Grand Finale in Valpo

To all my loyal blog followers, I am truly apologetic for leaving you hanging without an update for such a long time! I am now to the point where I have truly finished with the vacation phase of my Chilean adventure, and I am quickly falling behind with updates for all of you since I am occupied with work at Matetic and weekend excursions to Santiago with coworkers and friends. More about that later!

After a great time with my new friends in Santiago, Smita and Paulo and I were on a bus to Valparaiso, and we were fully stocked with bus supplies (wine cheese and chocolate) since I had lost a bet and was deemed as provider of provisions. Smita and I had a grand old time swigging white wine and looking at pictures of our travels thus far, and Paulo used his spanish speaking skills to get directions to the hostel from a Valpo local, all while we listened to the loud snoring of the man behind us (pictured below). When we got to Valparaiso, we hopped on a local bus and then took our first trip on the infamous Valparaiso "acensors," which were built by european settlers in the late 1800s and had scarcely been repaired since that time. We arrived to the hostel and had a laugh when we discovered that our three bed reservation had in fact been a reservation for a double bed and a twin in one room, leaving the three of us to quarrel about the sleeping arrangements for the remainder of the day! After getting settled at the hostel and cleaning/arranging our baggage, Smita and I left Paulo to his nap as we went for a walk to the marina and then up a different acensor for a view of the city. On the way back, we came across a cool bar where there was a band preparing for that night's live performance (pictured), and we enjoyed a few cervezas and headed back to the hostel to see if Paulo had left yet to shop for the ingredients for dinner, since it was his turn to cook for us. We enjoyed a few different types of beer and wine as Paulo cooked some delicious spaghetti, and we mentally perpared for the fury of Valparaiso's premier night club, known as "El Huevo."

We set off for el huevo at around midnight, the three of us joined by three hostel friends and a definite urge to party it up and dance until the sun came up. Inside the club we found a very diverse set of options for a night full of dancing and enjoying local beverages. There were a total of 5 floors at the club, each with its own music selections, from Chilean pop music, to salsa, hip hop and reggaeton, and a more relaxed outdoor level on top which served as a great place to reconvene with the group and cool off from the dancing below. This club was definitely a blast! Paulo and I ventured off to the reggaeton section and made some trips to get some sprite and piscos, and our friends from Santiago, Brazil and Israel were interspersed all throughout the club. SOmehow we succeeded in never leaving anyone alone in the club, while still enjoying all the diverse options and dancing styles. Latin american dancers and far superior to Americans, and several times we went to the Salsa section just to watch, and I made a promise to myself that sometime soon, I will learn to dance salsa. By the time 5am rolled around and the club closed its doors, our friend from the hostel (via Santiago) had learned of an afterparty nearby, and he had the secret password required for entry - - the night was not over! This afterparty took place in an underground bar very well suited for non-licensed parties, and we all had a blast attempting to converse with the locals and dancing until we could dance no more. By 7:30am we had all made it back to the hostel and fell fast asleep until around 2pm. When I awoke, I found myself alone in the double bed, and Paulo and Smita in the twin bed, and both of them were amusingly agitated with me because I had fallen asleep in a way that I took up the whole double bed and they were unable to move me! I'm sorry Smita and Paulo!!!

When we had rallied that afternoon, we made our way to a breakfast place, "el desayunador," and randomly ran into a friend from the hostel in Santiago there, Shannon. We enjoyed our late afternoon breakfast and made plans for dinner with Shannon, and I was the chef for that night. In the meantime, I was dead set on finding a pair of work boots, since I had worked myself into the last possible day to find boots that were waterproof and big enough for me. Smita and Paulo were gracious enough to join me - after all, our group slogan was "birds of a feather flock together!" We took a bus trip to Vina Del Mar, where I was actually able to find a timberland store with an exact match of boots I had previously used for wine work in the States! With a 20% sale going on and a perfect match for my size, I was more than enthused to have found what I needed and I was instantly mentally prepared to make the journey the next morning to Casablanca, where I would be picked up by someone from Matetic and have my introduction to my new place of work and new home in the countryside.

That night, I cooked up a full lineup of mexican fajitas and the four of us sat down for a final meal together. I was sad to leave my new friends, but glad to have met such great people and to have developed such a close friendship after only a few short days. If I ever journey to London or Sao Paolo, I know I have a place to stay, and the same for them when they come to my house, which consequently does not currently exist! LOL

Rowdy Times in Santiago

After a beyond relaxing day at the hot springs, and another great evening with some people from Hostel Lao (including a potential future business partner), I was headed back to Santiago once again. With the end of my vacation on the horizon, I was content to just relax and take a 10:30am bus to make the 7 hour journey to Santiago, or at least I thought it would take that amount of time! The bus ride was timely and everything went smoothly on the Argentina side, and I was enjoying my first class "Cama Ejecutivo" seat, listening to other passengers and reading my book. Once we got to the border, I was surprised to find that we had to undergo a tedious process, with a long line for exit papers, a similar line for entry to Chile (and a little weird scary moment when the woman took my passport to the back for some unknown reason), and then a very thorough agricultural checkpoint with a ton of questions and xray scanning, and even fruit sniffing dogs! Like an hour and a half later, we drove about a half kilometer from the top of the mountain pass, only to stop again since they were rebuilding one lane of the two lane switchback highway. We would drive for 10 or 15 minutes, and wait again for a half hour, drive again, wait again, all while they showed "Wild Hogs" and "Ghost Rider" just to extend the torturous feelings of angst and boredom. I broke out a bottle of wine and passed it around in first class, only to be scolded by the bus guy and instead had to hide my bottle and drink it to myself, since only a few others got a chance to fill their cups! To top it off, a crash had ocurred at the bottom of the hill, so our bus had to wait on the road for an extra 2 and a half hours! Enough about that.

Once in Santiago, I was able to meet up with my Chilean expat friend Isabel for some pisco sours and call it a night, which was all very easy because through my past experiences in Santiago, I was smart enough to find a great hostel right by the metro station for the Bellas Artes neighborhood. Andes Hostel was a huge place and by the next day I had made friends with two of my dorm roommates, Smita (from London) and Paulo (from Sao Paolo Brazil), and we made plans to cook some food that evening, with Smita cooking some chicken curry using the spices she had brought along from the UK! In the meantime, I set off on a search for clothing and work boots that would actually fit me, as I knew very well that the clothes I had on me would not be suitable for wine work. After miles of walking and a million department stores and malls and shoe stores, I came back with two pairs of pants that actually fit me, and a jacket. It seemed that my search for waterproof boots would last forever, since my feet were much larger than any of the inventory of chilean shoe stores. The day was not a total loss since I had found a few things, so I was happy to call it quits and get ready for the dinner. After a long time preparing dinner and drinking wine in the kitchen, a group of us sat down to dine at around midnight, and had a grand old time together and talking about our plans and experiences.

The next day, Smita and I went to the bus station since she was planning to go to mendoza and I had to look into finding a way to reach Casablanca or even make it to Matetic on the tourist bus. I helped Smita to find the right place for a bus and to translate a little bit for her, and I made a few inquiries about making it to Matetic, but made little progress there and figured I would just figure it out later. We stopped at a few stores to find waterproof boots, and again my efforts were in vain - I was offered some aqua socks and some very extreme construction boots that were actually too big!! I was done shopping and Smita and I had to head back to the hostel because we had left our friend paulo waiting for us there! Once we got back we met up with paulo and also another hostel friend named Kristin, a bartender from Manhattan. The four of us were hungry and thirsty, so we set out for some churrascos and pisco sours at the first appealing restaurant. After lunch, things got interesting!

After some more walking and map deciphering, we made it to "La Piojera," the quintessential Santiago bar where the specialty is the "Terremoto." A terremoto is a drink that consists of a half liter of white wine, a shot of fernet, and a scoop of pineapple ice cream on top, and the result is a pretty unappetizing drink with quite a kick to it. A terremoto, which translates to earthquake in spanish, goes for only $4 at the piojera, and an aftershock (replica) is only $2! The bar was full of people and we were an instant hit!! We clearly represented the tourist melting pot, with an Indian from the UK, a spanish speaker from Brazil, an energetic manhattan, and a very tall guy from california! Many people offered us drinks and we took a million photos, including some great polaroids and some picutres of us eating hard boiled eggs and posing with numerous locals. We were having a ball and during the course of our conversations (and after plenty of drinks), we had someone read the fine print on Smita's bus ticket, and he told us that we had 30 minutes to qualify for a refund! We had decided that Smita and Paulo and I would all go together to Valparaiso, if if if we could make it in time to exchange the ticket. We ran the whole way, from the bar to the metro station, and then through the bus station, and made it to the ticket counter with 30 seconds left on the clock! Que suerte!

After a long day, Smita and I had to make some last minute changes in hostel reservations and we went out for dinner in Bellavista, where we come across an awesome drum circle next to Pablo Neruda's old house, and called it a night. We were looking forward to our journey together to my favorite city in Chile - -Valparaiso! Stay tuned for another delayed version of what transpired!

Hot Springs in the Andes

What better way to cap off a relaxed week in Mendoza than to relax even more at a local hot springs resort? It was a welcome idea and an easy decision to spend a day at Termas Cacheuta, where I would spend the day enjoying mineral hot springs of different temperatures, a naturally created sauna, mud baths, a massage and a buffet lunch - with transportation included - for only $85 US!! Enough said. Check out the photos, I even included another of my awkward self-portraits for your enjoyment!

Sick in Mendoza

After I made the decision to bail on Bariloche after only a few short days, I bit the bullet and hopped another overnight bus, heading back north to Mendoza, Argentina. The 20 hour bus ride was a bit rough but after all the buses I have braved on this trip, the time went by somewhat quickly. I had two seats to myself, a new book to read and fully charged electronics, the only downside being a missing cover for the air vent that was constantly blasting cold air on me all night. I was glad I hadn't put my sweatshirt in my checked baggage! When I got to Mendoza, I was clearly a bit tired and groggy, and I began to feel as though the open air vent had really done me in. Thankfully I had booked 5 nights in Mendoza and my hostel had a pool and hammock, so I would at least be comfortable while battling the severe head cold that I felt coming on. I had a few chances to walk around town before I got really sick, but I definitely couldn't muster up the strength for any full-fledged sightseeing or bike/wine tours around the city. The italian style promenade was within about 10 blocks and the amazing argentine steak sandwiches really did help me in the mental battle against a vacation sickness. The hostel I booked in Mendoza came through a recommendation of a college buddy, and was really a great place with real socially welcoming atmosphere. On my second night there, what started as an afternoon conversation between myself and two sommeliers from Europe quickly gained traction and resulted in a group effort barbeque for 15 people. Being that we were in the meat capital of the world, it only seemed right to go to the local carniceria to scrape together five and a half kilograms of assorted meat, with some vegetables, bread and tons of wine on the side. The trip to the carniceria was an experience in itself - the butcher whipped out an entire ribcage and cut us strips of beef ribs using an industrial band saw, and we also got a great assortment of sausages and lomo! The feast was on! That night was a very memorable gathering of people from every corner of the world, all sharing their travel stories and striking up amazing conversation until the wee morning hours. We even managed to get a group photo, which is posted below. The next morning was certainly a struggle, battling a hangover and a cold, not to mention that it was a dry and hot summer day in the Mendoza desert. Still I was grateful to have a wonderful place to hang out and relax, reading my book by the pool and taking it easy. While I had by then given up on the idea of wine tasting, I still had one treat ahead of me: a trip to a place called Termas Cacheuta in the Andes. Stay tuned for that one!

A Penthouse in Bariloche

After an amazing 3 weeks in Chile, I decided it was time to cross the border into Argentina to visit the extremely popular town of Bariloche.  I set off from Ancud, Chiloe at 6:40 am in order to arrive early to the Puerto Montt bus terminal and ensure that there would be at least one departure for Bariloche that day.  I made a reasonably quick connection and was off into the Andes for about a 7 hour bus ride (which is NOTHING!).  It was a pretty noneventful bus ride, and we quickly went from sunshine and warm weather to windy and gray weather throughout the Andes.  There were a number of alpine lakes and reservoirs, but I spent the bulk of my time updating the blog (you're welcome :), reading "Treasure Island" (in case you were wondering who Ben Gunn was from my last post, and also observing fanatic tourists snapping hundreds of photos out of the windows, rather than enjoying the views.

The border crossing was pretty uneventful, with the exception of the photo-opportunistic Chinese tourist we left behind at the Chilean exit point, and I made it to Bariloche by around 7pm.  The hostel I had booked in Bariloche, called Penthouse 1004, was a spectacle in itself.  I had schlepped all of my stuff about 3km to reach the hostel from the bus terminal, and had barely escaped the rain and wind that persisted for the rest of my trip by Lago Nahuel Huapi.  From the top floor of the tallest building in the city, the wind, rain and whitecaps were quite a spectacle.  Check out the photos below from the corner of the penthouse!!

The vibe of the hostel was very friendly and I immediately made friends with some folks from the States, and I went with my new amigo Matt Kolb (from Bend, Oregon) to the store to buy some Argentine steak to cook back at the hostel.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with some Malbec and local beer, had an awesome chat with a new friend from Lodi, California named Sorel Roget, and then we all set off to bed at curfew time hoping for an improvement in the weather the following day.

After a great breakfast of locally made bread and jam and real coffee, my Oregonian friend Matt and I set off to catch a local bus and go for a little hike along the "circuito chico" along Lago Perito Moreno in the Llao Llao region.  After being denied entrance to the fancy-schmancy Llao Llao hotel, we walked more or less aimlessly until we found a trailhead leading to the lake, called Sendera Los Arrayanes.  We met an Argentine couple along the path who explained to us that the Arrayanes are tress that grow in only a few places in the world (this being one of them), since they require cold temperatures and wet weather almost year round.  If ever there was a place, this was it!  According to our new friends, the arrayanes trees, pictured below, grow only about one centimeter per year and we were standing amongst a grove of trees several centuries old, though their size was not staggering.  The wind was blasting through the forest and a lot of the taller trees had fallen and were knocking up against each other, but we were enjoying mild weather under protection from the forest.  When we did get to the lake, we found some great views of the surrounding hills and some lakeside willows, and decided we were hungry enough to call it good and head back to the hostel to observe the weather from the penthouse. 

That night, Sorel and Matt and I decided it was time for a full fledged Argentina Parilla - steak in its finest form.  We had heard recommendations from others in the hostel who said they enjoyed a meal eating the best steak and ordering anything they wanted, all for a reasonable price.  And so it was - we met up with two other friends and after a bit of a wait and a 45 minute bar detour, we were seated for dinner at El Boliche de Alberto.  If you google it you will find the best picture of Alberto holding up some HUGE steak (in this case Lomo).  Our dinner there was epic.  We enjoyed a great bottle of Malbec, four filets of Lomo, two larger cuts of "Chorizo" (not to be confused with mexican sausage), salad, french fries, and local beer.  Man oh man was that steak epic!! The filet was like butter, and we were ogling over it the whole time.  The steaks were cut and prepared right by our table and cooked on a huge grill over red hot coals - it was quite an experience - and it cost us like $16 US each. 

Speaking of money, the exchange rate fiasco is quite the topic of conversation in Argentina.  If you use the ATM or charge to credit cards, you will be hard pressed to get a rate any better than 5 or 5.5 pesos to the dollar.  In contrast, using black market "cambios," which are often solicited in the streets, or using a service like XOOM.com, you can get a rate as good as 7.2 pesos to the dollar.  All the stores accept numerous forms of cash and it seems that everyone from tourists to locals to businesses are constantly working to stretch the value of a peso. 

After dinner, the five of us went to an awesome local brewery and enjoyed a wide variety of beers, shared stories about our travels and rasped the Australian for her enjoyment of vegemite.  We had a very succesful night out and we were all happy with the way we finished our time spent in Bariloche.  The next day, after stocking up on local chocolates inspired by the swiss / alpine heritage of the city, we all parted ways and headed in all sorts of different directions.  For me, it was time to say goodbye to northern Patagonia and head back to a warmer climate.  Mendoza was only a twenty hour bus ride away!!  Back to wine country!!!!

One interesting side note is that the flags all around Argentina were flying at half mast to mourn the passing of their fellow south american leader Hugo "Huge Chach" Chavez