kez & hay travels 06

At last I have found time in between fiestas to update the blog.  Having an amazing time in the land of Latinos, fitting in nicely with their laid back, salsa dancing, pisco sour drinking life style!  Have been discovering this gorgeous country for nearly 5 weeks now and don't want to leave.  When I arrived I met Andres and his family (a friend of friends, from a hostel in Sydney) and they invited me to spend the weekend at their country home in a small, typical, non touristy town called San Vicente de Tagua Tagua.  Here I had a feast of home made empanadas, other Chilean dishes, their national drink, Pisco Sour and of course lots of red wine.  With a live latino band and a dance floor full of serious movers, my dancing skills were put to the test on my second night.  I tried to learn the traditional dances of Cueca (dancing with a hanky!) and Cumbia (described by them as a kind of cock and hen flirting dance) The locals were very keen on teaching me the techniques and so I didn't get off the dance floor until the early hours!  Then it was back to the chaos of Santiago for 2 days to tour the busy city that is surrounded by mountain ranges.

I then arrived in Pucon in the lake district of Chile.  The town is surrounded by clear, fresh water lakes, hot springs and has an active volcano just feet away from the centre.  There was an option of climbing the glowing red volcan but through experience of previous treks, decided this time to give it a miss.  I met Raul (a friend of Andres) who became my guide and interpreter for the few days I was there.  We spent a day at his grandfather's house in the country, where I tried a traditional drink called "Maté" it is a very strong tea that you drink through a silver straw and share with others (I think it was legal, well granny was drinking it!)  After 3 days of local fiestas, I decided to move on to the more tranquille island of Chiloe.

Chiloe is a lush patchwork of pastureland on never ending hills.  The island is well known for it's Palafitos (wooden houses on stilts) and it's World Heritage listed wooden churches.  I based myself in Castro, the capital and from there visited the minature islands of Isla Lemuy and Isla Quinchao and the towns of Dalcahue and Chonchi.  Fish was on the menu most nights as more than half of the Chilotes make a living from fishing but I also sampled their culinary speciality "Curanto" (meat, fish and potatoes, all boiled together)

I then headed back north to Puerto Varas which lies on the southern tip of Lago Llanquihue.  This friendly town had gorgeous views of Volcan Osorno and a Swiss ski resort feel about it.  On my 2nd day, I hopped onto a deadly micro (small bus with no brakes or road rules) to speed west around the lake to the town of Frutillar, German influenced. With such beautiful scenery in the distance I wanted to get up close and so I decided to make my way to Argentina through the Andes.  After a whole day of travel, crossing 3 different lakes by boat and catching 4 different buses, I made it to Bariloche. It was all worth it though for the views were spectacular and unforgettable. I stayed 3 days as the town is known for it's quality chocolate, so I was in heaven!  Then it was back to Chile to a town called Valdivia also known as the City of Rivers. Are you starting to see why this region is called the Lake District!! I spent the afternoon cruising on a boat through the rivers and hopping off to wander around small villages that look out to the Pacific Ocean. Valdivia is also home to a well liked beer called "Kuntsman" (that's the German influence for you!!) So I spent the next afternoon at the museum doing some sampling with a fellow Brit.

At the weekend I met up with Andres again and we made our way to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso to stay with his friend's parents, so yet more culture discovery. These are 2 cities right next to each other, Vina being a modern, high rise, jet set city while Valparaiso has a more poetic, artistic feel to it. Both are beach resorts and also have a big student life so plenty of party opportunities. After the weekend we left the bustling cities behind and headed to the country to do some camping by Lake Rapel and take part in the local village's dance fiesta. Then with the long weekend over we were welcomed back to Santiago with home made sushi by Andre's father. How more spoilt can I get!!

Wanting to head North I hitched a lift with Andre's parents to La Serena and stayed with them, their friends and their Margaritas for 1 night. Next evening I caught the night bus to San Pedro de Atacama. A stark change from the south, now I was in the desert at an altitude of 2440m, it was easy to relax and chill!! Beautiful brick and mud buildings with wooden doors lined the streets. I took a trip to see the Moon Valley. It is famous for it's resemblance to the surface of the Moon and with images of red, sand mountains for miles in the distance made you realise how literally you were in the middle of nowhere. Totally amazing apart from the 50 minute walk in the blistering sun. You could spot the Brits back in town by how red they were!!

And so to where I am now, a town called Iquique. Relaxing on the beach before making my way into Bolivia and guess what there is a local dance fiesta on tonight! They live, eat and sleep music here and I love it!!....