The Driest Desert on Earth

Last weekend Becca, Meera, and I went to the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. The Atacama is the driest desert in the world! We left our apartments at 5am and caught the sunrise just before take-off. The view out of the plane was spectacular.

Day 1 in San Pedro we went to Valle de La Luna and Valle de La Muerte. The valleys were bathed in scorching sun and had panoramic views of the desert. We hiked through a canyon with salt covered walls and then went through a narrow cave. We climbed up a sand dune to watch the sunset and the colors reflecting on a volcano across the valley.

Day 2 we went to one of the world's largest salt flats and watched flamingos walk around the salt mounds. Then we headed up up up (to more than 14,000ft) to visit the high plains lakes. The road into the mountains was one of the bumpiest roads I have ever experienced. The lakes were a spectacular bright blue and contrasted with the desert sand and snow peaked volcanoes.

Day 3 we woke up at 3:45am and drove 2 hours on another of the bumpiest roads I have ever seen. It was impossible to sleep so I stared out the window at the stars and the blackest sky I have ever seen. We went back up to 14,000ft to visit El Tatio Geysers at sunrise. We were standing in the sub-freezing geyser field when the sun came up and illuminated the steam and boiling water that was spewing out of the ground. We bathed in a hot spring near the geysers then visited a desert village and ate llama on the way back to San Pedro.

Route of the Terremotos

I thought that our "Club de Comilones" (eating club) was pretty funny until last week when Katy's host brother invited us out to drinks. It turns out that he and his friends also have a club. There's is "Route of the Terremotos" and they go around to different drinking dens in Santiago to sample Terremotos (earthquakes). Terremotos are famous drinks that are made out of wine, hard alcohol, and pineapple ice cream. We went to a really dingy bar with them and drank alongside all of the old, lonely drunkards. Then we went to the clubbing district and had some drinks on a patio before going to a disco. We had some great conversations about cultural differences in friendships and dating in Chile and the US. It was a great chance to practice Spanish, for them to practice English, and to gain a little more insight into Chilean culture.

Pomaire for Becca's Birthday

Saturday I went to Pomaire, a small pottery village, with Becca, Maca, and Rodrigo. We really went just to be comilones and eat pastel de choclo and empanadas de pino. Pastel de choclo (in the picture) is a baked dish full of corn and chicken. It is sweet and salty and absolutely delicious. The empanadas in Pomaire are half a kilo and are bigger than my face.

After devouring lunch we walked around town and went to an artist's stand to learn how to make traditional pottery. We all made a few pieces with the artist's help and then tried some on our own. We took all of the pots home, even though mine will definitely be moving to the garbage.

After Pomaire I went to Becca's house to celebrate with her family. We had completos (second time this week!) and this chocolate, manjar, condensed milk, whipped cream, strawberry cake that Katy and I made. After eating we went to a bar and met up with friends from Tufts to finish off the birthday celebrations.

Soccer Game... Futbol Frenzy!

Wednesday after Spanish class my friend Diego invited Katy and I over to his apartment to watch the Ecuador vs Chile soccer game. When we arrived Diego's friend was in the kitchen cooking (and be cooking I mean "cooking") completos. Completos are a Chilean favorite and are hot dogs with tomatoes, avocado, onions, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Our completos were served with mango sours and piscolas. Piscola is a mix of pisco and Coke and is the drink of choice for young Chileans. We watched the soccer game with Diego and about 5 of his friends and everyone was pretty intense about the game. I don't think it could have gotten much more Chilean: futbol, completos, and piscola. After Chile won the game we could hear the whole city go crazy. We went out on the balcony and looked out over all the people running through the streets chanting, waving flags, and honking horns.

After the soccer game they wanted to teach us a drinking game called Cuarto Rey. Fortunately for us we already knew how to play because it is basically the same as King's Cup. We swapped rules and had a great time playing categories and choosing impossible topics for each other. After Cuarto Rey we blasted reggaeton, the boys sang along, and we had a dance party in the living room. Katy and I have our work cut out for us: learn the lyrics to all the most popular songs! In the taxi on the way home Katy and I agreed that it was one of the most fun nights we have had in Chile.

Mendoza, Argentina

This weekend I got another stamp in my passport. Monday was Dia de la Raza and we took the long weekend to cross the Andes into Argentina. Thursday night, after going to the wrong bus station, asking for directions several times, and walking to the right one, we took an overnight bus from Santiago to Mendoza. At 2am the bus reached the border and we all had to get up and stand outside for an hour. It was freezing. We were in the middle of the Andes after all. But in my dazed 2am stupor I managed to get all my documents in order but not to bring pants and a jacket. After freezing for an hour we got back on the bus and slept until sunrise.

Day 1 in Mendoza we walked all around the city. Mendoza is one of the calmest cities I have ever visited (that doesn't say that much though because I tend to visit chaotic places). The city is full of plazas, fountains, and trees. We kept a Chile vs Argentina tally while we explored.

Chile: creatively hideous hair styles, hotdogs, money.

Argentina: trees, pretty people, variety of cow parts served at nice restaurants.

On 2 we rode bikes from winery to winery and learned how to properly taste wines. We visited 3 bodegas and 1 distillery and chocolate factory. It was all in good fun until Katy crashed her bike and ended up with a bloody knee. When we got back we met up with my Tufts friend who is studying in Mendoza and my Camp Reed friend who is studying in southern Chile and went to a classy Italian dinner. Afterwards we went to a less than classy gas station patio to enjoy more Argentine wines.

Day 3 we headed out to Rio Mendoza to go rafting. I was so so excited to go rafting for the first time. Unfortunately we had to wait a long time, the water was freezing, and the rapids were not very intense. I remembered to bring my positive attitude though and I had a great time! The highlight was definitely the 80s-style wetsuits we all got to wear.

On Monday morning we went to the bus station for the ride back to Chile. We got on the bus and after 20 minutes they announced that we would be waiting another 25 minutes for some people who were late. An hour into the ride we hit a line of parked traffic. There was a demonstration against logging and in favor of tourism that had closed the only road across the pass. After sitting for an hour we started moving again. The demonstration ensured that we all arrived at the border at the same time and we had to sit for nearly 3 hours before entering customs. After customs we slowly made our way down the switchbacks and got stopped at several police check points. The 7 hr bus ride ended up taking 12 long, long hours. At least we had spectacular views of Mt. Aconcagua and really bad movies dubbed in Spanish to entertain us!

Everyday Life

The last couple days have been full of simple, but very fulfilling, activities with friends. On Tuesday I had my Chilean Folklore dance class. The teacher is energetic and full of positive energy and never ceases to entertain us. We had spent a lot of classes learning the cueca before Chilean Independence Day but on Tuesday we moved on to a new dance from the northern part of Chile. It involved holding holds, chasing after each other, and clapping and spinning circles. As funny as this is in itself, it is always more entertaining when we don't understand the directions and do the wrong ridiculous movement.

After dance we headed to La Vega for lunch. I had been to La Vega (the fruit/vegetable market) several times and had been waiting for an opportunity to eat in the hot lunch section. Katy and I went with another friend from our class and shared Lomo Saltado, Fried fish, potatoes, salad, soup, and drinks for less than $3 per person. Cheap and delicious! The best part of La Vega is the atmosphere. I love watching all the different people come and go, eat lunch, buy fruit, peddle toys, sing songs, and meet friends. La Vega is also a place to observe Chile's stark social contrasts. The freshest and highest quality fruit is sold in La Vega; however, if you are a wealthy Chilean you would not be caught dead shopping there. When I told some of my Chilean friends about eating lunch in La Vega they immediately asked if I had food poisoning.

That night Becca, Katy, and I made Butternut squash soup for Becca's family. I had asked several people how to say butternut squash and nobody could tell me a word other than the word for pumpkin. Little did we know that butternut squashes are only for decoration in Chile! Becca's family thought it was pretty strange when we served them as a soup, but they did admit that it was really tasty!

Wednesday I had to go downtown to try to find an Argentina travel guide. I succeeded in finding a spanish copy but didn't buy it when I found out that it was $60. I checked out some of the other books and they were all expensive. Lesson learned: If I want to be literate I will need to move back to the US.

For lunch I met up with Maca and we went to a soda fountain near Plaza de Armas. She recommended the churrasco and I took her advice (minus the mayonnaise). It was a hamburger-style sandwich with sliced beef and heaps of mashed avocado. I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to Maca and we had a great time hanging out, eating lunch, and walking around downtown. I had a little time to kill before class so she showed me a neighborhood I had never seen where they sell all sorts of beads and craft supplies- (mom, it was like a mini Sham Shui Po! I'm pretty sure it is all imported straight from there anyways.)

After Spanish class Becca, Katy, and I met Maca and Javi to make fajitas and have a Sex in the City party. The fajitas came out really well and Sex in the City was hilarious. It's a funny show in general but when all of the phrases are translated into spanish it is even better! This led to a quality conversation about all sorts of modismos and chilenismos.

Fin de Semana!

This weekend was super busy and super awesome. As a side note, Chileans say “super” before every adjective. “Chuuuta, ella es super bacán.” Now I can’t stop saying super. Anyways, this weekend was full of great food, great drinks, and great people.
Friday- I met my tandem (English-Spanish language practice) partner at Bravissimo for ice cream. I love Bravissimo and Javiera, my tandem partner, is really nice. After ice cream we walked around the area and chatted. When I got home Maca called and invited Becca and I to an asado/Chilean bbq. I told them about how I ate helado with my pareja. Apparently pareja made it sound more like I went on a date with a girlfriend. Spanish fail #94840482094. The asado had really great food and we got to meet some of Maca’s friends. Afterwards we headed to Manuel Montt (a trendy bar neighborhood) and went to a bar with Maca, Rodrigo, and several Tufts friends. The menu was full of ridiculous sounding drinks and I was a little embarrassed the 3rd time I had to repeat Coco Loco Malibu in a Chilean accent to the waitress. But the quality of the drink made up for it!

Saturday- When I woke up I went into the kitchen to eat breakfast and my host mom invited me to Estación Central. She said we were leaving right away and apparently she meant it because before I was even out of my pjs she was waiting outside the door. Estación Central is a busy section of walking streets that is full of China import shops. Many people from the provinces buy bulk goods there to sell outside of the city. Apart from all the Asian kitch I also saw lots of live poultry, several animal hides, and Halloween costumes. In the afternoon I got dressed up and went to Ben’s house for a wine and cheese party. We sampled classy wines out of plastic cups and ate gourmet cheese alongside Chilean candies. Then we walked to Plaza Nuñoa for Happy Hour before heading to Javiera’s Bingo fundraiser for Scouts. We were a little out of place in dresses but nobody seemed to mind. After Bingo we went to my friend Christian’s b-day party and learned some Brazilian dance moves.

Sunday- by Sunday I was ready to sleep! I slept in, ate lunch, planned a spur-of-the-moment trip to Mendoza for next weekend, then went to Parque Arauco to wander and eat.
Great weekend! I love being busy, having a great mix of friends, and feeling more settled in Santiago!