped me off at a bicycle rental, a popular way of seeing the farms that friends had told me about. Armed with a bike & map, I set off to taste away. The place is quite dry, so not was I am used to a wine region looking like, but looks don’t determine taste! So I set off with an open mind.

Remembering all the wine farms is difficult as there was wine involved, but photos help :) Trapiche is one of the largest wine producers in the area and their cellar shows this. At the time it was build it was revolutionary. I can’t remember all the reasons, but the one that stuck with me was that the owner build is own piece of railway to allow the cargo train to stop next to the cellar (this was the time when rail was the mainly used). This seems so simple, but imagine having to carry barrels of wine to the train!
Something else that also struck with me was their storage of wine. Before going into the barrels for maturing, the juice (turning to wine) was left in square, concrete tanks! Now they have an epoxy coating so that the cement taste doesn’t go into the wine. Still strange, and not the only cellar where I have seen this.

The wine was good, but either my pallet has been trained to like South African wines or S.A. wines are just that good :) I still prefer our local stuff back home!
I did taste some interesting olives and pates at the first place I went to.
I only managed to make it to about 4 wine farms, partly because I stopped for lunch with some other guys which killed about 1.5 hours of our time. Eish.

When I returned my bike, I was handed a glass of wine that some claimed “were better than all the wines tasted at the cellars.” We’d heard about the home made wine earlier the day…and this was definitely it! Ethanol mixed with grape juice….WTF!!!! Just for the record, vinegar tastes better.

Getting back to Tago’s house was a bit of a battle. I had a map of Mendoza, but only covered the central part. And to make it worse, there was another street with the same name as Tago’s, but not the street of his home! Fortunately he’d also pointed his office on the map. Once I (finally) got my bearing while on the moving bus, I was ok. Never have a felt that lost!

At the one side of Mendoza is a huge park that is irrigated and has dams, so really green and beautiful! So I spent the morning of my second day exploring town and then heading for the park. I guess you could call it a mini-Central Park. As it was Saturday there were people strolling, jogging, cycling, rollerblading and even rowing. Yes they have a rowing club in the middle of this dry place. What a relaxed day. The highlight of which was to come. I walked up the main hill on which the monument celebrating independence is build. There I randomly met two guys that were riding 1950’s Argentinean build motorcycles! I was allowed to have my picture taken on the bike. Nice!

That night I went with Tago and his girlfriend to a friend’s birthday supper. In between the red meat and Pisco & Coke, I had some time to practice my Spanish (most of the people didn’t speak English). Everyone, including Tago I think, was impressed that I was able to (sort of) have a conversation in Spanish. Yes I needed help every now and again :) Much nicer experience with the locals than in Buenos Aires.

My last day was quite relaxed. Got up late and went to one of Tago’s best friend’s birthday lunch in the outskirts of Mendoza. Nice people! I was surprise when we sat down for lunch that the men sat at one table and the women at another (in the kitchen). I was assured that this was not some kind of Argentinean sexism, rather that they didn’t have a table big enough for everyone and this was the only way to fit everyone in as they would've liked to :)

Being lazy after lunch, we look a drive to Tago’s “summer home”. He has a piece of land in between the vineyard (a different wine region to where I’d tasted wine), where he has a house that his grandfather build. With a large lawn and a pool, this must be an awesome summer party place!
Since I was leaving that evening, we went for a drive into the mountain. There is an old bridge where people regularly go to spend the day during the (much warmer) summer afternoons.

On the way home, we stopped at the “outdoor mall” for a coffee and food. This apparently a concept that has come from the USA, which from outside felt more like a small village than a mall (I guess the idea).

I had a great time in Mendoza thanks to Tago. I would’ve liked to spend more time there, but time has caught up with me on this stretch of my trip. Peru was calling.

Entrance to Trapiche (x2) – The large tanks in Trapiche – Wine tasting at Trapiche

 
The wine museum – Fiat outside the museum – Random (cool looking) DKV in town

The roadwork…in the middle of town – Collection of their best wine (not Trapiche)

 

 
Independence day was close to celebration (yes the water has been coloured blue) – Monument at one of the 5 squares in Mendoza – Another Fiat, but in “almost new” condition.

 
Middle of the park – Rowing on the artificial dam in the park - The road behind the park, leading up to the hill with monument

Monument of independence – Ruan al a Che

 
Birthday lunch – Me & Tago – The old railway bride

A great motto to live by!

Santiago, Valparaiso & Vina

I’m not a fan of big cities, I’ve realised. My main reason for going to Santiago was for my Canadian visa.
While still in Chiloe, I’d chatted to Andreo on FB. We’d met at the hostel in B.A. He mentioned that he might join me when I headed north (in B.A.) so we caught up. Ironically he was in Santiago and once he heard that I was in going there, offered me a place to crash. Awesome!

Andreo worked about an hour from his place, so I had the day to explore Santiago. One of the first things that people associate with Santiago is the smog. It is so bad, you can’t see that there are mountains surrounding the city or even see where most of the streets end. At least there was some nice places to visit. There is a hill in town where there is a library and an old Spanish fortification. The water fountain is beautiful and you get to climb to the top of the fortification, giving you as good a view as you could hope for with all the smog. Afterwards, off to the Plaza de Armas to see the sights.

There is the usual at the plaza. Church, Museum and lots of people hanging out there. The museum was closed :( but the church was beautiful. The sculpture of an angel holding down a demon with his foot and about to spear it, got me thinking. I have had a fairytale picture in my head about the roles of good and evil, which I have tried to correct. Being good is not always being nice, accommodating and gentle. Sometimes there are things that need to be done, like killing a demon with a spear. Not talking sense into the demon. Sometimes it just doesn’t want to listen.

As I have mentioned before, it is nice to see that people are using the plaza’s in the South American cities. No different here. On a little stage, like the type where musicians would perform a summer concert, many people were squaring off at chess. Tables, chairs and even timers. This was serious stuff. About 20 people cluttered around one table, I’m guess these guys had an epic tussle going.

Sightseeing done, I headed for Andreo’s place. Well actually his girlfriend’s, Amparo, flat. It was great to catch up, but as usual I try to tell my whole journey. Much is lost in telling the story of my experiences. We had a great time none the less. Since I had completed my visa stuff, I had no real desire to stay in Santiago, but rather go to Valpariso and Vina del Mar. Amparo’s parents live in Vina and offered to have me stay at her folks house. Great!

Fountain in the middle of town – View from an a hill in town. See the smog? – The ruin on the hill

   
Stained glass window in the cathedral – Cathedral from the outside

Huge flag – Replicas of the Easter Island statues

So the next day I set off for Valpo & Vina. Andreo and Amparo were kind enough to allow me to leave most of my stuff at the flat, so travelling was a lot easier. Valpo & Vina are close to each other, so I went to Valpo first. Amparo recommended that I go to see the house of Pablo Neruda in Valpo. He was a Chilean poet and was a bit eccentric, as most poets seem to be, which showed in the decor of the house.

Valpo is a bit of a Bohemian town, I’ve been told, but I guess expectations are meant to be shattered…I was not super impressed. It has quite a dark feeling to me. Maybe I’d like it more with time. One cool thing of the town are the vernaculars that are scattered around the place. Some have become quite expensive as they have been turned into tourist attractions, but as usual I was able to find one that was still used by locals :)

The rest of the day I walked around Valpo and was chosen as the new best friend of a street dog. I scolded him at the harbour, which he thought meant that I was his new owner and followed me for about an hour. After listening to some Cuban music on the main plaza, I ditched him before leaving for Vina. Amparo’s mom and sister were home, and I had a warm reception. I also had to practice my Spanish because they didn’t speak much English.

I had a look around Vina the next day before having to return to Santiago. Vina has a colder feel than Valpo as it is where most of the business are based, but still not impressive. At least the walk did me well.

Pablo Neruda's house – Pavement decorations in Valpo – Random street (Valpo) – Jip, even these people park badly :)

 
View from the Vernacular – Chilean Navy headquarters – Canadian flag in Chile???

The Cuban band…who’s CD I bought had no music on it, just random photos $&*#

Flower clock in Vina – Seaside road – “Castle” on the rocks

Bridge over the river in Vina – Same “river” a bit further from the sea – Bible verses written on the rocks

 
Sand art: Homer passed out :) – Some more – Not sure what this statue is for, but it looked cool

Back in Santiago, I picked up my visa. I must’ve misunderstood the time it takes to process as I picked it up a day earlier than I expected. I didn’t mind :) I started making plans to go to Mendoza for 3 days to visit Tago (who I met through a mutual friend, Nick).

Andreo and Amparo were once again great hosts (thanks guys) and I was able to have a bit of a late sleep in before taking the bus to Mendoza. But honestly, I was happy to get out of the big city.