A "Taste" of Argentina...

Did you know that Santiago is only two hours from the Argentinian border? So with two days off, I figured why not head over to the other side and see what all the hype is about.

I'm going on a journey of a lifetime!

Everybody,

I am about to walkout the door to the Santiago Airport on my way to Peru! I would have never thought I would be making this trip but I feel very fortunate and honored to make my way to the "Lost city of the Incans" in Machu Picchu. I will hike the trail for the next few days and return to tell you all about it next week. Wish me luck and i'll talk to you all soon...

Pucon, Patron...what's the difference...

This weekend's adventure took me to the southern city of Pucon, Chile located what is the called the Lake District due to the vast number of lakes in surrounding the massive Andes mountains and volcanos.

The cold weather was a nice change from the heat of Santiago. The city reminds me of a small Ski town in the U.S. (from what I have heard from David!) With a huge German population, Pucon could be seen as a small Bavarian village. Speaking of Germans, did you know that the locals believe most of the ex-nazis moved to this area to escape imprisonment or worse from the allied forces! I was on the look out for funny looking mustaches and tilted sanskrit peace symbols (swastikas).

In the picture above you will notice me sporting my new hand made skully. A local women designs these types of products and sell them at a fair price of roughly 4 USD. I went back to buy gloves that night.

As we were arrivng we got word that one of the Volcanos in the area had just erupted. Perfect time to climb the mountain I assume.


This area is famous for its winter skiing and various outdoor activities. Luckly I was in the mood to get a wet in the frigid waters of the Tracuga river (see below). This was my first rafting experience and I think I did a pretty dam good job making my way through! Below is my version of cliff diving. (yes that is me...and I am actually in the air...)


After a long day of hiking, nothing like posting up outside the local super mercado and sipping on a Escudo 40oz beer...



Is it NFL playoff time, and are you somewhere in South America, say Pucon, Chile? No worries, my buddy Rodrigo the waiter had satellite TV which allowed me to see the Jags get spanked by the Pats!
Like the rest of Chile, the main street in Pucon is named after Mr. O'Higgins. He is perhaps the most famous foreigner in the country. He is given this honor because of his role as a rebellion leader for Chilean freedom from the Spaniards. I guess we would equate this with MLK. This makes me think of Chris Rock's explaination of MLK BLVD.

Across from my hostel was the brand new "ENJOY" casino which made every night exciting. I felt like was in Vegas except for the lack of free drinks and the fact that I was dropping down 20,000 on each hand. (chilean pesos, = 40 USD).

I don't know much about what climate supports the abundance of Raspberries, but Pucon seems to be a hot spot. Everywhere I ate, I found fresh raspberry juice at a very cheap price. After putting on my business cap, I made friends with some local entrepreneurs to see if we could get some import/export going to the U.S. Think of the possibilities....

One of the many beautiful lakes in Pucon. This is lake Villarica which surrounds the cities biggest Volcano, Villarica. (ironically the same name)

This is my photo skills at work trying to capture the unusual black sand beach which formed from volcanic ash and rock. This was considered the local "beach" as it seemed the whole town came out to get catch some rays..

I made my way to Ojos de Caburga, a natural waterfall located 15 minutes out of the city. This site got it's name from the local Mapuche Indians because of it's healing powers and spiritial nature. One of the cleanest and pure sources of water i've seen. Cold, but beautiful. Picture below....


And finally, a quick video capturing my efforts in Pucon!

Weekend in Vina Del Mar & Valparaiso!

What do Chileans do when they have a free weekend? They travel to the beautiful beaches of nearby Vina del mar and Valparaiso!

Located on the pacific ocean, these coastal destinations are only 1.5 hours away from Santiago. Valparaiso was one of the most important port cities in South America till President Theodore Roosevelt gave the ok to build the Panama Canal. This killed the local economy which has slowly recovered over the years...



The famous funicular, Asencion de Concepion, is a continued theme of the ancient escalator system which functions throughout the city. Below is a interesting mural that was displayed on the side of a random building in Valparaiso. That is the Chilean flag on the right sitting next to what I originially assumed was a manora. What do you think?


By the way, this is the home of the famouse Chilean Navy. Because of the vast coast line of the country, Chile's Navy has a rather large responsibility from top to bottom.


It was always a dream of mine to travel to Easter Island, a province of Chile. After looking at the flight prices and the length of time it takes to get there, I decided on the next best thing! Below is the only Easter Island statue outside of Island and happened to be located in Vina Del Mar.

Do you recognize the statue?

Finally, I have a short clip of the view of the city atop the Concepion funicular. If you look closely, you can see the hills covered in small multi-colored homes in the background. A spectacular view of the port, the city, and the life of Valparaiso!

San Cristobal Hill in my new City

As I mentioned before, Santiago has many hills throughout the city. It's interesting to see these massive hills surrounded by high rise buildings.

Today I made trip to the most famous hill of all, San Cristobal. This hill is distinct because it bares a massive statue of Mother Mary at the top. To reach the top I had two options:

1. Walk (90 degrees F outside)
2. Ascensores or Funiculars (see video below)

So as you guessed, I decided to take the old school escalators up. Here are some more pics from the top of the San Cristobal Hill. About 4.5 million people live in this amazing place.


You notice the pollution in the background, but compared to Shanghai, this is pretty eco-friendly. This is the "Cost of development" as people in Chile say...

Dinner with friends..

New Years on the Alameda!

Happy New Years everybody! Another year and another chance to makes some much needed changes in our lives. I was lucky enough to celebrate New Years in Downtown Santiago. The parade was all along the main drag, named the O'Higgins Alameda, after the Irish general who helped Chile get independence.

I met up with Abby, another exchange student from UNC Chapel Hill, to celebrate the night. Since my Spanish was still pretty amateur at this point, we made a quick trip to the Crown Plaza hotel to ask the Concierge where the best spot would be to see the fireworks. Since the city is filled with hills, I was hopeful we would get a good seat on top of one of them.

Well, after talking to the experts (a couple of older Chileans on the street), we ended up going to the heart of the city near the Entel Cellular building and well, here you go!



Great times, amazing opportunities...in the words of Louis Armstrong...What a wonderful world!

Viva Chile!

I'm officially back on the map! After returning from China in August I finished up my fall semester in Columbia, SC. Now I have just arrived in Santiago, Chile via Panama City, Panama for a one month exchange program. It has been pretty hectic since arriving here. Everything from my lack of fluency in Spanish (which I haven't taken since high school) to the variations in cultural behavior. But, just as in China, Japan, and the rest of my previous stops, I have learned to always stay humble and smile!

The picture above is the city of Santiago. Being one of the most advanced cities in South America, I have access to all the luxuries of the U.S. minus the hassle. I got in at 5am, spent the day getting to my apartment and immediately chose my first direction to walk. I recommend this to any expats traveling abroad as a good way to get familiar with your surroundings.

My first task was to grab some groceries at the local store which had fresh Churizco and Filete (steaks) crazy cheap! The dropping dollar doesn't help but i'm still getting close to 500 Chilean pesos to a dollar. After having some trouble trying to activate the internet at home, i've decided to spend the rest of the evening on Spanish Podcasts to sharpen up my verbal blade....