We gave our bodies a workout with a day trip to Valparaiso, Chile. Valpo, as it is nicknamed is on the pacific ocean and is famous for the beautiful views of the water, poetry (birthplacemof pablo neruda) and it's buildings that cling to the hillsides. There are over 40 of these hills that since colonial times the locals have performed structural gymnastics to make their buildings perch and cantilever. Traditionally, the hills are accessed by a kind funicular / elevator. Most of these still run today.
We arrived early just as the markets were opening. We wanted to make sure that since we couldn't get any reservation to stay overnight we had enough time to see everything. First we went up one of the eastern hills and admired the view. Then we walked halfway across town, about a mile to the old port. There we checked out the financial buildings and government buildings. Valpo is the seat of the Chilean legislature. We took our first ride on the ascensore up to Cerro Concepcion and Allegre. The view was wonderful. The buildings are painted various pastel colors. Why is it so many maritime cities and towns paint their homes with such a variety of color? It must be the sun and water.
We checked out some galleries and stores and also started taking note of the very skillful street art. For lunch we grabbed empanadas. After resting and watching the lunch crowd navigate the narrow streets we walked to Cerro Artilleria, on the far end of town. From there we took the acsensore up to the panoramic view of the port and surrounding hillsides. There wasn't else to do but lookout at the view so after a short time we walked down and through the oldest parts of the city. The buildings were nice, but the streets were grimey and smellling of urine. They have a terrible problem of stray dogs and therefore there are landmines everywhere. We returned to the center and went up Cerro Belavista. Belavista is the bohemian art neighborhood. We got a work out climbing each street on the hill admiring the colorful buildings and street art.
Late in the afternoon we hit up J Cruz restaurant for Valpos famous chorilliana a dish of grilled beef, egg and French fries. It was huge and it was delicious. It is perfect bar food. We caught sunset back near the bus terminal at the top of one of the hills. The day was a good one and we earned our tired legs for sure.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Chile´s Birthday
On Sunday, September 5, it was Chile´s celebration day of its 200th Birthday. We didn´t think there would be a lot to do on Sunday and we were warned that the city is pretty low-key and many stores are closed. We happily found that the city opened up all the municipal offices and buildings in the financial center to the public and were giving free tours indside. In the middle of the Plaza de Armas, there were fire trucks and police cars from different eras. The financial center looked much like the cobble stone streets in New York´s Wall Street area--there even was a street named after New York.
After wandering around the center we went up a small hill named Santa Lucia. On the side of the hill, a grand fountain and steps were built, allowing the public to reach the top of the hill for a 360 degree look out of the city. Our views stretched out in every direction and went on into the horizon.
After visiting the seafood market yesterday, we decided we would make dinner at the hostel. We picked up a whole fish and some squid, curry powder, onions and tomatoes and made a stew out of the fish and sauteed the squid, sprinkled with lemon juice. It turned out so well that we´ll probably do it again.
After wandering around the center we went up a small hill named Santa Lucia. On the side of the hill, a grand fountain and steps were built, allowing the public to reach the top of the hill for a 360 degree look out of the city. Our views stretched out in every direction and went on into the horizon.
After visiting the seafood market yesterday, we decided we would make dinner at the hostel. We picked up a whole fish and some squid, curry powder, onions and tomatoes and made a stew out of the fish and sauteed the squid, sprinkled with lemon juice. It turned out so well that we´ll probably do it again.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Market Time
We arrived in Santiago, Chile after a 24 hour bus journey from San Pedro. That is one bus, same seats, one stop 7 hours into it. But it was actually quite comfortable and somehow time like the landscaped flew by. We went from craters of the moon yellow shifting sand deserts to lush rolling green hills where the beach was a ten minute drive to the west and snow capped mountains were about an hours drive to the east.
Santiago is a big city inland in a river valley. It is a very scenic city with a pretty strong European feel and strong influence from bohemian street culture. We spent the afternoon and evening after arriving walking around Barrio Brasil. We had fun just following our eyes to the river for views of the city, a couple pretty brilliant modern buildings, beautiful colonial churches and public buildings, murals, cherry tree-lined streets, mechanic shops, and city parks.
Our first full day in Santiago we hit up the markets. The central market was an incredible seafood paradise. It was buzzing with people and atmosphere. The vendors were loud and pushy, but we didn't mind. There were shrimps, clams, mussels, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, scallops, urchin, and fish of a great variety. After the central market we walked around Vega central a stadium sized market of vegetables and fruit. There were more varieties of everything than we could have imagined.
Next we walked along the river in Park Forestal a beautiful arboretum of trees with a scattering of French and Italian Renaissance revival architecture. The other end of the park gave us an exit into a chic university neighborhood of cafes, stores, and tiny museums. Our stomachs were growling and we wanted to make it to Bellavista at the base of Cerro Christobol for lunch. Bellavista is like the east village or lower east side of New York City. We found a delicious lunch of a kind of sausage stew and we watched the saturday crowds of locals browse stores and lunch al fresco.
Following lunch we went up the hill, the highest in Santiago. The views were incredible. The cities skyline, albeit smoggy, was pretty impressive, but the more awesome view was of the snow capped mountains in the very near background. We enjoyed the view for a while and then started walking downhill toward the neighborhood of Providencia. The residential area really surprised with multimillion dollar homes. It felt like walking around parts of Washington DC with older townhouses intermingled with new commercial and retail buildings along big wide avenues. After recharging our batteries by sitting in a sculpture park and listening to local teenage musicians we thought we would try to find a drink and then dinner in the neighborhood especially since the map and guidebook listed a number of options and an entertainment and dining zone. But you can guess where this story is going.... We ended up walking for two hours unsuccessfully. When we finally found something there was a white table cloth waiters in tuxes cafe and a Ruby Tuesdays next door. We chose the cafe and restrategized. We figure where there are nightclubs there may be restaurants or bars at least so we headed upon recommendation fora long walk in thatdirection. We didn't find anything. Then just before heading back by subway to our hotel and the local grocery store we found a bar with a dinner special of chicken, beef, and pork covered in French fries and hot oil. Not the most appealing but it fed our appetite.
Santiago is a big city inland in a river valley. It is a very scenic city with a pretty strong European feel and strong influence from bohemian street culture. We spent the afternoon and evening after arriving walking around Barrio Brasil. We had fun just following our eyes to the river for views of the city, a couple pretty brilliant modern buildings, beautiful colonial churches and public buildings, murals, cherry tree-lined streets, mechanic shops, and city parks.
Our first full day in Santiago we hit up the markets. The central market was an incredible seafood paradise. It was buzzing with people and atmosphere. The vendors were loud and pushy, but we didn't mind. There were shrimps, clams, mussels, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, scallops, urchin, and fish of a great variety. After the central market we walked around Vega central a stadium sized market of vegetables and fruit. There were more varieties of everything than we could have imagined.
Next we walked along the river in Park Forestal a beautiful arboretum of trees with a scattering of French and Italian Renaissance revival architecture. The other end of the park gave us an exit into a chic university neighborhood of cafes, stores, and tiny museums. Our stomachs were growling and we wanted to make it to Bellavista at the base of Cerro Christobol for lunch. Bellavista is like the east village or lower east side of New York City. We found a delicious lunch of a kind of sausage stew and we watched the saturday crowds of locals browse stores and lunch al fresco.
Following lunch we went up the hill, the highest in Santiago. The views were incredible. The cities skyline, albeit smoggy, was pretty impressive, but the more awesome view was of the snow capped mountains in the very near background. We enjoyed the view for a while and then started walking downhill toward the neighborhood of Providencia. The residential area really surprised with multimillion dollar homes. It felt like walking around parts of Washington DC with older townhouses intermingled with new commercial and retail buildings along big wide avenues. After recharging our batteries by sitting in a sculpture park and listening to local teenage musicians we thought we would try to find a drink and then dinner in the neighborhood especially since the map and guidebook listed a number of options and an entertainment and dining zone. But you can guess where this story is going.... We ended up walking for two hours unsuccessfully. When we finally found something there was a white table cloth waiters in tuxes cafe and a Ruby Tuesdays next door. We chose the cafe and restrategized. We figure where there are nightclubs there may be restaurants or bars at least so we headed upon recommendation fora long walk in thatdirection. We didn't find anything. Then just before heading back by subway to our hotel and the local grocery store we found a bar with a dinner special of chicken, beef, and pork covered in French fries and hot oil. Not the most appealing but it fed our appetite.
In the Desert
After arriving in San Pedro we got settled in our hostel and took a walk about the small town. The center of town is only about a dozen streets so it was easy to walk through all of them. It's a cute ranch/cowboy kind of town. The people here enjoy the laid back quiet lifestyle-the guidebooks call them bohemian. It was noticeable that even though we were in the middle of a desert, we were in a first-world country since things were more expensive and chic. For lunch Ching Jen had crepes with chicken and squash while Jon had a steak sandwich. We noticed we had a different type of bread basket than Peru's or Bolivia's - we had biscuits with different kinds of salsa. They were a nice change to the often stale bread we got. And for dinner we had salmon (we don´t know where they get it, it must be shipped in daily seeing that we are in a desert!) with watercress, thick creamy vegetable soup and a lemon pie.
There wasn´t a lot to do in San Pedro, so the next day we rented bikes! This is only the second time Ching Jen has been on a bike so she got a lot of practice this time! We biked about 3km to an archeological site on dirt roads that had slight hills and dips through shallow streams. Getting to the site took about 1 1/2 hours, but getting back to our hostel only took us 40 minutes. Ching Jen was so excited to have accomplished this and looks forward to getting better at bike riding.
Supposedly, we had a bit of unluckly timing because we were in San Pedro during the couple days that it was forcasted to be windy. And with sweeping wind gusts, you get billows of dust through the town. Items sitting in the open quickly get a thin layer of red dirt. We were told that calmer weather was supposed to arrive right after we were there. Ah well, that is what happens in the desert.
From here, we head to Santiago by bus that will take 24 hours. We boiled some eggs and made some pasta to take with us on the bus since we didn´t know if we would be feed or stop at a rest stop to pick up food.
There wasn´t a lot to do in San Pedro, so the next day we rented bikes! This is only the second time Ching Jen has been on a bike so she got a lot of practice this time! We biked about 3km to an archeological site on dirt roads that had slight hills and dips through shallow streams. Getting to the site took about 1 1/2 hours, but getting back to our hostel only took us 40 minutes. Ching Jen was so excited to have accomplished this and looks forward to getting better at bike riding.
Supposedly, we had a bit of unluckly timing because we were in San Pedro during the couple days that it was forcasted to be windy. And with sweeping wind gusts, you get billows of dust through the town. Items sitting in the open quickly get a thin layer of red dirt. We were told that calmer weather was supposed to arrive right after we were there. Ah well, that is what happens in the desert.
From here, we head to Santiago by bus that will take 24 hours. We boiled some eggs and made some pasta to take with us on the bus since we didn´t know if we would be feed or stop at a rest stop to pick up food.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Salty Salar
We took an overnight bus to Uyuni, Bolivia to meet a tour of the Salar de Uyuni. Together with a Swiss couple and two English girls we had met we headed out on our tour with our trusty guide, Gwaldo. The morning was cold, the windows on the bus had frozen but inside we enjoyed heat.
The first stop on the tour, which is essentially 2.5 days in a 4WD driving around the Salar, was at the train cemetery. This was awesome. All the trains are from local mining and salt industry cargo trains. Thus part of Bolivia, famous for silver mines is essentially the fabled land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Then we drove out into the salt field, a vast, blinding, white field. We saw salt mounds, salt hotels, buildings mad out of blocks of salt, and cutting fields. The landscape was out of this world. It was so cool. In the distance there were the shadows of volcanoes and mountain ranges, but at the horizon, the glare off the salt was so strong, it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. (sound like forest gump?). For lunch we hung out at an island covered in large candelabra cacti. Gwaldo made us lunch of BBQ chicken, rice and veggies. After lunch it was a long drive across the salt field and then an arid, dusty, red dirt, desert. We stopped occasionally to photograph wildlife, vicunas (deer), llama, and alpaca and to take photos of the desert landscape. That night we stayed at a very basic hospedaje. Luckily, our layers of clothing and sleeping bags kept us warm during the just below freezing temperatures.
The next morning we started out just after the sunrise. The landscape was more of the same, beautiful rolling red desert hills. At one point in the shadow of an active smoking volcano we got out of the car to wander around a lava field. Around mid-morning on our drive the landscape shifted to dry tundra. We came upon a few lakes, icy and crystal clear with Flamingoes! The flamingoes were super pink from eating the plankton that feeds off the mineral rich water. Seeing flamingoes in the wild was awesome. After lunch we drove further east and south. The landscaped changed again to yellow sand as we reached the highest elevations. We stopped to photograph rock formations that have been eroded by millennia of wind and sand. The rocks are called, Dali-esque for there liquid acrobatics. The day if riding in the desert ended at a red colored lake, red because if the color and density if plankton in the water. We spent the night playing cards an yahtzee with our tourmates. At 4700m the night was freezing cold, about 10 degrees below freezing. We were warm and toasty though with enough layers of clothing and our sleeping bags.
The third morning of the tour, we woke up before dawn to get to the geysers. The geysers are a little more like sulfur vents than old faithful, but in the light if the rising sun, the landscape of sulfur steam and craggy, rocky formations it was beautiful. We hung out for a while listening to the bubbling and burping sulfur pools and standing amidst the blowing steam. Next we went to a hot spring where Jon was the only one brave enough to get out into the cold air and go into the hot spring. It felt great and I definitely felt like the desert grime of 3 days had washed off. Once we left the hot spring we headed toward the Chilean border. Just before the crossing we visited lacuna verde, a green colored lake from the high concentrations of copper mineral. At the border we said goodbye to our driver and together with our British friends waited an hour in the middle of nowhere for our connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama. This was probably the coldest we had been in the entire 3 days. Eventually the bus arrived and we went through chilean customs and immigration in San Pedro.
The first stop on the tour, which is essentially 2.5 days in a 4WD driving around the Salar, was at the train cemetery. This was awesome. All the trains are from local mining and salt industry cargo trains. Thus part of Bolivia, famous for silver mines is essentially the fabled land of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. Then we drove out into the salt field, a vast, blinding, white field. We saw salt mounds, salt hotels, buildings mad out of blocks of salt, and cutting fields. The landscape was out of this world. It was so cool. In the distance there were the shadows of volcanoes and mountain ranges, but at the horizon, the glare off the salt was so strong, it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. (sound like forest gump?). For lunch we hung out at an island covered in large candelabra cacti. Gwaldo made us lunch of BBQ chicken, rice and veggies. After lunch it was a long drive across the salt field and then an arid, dusty, red dirt, desert. We stopped occasionally to photograph wildlife, vicunas (deer), llama, and alpaca and to take photos of the desert landscape. That night we stayed at a very basic hospedaje. Luckily, our layers of clothing and sleeping bags kept us warm during the just below freezing temperatures.
The next morning we started out just after the sunrise. The landscape was more of the same, beautiful rolling red desert hills. At one point in the shadow of an active smoking volcano we got out of the car to wander around a lava field. Around mid-morning on our drive the landscape shifted to dry tundra. We came upon a few lakes, icy and crystal clear with Flamingoes! The flamingoes were super pink from eating the plankton that feeds off the mineral rich water. Seeing flamingoes in the wild was awesome. After lunch we drove further east and south. The landscaped changed again to yellow sand as we reached the highest elevations. We stopped to photograph rock formations that have been eroded by millennia of wind and sand. The rocks are called, Dali-esque for there liquid acrobatics. The day if riding in the desert ended at a red colored lake, red because if the color and density if plankton in the water. We spent the night playing cards an yahtzee with our tourmates. At 4700m the night was freezing cold, about 10 degrees below freezing. We were warm and toasty though with enough layers of clothing and our sleeping bags.
The third morning of the tour, we woke up before dawn to get to the geysers. The geysers are a little more like sulfur vents than old faithful, but in the light if the rising sun, the landscape of sulfur steam and craggy, rocky formations it was beautiful. We hung out for a while listening to the bubbling and burping sulfur pools and standing amidst the blowing steam. Next we went to a hot spring where Jon was the only one brave enough to get out into the cold air and go into the hot spring. It felt great and I definitely felt like the desert grime of 3 days had washed off. Once we left the hot spring we headed toward the Chilean border. Just before the crossing we visited lacuna verde, a green colored lake from the high concentrations of copper mineral. At the border we said goodbye to our driver and together with our British friends waited an hour in the middle of nowhere for our connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama. This was probably the coldest we had been in the entire 3 days. Eventually the bus arrived and we went through chilean customs and immigration in San Pedro.
World's Most Dangerous Road
While Ching Jen went to walk around southern La Paz, I event for a bike ride with a tour. The route was about 45 minutes north of La Paz on what is called the worlds most dangerous road because of the number of vehicle related deaths, mostly buses. Traffic has moved to a new, safer road. Since 1994, the old road has been open to bike tours. I'm not exactly a mountain biker but the route is navigable for beginners. The entire route was 64km and it was a thrilling time. We biked on a paved road and the a narrower dirt road going downhill about 2000m in altitude. The cloud cover was thick the entire first half so unfortunately I couldn't see the rainforest valleys. At the end of the tour we went to an animal reserve with monkeys, birds snakes, caimans and an Andean speckled bear. It was an extremely fun day. The scariest part was the drive up the worlds most dangerous road. Our driver has done it hundreds of times and yet each time we played chicken with another car, I'm not going to lie, I was white knuckled. Because of the cloud cover nightfall came quickly and at least you couldn't see the steep cliffs in the darkness.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
La Paz
We arrived in La Paz by bus, at the top of the canyon giving us a panoramic view of the city. The Spanish had took over La Paz from the Incas and completely built over the river that ran through the cayon. La Paz is hilly and at a higher altitude than anywhere we've been so far. Although we already had a week of high altitude living, we seemed to be slightly affected by La Paz's altitude. We were both more tired than usual and no appetite. After settling in our hostel, we walked to a large park, often used by locals for jogging or hanging out. The park zig zagged its way up the side of the canyon and at the top there was a lookout with a playground. It had amazing views of the city and we marveled at how the river is built over. Surprisingly, we had a hard time finding dinner in the area, it seems like the city residents don't eat out much. We ended up having pizza and pasta that night.
The next day we did the suggested walking tour in our guide book through numerous street markets, each alleyway had a different theme, from apparel, school supplies, hardware, sewing (and beads!) and lastly, the witches market. The witches market had stalls of herbs and dried leaves, cacti, and dried skeletons of baby lamb. We later learned that the skeletons of baby lamb are used to bury in the ground in front of your first home. It's supposed to bring good luck.
The following day, Jon went on a mountain bike riding tour down the "world's most dangerous road" and Ching Jen went out on her own for a walk to various plazas and parks and a lookout. Overall, we have been less impressed with La Paz than expected, but we look forward to our trip to the salt flats tomorrow.
(read next entry for Jon's bike ride).
The next day we did the suggested walking tour in our guide book through numerous street markets, each alleyway had a different theme, from apparel, school supplies, hardware, sewing (and beads!) and lastly, the witches market. The witches market had stalls of herbs and dried leaves, cacti, and dried skeletons of baby lamb. We later learned that the skeletons of baby lamb are used to bury in the ground in front of your first home. It's supposed to bring good luck.
The following day, Jon went on a mountain bike riding tour down the "world's most dangerous road" and Ching Jen went out on her own for a walk to various plazas and parks and a lookout. Overall, we have been less impressed with La Paz than expected, but we look forward to our trip to the salt flats tomorrow.
(read next entry for Jon's bike ride).
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