April 2010
12 posts
February 2009
1 post
January 2009
36 posts
Done done done
I’m back in la. After a night and most of a day in Santiago (smoggy as all hell, holy crap I went to the top of cerro San Cristobal and you could kind of make out the Andes in the distance, and for at least one of the further mountains you could see just the snow capped peak but not the rest if the place, so it was like a floating mountain peak) I got on a couple planes and tada, back on...
Oh dumb me
Turns out I just couldn’t find the real bell. Aghhhh. I brought Enzo to help me translate, but it was embarrassing, my lack of Spanish, and of course he doesn’t really understand the fisheries terms…
Anyway, today I was supposed to return at 10 to get some literature to bring back with me, but it’s not ready?
I don’t really understand… So I said I would...
Damn you, chileano business hours.
They make no sense. Seriously. Everytime I have left a hostel or hospedaje before 10 am (or, god forbid, 9 am) without a bus ticket and simply a desire to see shops or find a phone or, god forbid decent coffee (doesn’t exist in chile, ftr) I end up wandering on empty streets and closed shops. Seriously, not even espresso.
Anyway, today in Valpo I am supposed to meet with the organization...
i have been internet quite for a few days
because i have been on a farm in Metri, near Puerto Montt, sin internet, agua caliente, refrigeration, etc.
running water: check, from the lagoon. it{s a little brown. i can{t figure out how to make the possessive sign so please deal with the {. ps the water tastes good though.
light: yes, each room has a lightbulb.
heat: there is a stove but it{s never cold enough to need to build a...
small world
i just walked out of the bus station in castro on chiloé, and tada, there´s the other american couple i met on the navimag! a small, small world.
I am finally farming
yesterday nikita (french girl who has been at this farm for over 1 month) and i planted lettuces and weeded in the greenhouse because it was raining. we had a long discussion with the farm jefe, Sergio, about the salmon farms (I am in the heart of salmon farming), but really nikita was in the middle translating.
the house we´re staying in is full of stuff, just stuff. Matias (farm owner) used to...
Damn you, 2 tumblogs.
I am headed back towards puerto montt tomorrow, to a farm down there. A couple from the boat wwoofed there and said it wasn’t a ton of work, but hopefully it will keep me fairly occupied.
Alejandro helped me by translating the directions, so all esta bien.
Back on the tourist track
I arrived in Pucón and who are the first people I see in my new hostel? The english couple I shared a cab with yesterday morning from the Navimag to the Puerto Montt bus station! Ha.
I´m starting to feel fat (Chillenos nor Argentines eat very healthy, creo) so today I rented a bike and rode around 40 km. 22 km up/down on dirt roads, rad, and then the last 19 back on the highway to the...
well damnit
I have been trying to call this farm all morning and have not been able to reach them, the phones all seem to be disconnected. so… I am writing them off and will travel somewhere else. I don´t know. Maybe Pucón where there is a volcano.
(it seems like a bad idea to go somewhere that cannot answer either a phone, much less keep it connected, or an email.)
on solid land
I´m in Temuco, trying not to freak out. Well, trying to gain a little courage, more accurately. I have been spending too much time with english-speaking people and my spanish has not progressed since leaving Bariloche (3 weeks i think). Chileans slur all their words and use much more slang and are MUCHO MAS DIFFICILE A ENTIENDO. ARGH.
I´m trying to head to a farm just west of this city, tomorrow,...
Just over 20 days left
Is it bad that I’ve started counting down? Yes. No. I miss brunch in sf. This hostel has rad breakfast, an environmental vibe, and people with connections to farms that might need volunteers in chile. I miss sf.
fantastic!
I was moved from the hostel annex (brrrrr) to the main part, where I’ve pretty much been hanging out anyway. (using the wifi, watching movies, borrowing the owners bike….)
They have worse showers but a hella amazing breakfast (fresh bread, omelettes, good coffee) AND they’re warmer. (Patagonia summers are similar to sf’s fall, but crazy windier and it rains on and off).
...
The W
Last week I decided to hike the W in Torres del Paine. I knew it was tough, and popular, and since it’s the high season here things are a bit crowded. The Torres are known for inconsistent and unpredictable weather (snow, rain, heat, who knows) and beautiful views. Mountains, glaciers, rivers you can fill your water bottle from… And people flock to it. They have a lot of infrastructure...
December 2008
25 posts
Off to torres del paine
Wind wind wind wind