So while i am now back in the states i figured i have some time to update you on what went down the last few weeks in chile. It was AMAZING. I still cant believe its over but lets not focus on that right now.
So as I told you, I finished school November 30thand commenced a whirlwind of amazing travels. The first stop was a 5 day adventure to Parque Nacional Laguna Laja. It was an absolutely incredible trip. I left with Leslie, Caroline, and Cordelia on a trek down south. We took a train (!) to Chillán and then from there a variety of buses. The first night we stayed in Salto Laja, near a HUGE Niagara Falls-esque waterfall. Caroline and Cordelia decided to buy food in one town for the trip (we camped) but leslie and I were going to wait til the next town so we wouldn’t have to deal with it. However, we all fell asleep and missed the town center. So leslie and I lived off of the handouts from Caroline and Cordelia, some energy bars and a bit of pasta we had brought along. We survived, though we were usually hungry, we dealt with it. Considering how much I usually eat, it was probably a good thing we didn’t eat a whole lot for a long time. The next day our task was to get to Parque Nacional Laguna Laja. With a car, im sure it wouldnt have been difficult. however, we were reliant on public transportation and well, sometimes it gets a little rough. We took a bus from Salto Laja to Los Angeles where C and C bought food but Leslie and i didnt. We fell asleep on the way to Antuco which is where as i already said, we were going to buy our food. we awoke and the bus driver asked where we were going. our options, as we had passed our stop, were to get off immediately and walk back, or continue on with the bus and try to find a way to get to the park from the end of the line. a friendly policeman took us under his wing and we all got out at the beginning of a dirt road to the park. he told he could take us to the center of the park, about 8 miles away, for 20 dollars. we didnt feel like paying and it was a beautiful day so we started to walk, with our big backpacks and the sun. we only walked maybe a half hour before a truck passed us and we decided to flag it down. the friendly couple allowed us to sit in the truck bed and drove us to the famous Laguna Laja and then back down into more of the park to find a place where we could camp.
We found a secluded area to set up camp under some pines with some fantastic views of the Volcano Antuco and other parts of the mountain range. We washed our faces in the river, filtered the water with a filter leslie brought along and cooked on a little gas stove we brought too. The next 5 days were spent hiking around, finding hidden waterfalls, walking along el Río Laja, watching the volcano, seeing a glacier, and completely enjoying nature and each other. We ate lunch in some really gorgeous areas. Caroline and Cordelia left leslie and I part way through to head back and spend more time in Valpo-Viña. So leslie and I went on a really sweet hike where we climbed up to a plateau area over the valley, I felt like we were in a desert except that there were 5 huge waterfalls along the hill in front of us, a river, and patches of snow. This park was GORGEOUS. While on this hike I felt a feeling that I hope to find again. The feeling that everything was completely right in my world, the feeling of complete and utter contentment, that there was nowhere else in the entire world that I wanted to be, except right there, hiking with a volcano and glacier covered mountain in front of me, speaking in Spanish with one of my best friends. We spoke in Spanish the entire time and just really had a good time, laughing and exploring and just simply being. The trip was so adventurous and relaxing, we saw a lot and though we had to get up really early the last day in order to walk the 7 or 8 or so miles to where the bus would stop, it was worth it. Public transportation was not really a high point in getting to the park or leaving but this added to the adventure of it all. I arrived home around 11pm, after nearly going crazy on a 6 hour bus ride alone (leslie continued south while I headed back north to viña), not showering for 5 straight days (it was pretty warm and dusty there), as well as camping for all 4 of those nights, I was a beautiful dirty mess. And it was amazing. We had been planning this trip to this park since just about one of the first weeks we had met each other so to finally make it all the way there and have a fantastic time was rewarding and awesome.
The next day, my dad arrived! (yes, these last few weeks in chile were pretty incredible) we spent a little over a day exploring Viña and Valpo, showing him my favorite places, meeting up with some of my Chilean friends for a Chilean style once (the evening meal) of tea, pie, and some little sandwich appetizers. He got a lot of practice with his Spanish and it was a really fun time to hang out with all of them. We also went out to dinner with some other Chilean friends and got the treat of eating the rare "loco", a creature that is similar to the abalone and lives in a huge shell. The Japanese steal many of the loco that live along the shores of Chile and for that reason it is hard to find. However, we found it and ate it with some leaves of lettuce…very delicious. We also ate more congor eel…yum.
After enjoying the warm summer sun and summertime in Viña and Valpo, we hopped on a plane to the end of the earth to Punta Arenas. A cold, cloudy, windy city, we explored and took a ferry 2 hours across the Magellan Strait, saw the shores of Tierra del Fuego and finally arrived to La Isla de Magdalena, the home of literally thousands of Magellanic penguins. Awesome! They were all over the island, waddling, burrowing, squawking, and we were able to disembark and walk right along the birds, so neat! For dinner we feasted on King Crab…oh how I love the pacific ocean and its delicious seafood! After Punta Arenas we took a bus 3 hours north-ish to Puerto Natales, another interesting city with a beautiful lake, more wind, and some mountain views. Then another mini-bus about an hour and a half to the impressive Torres del Paine National Park where we spent the next 5 days and 4 nights hiking and exploring this beautiful natural wonder. This time we didn’t rough it as much as I just recently had, we stayed in refugios with hot showers and bunk bed rooms with 4 or so other people. Though extremely windy as well (I guess the end of the earth is just windy) we had a good number of days with sun where I was able to hike comfortably in just a t-shirt and jeans. One day was rainy the entire day and pretty gross but we managed. We hiked along some beautiful colorful turquoise lakes to Los Cuernos (the Horns) and in between days hiked in between refugios around the park. The hikes were at times quite difficult, especially with our backpacks and the wind factor. But we made it. I also went on a solo hike where I climbed straight up and over large boulders to the base of Las Torres (the Towers), sheer straight mountains. This hike was really hard and I had been planning on it all semester, practicing difficult hikes and getting into shape. It felt amazing to finally reach the top and conquer the climb. At one refugio we met a really interesting and friendly Spanish couple with whom I enjoyed speaking. Different accent as well as different words to say things which made me realize that while I have learned a lot of Spanish here and can manage the language fluently, I have a Chilean accent and know lots of Chilean words that wont work in a lot of situations. Looks like I will have some more learning to do upon returning home! We took buses around the rest of the park and saw lots of neat lakes, some really cool birds including the majestic Andean Condor which soared on the thermal winds and was awesomely calm about life. Good views of the entire mountain range, some white glaciers, and lots of German tourists. The park was so unique with such huge, sharp mountains. It was really fun and special to explore it with my dad along my side, hiking along and discovering stuff together. We met a lot of interesting travelers, mostly from Europe and enjoyed the fact that we were so far south, so far removed from the world to the north.
After trekking back to the Santiago airport, I said goodbye to my dad for 3 days and headed back to Viña. Lots of goodbyes and "lasts". The last time to touch the pacific from the Chilean shores, the last time to walk down my street, to eat a cone of delicious ice cream, etc. It was a very full, very fun 3 days in which I slept very little but it was so worth it. Leslie cooked for her Chilean family and I got to eat with them as well, enjoying a relaxing evening of good conversation about our experiences, cultural stereotypes, challenging my Spanish and enjoying good friends. Leslie and I even survived our strongest earthquake yet! It was a level 5 in viña and occurred while we were in the supermarket. All the stuff started falling off the shelves, some woman started running around and screaming and everything was shaking and falling everywhere. It was intense but awesome because now I can say I have survived a real earthquake that was more than just a tiny tremor in viña. Sweeeeet deal. We decided the earthquake and subsequent 24 hours following were the Earth’s way of expressing its sadness over our leaving the country. I would have done the same thing, if I were the Earth. I enjoyed my last days of summer sun, skirts, and temperatures hovering around 75, 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Marc Leslie and I all had flights the same evening back to the States so we caught a bus together and all hung out in the airport until my flight started calling last boarding call and I had to leave. The following blog details a few of my thoughts while on the plane flying home.
Love,
Katie :)
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