Looking back on South America

As we head off to New Zealand, I am reflecting on the past month in South America. I have been thinking about the highlights of the trip, what I’ve learned about the cultures, about myself and about travelling.  In an effort to keep this short and to the point, I’ve narrowed down my thoughts to “the top 5 things…”

I Love About South America:

1. Wide open spaces! – indeed, the Dixie Chick’s song was in my head a good part of the time. Chile, in particular allows you the opportunity to truly feel in the middle of nowhere and witness nature’s majesty
2. In Chile they serve this salsa stuff called Chancho en Piedra with nearly every meal and each place seemed to have their own unique spin – sometimes like salsa, sometimes more like bruschetta – served with bread – so yummy!
3. Gaucho culture- complete with matte and horseback riding- is everywhere
4. The Chilean people – so friendly and welcoming
5. Buenos Aires – perhaps my favorite city of all time… so far :)

I miss about home:

1. Family and friends – seriously, I really miss you guys
2. Dogs  - sadly, Raj and I have taken to impersonating our dogs. it’s really frightening…
3. Cooking for myself – the food has been great, but sometimes you just want to do it yourself
4. Big salads for meals – there is only so much meat a newly converted vegetarian can handle – why don’t other countries (exception Greece) have this as an option?
5. Easy access to the things we take for granted and knowing where I’m sleeping at night

I’ve been inspired to do:

1. Plant a BIG vegetable garden
2. Own horses and land to gallop through – seriously, I may have to move OTP now
3. Learn Spanish fluently (would have been helpful before this trip, but better late than never)
4. Make furniture – weird because I NEVER considered it before, but ever since we passed that property on horseback and i saw those trees that looked like driftwood, I can’t stop thinking about how I’d like to make something from it
5. Come back to Chile and Argentine with friends and family. there is nothing that i have seen or done that I wouldn’t want to do again and there is still so much more to do. Plus, I have to make good use of #3

I’m glad I packed (for those of you who read my first blog posting):

1. Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment (thank you Auntie Nancy!) and the miracle stuff we bought in India – since we spent quite a lot of time on horses, we both experienced the joys of saddle sores at one point or another – lovely things…not
2. Netbook and converter/adapter set – although we contemplated “getting away from it all” in a more complete way, it has been absolutely terrific to be able to stay more connected and to be able to Skype and write the blog and do research as we go. In actuality, we feel more free having it than we would have felt if we left it behind.
3. The hair thingy mom gave me – very versatile – works when it’s cold as an ear protector or when I just need to cover up my hair
4. Horseback riding boots, cold weather boots and hiking boots - i debated and debated about bringing all three – seemed excessive and heavy. but all three have been essential
5. 3-in-1 Clinique products – it downsizes packing and makes everything faster

There are several things I have that I haven’t needed too and other things I wish I had (especially when we were in BA and everyone else had snazzy clothes). Ultimately, we both seem to have packed really well. 

All in all, our first continent could not have been any better: we had great weather, fantastic experiences and met new friends. 

Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn Cruise

The hotel in Torres del Paine transferred us back to Punta Arenas by van along with 2 other couples who were going on the same cruise. We spent about 7 hours with them between the journey and waiting to be able to board so we learned quite a lot about each other and began the cruise with new friends. One couple, Hans and Rena, were in their 70s (actually Hans was 80) and had travelled absolutely everywhere! They amazed us with their endless energy and fabulous stores from their 50 years of travelling.  The other couple, Jeff and Midge, were celebrating their 30th anniversary and on holiday from their teaching positions.  We finally boarded the ship around 6pm. It accommodated about 125 passengers normally but only 88 (representing 15 different countries with very few Americans) for our voyage and was nice with 2 lounges and a dining room. It was very simple but cozy. 

On the morning of April 1, a dream woke me up. I opened my eyes and there was a dim reddish glow in the room. I quickly realized that the glow was from the beginning of a glorious sunrise. As I watched from our cabin window, I heard a splash outside and thought at first it was fish jumping. then I realized it was a seal playing and the little guy played there right by our window all morning! I was so excited that Raj even woke up and we went to the top deck to watch the sunrise (and the seal)! Our first stop was Ainsworth Bay and it was our first experience with the zodiac boats that took us to shore each time reached our destination (each place we went was too remote to have a port or even a dock). 

We went on a guided hike that was actually really boring, as our guide was a fungus freak and kept stopping to take pictures of mushrooms and to tell us ALL about them… To each their own, but we were falling asleep standing up. That is, until, we nearly tripped over an enormous Elephant Seal!  Although he only lay there, he entertained us well and we were SO close (which was great except for the rather vile smell).  When we finally tore ourselves away to return to the ship, we were greeted on the shore with our choice of whisky or hot chocolate. Not a bad morning, huh?  That afternoon, we stopped at Tucker Island and took a zodiac ride for about an hour around the island and saw dozens and dozens of penguins!  They were so cute and again, very close to us. When we returned back to ship, very satisfied to have seen so much on the first day, we were again greeted by seals playing outside our window. We must have watched them for an hour – there were several of them having a fabulous time playing and jumping and diving – it was absolutely fantastic!  That night we also met some other travelers from Paris.  They were great to talk with and 2 of them had us beat for sure – they were 6 months into a 1 year sabbatical (which, btw, is mandatory for companies to allow in France after only 3 years of working for the same place and after 6 years they will actually pay 20% of your salary while you are away!!!).

The next day we went to Pia Glacier which was nice, but didn’t compare to the Grey Glacier we had just seen the week before.  Then we began our voyage toward Cape Horn (the most southern place before Antarctica – a mere 500 miles) The water became very very rough and although we are both usually okay with a bit of rocking, we were relieved that the ship was giving out motion-sickness pills – especially when we saw other passengers leaning over the side of the boat the next morning). Unfortunately, when we did arrive at Cape Horn, the waters were still ridiculous and therefore, we were unable to disembark on the zodiacs to go to the island. Instead, we sailed around the south end into the Drake Passage (where the Pacific and Atlantic meet) and officially crossed the 56th parallel :)  Amazingly, a few hours later we found ourselves in the most calm waters imaginable (much calmer than lake Lanier!) and had one final night on board where we took it upon ourselves to educate the bartender how to make a proper dirty martini; a few of the other passengers were very pleased to benefit from this!  The following morning, we awoke at port in Ushuaia, a very cute town and the southern most city in South America, where we caught our flight to Buenos Aires.

Torres del Paine

The day before we left the Lake District (in Northern Patagonia) to fly to Punta Arenas (Southern Patagonia) we realized that we should look into where we were going to stay.  The main attraction on the Chilean side of Southern Patagonia is the enormous National Park, Torres del Paine.  It is about 4-5 hours drive away from Punta Arenas and the roads, we had heard, are not that great. (travelers note:  other than being mostly gravel and no gas stations for hours, the roads were fine… just lots and lots of flat nothing, like driving through Texas).  We had also heard that unless  you are camping/trekking, accommodations are tricky b/c you have to stay in Puerto Natales outside the park and then find a guide to take you the parts of the park you want to see.  Not terribly complicated, but definitely a bit of a hassle.  During our trip advisor hotel search, we came across a place that got the most amazing reviews I’ve ever seen; everyone said it was worth the cost because it was inside the park with spectacular views and offered guided hiking and horseback riding throughout the park, as well as all inclusive food and booze and 5 hour transfer.  Although we were sold on the pictures and reviews, we were a bit dumbfounded when we checked out the website and saw the costs. We ruled it out as an option and continued looking for other options. In comparison though, nothing appealed to us, so we decided to take a chance and contact the hotel to see if they had availability and would offer a discount – we figured if they still had a room the day before, it wouldn’t hurt to ask (and this is NOT a location where someone is going to show up last minute – in fact, they don’t allow it).  The hotel responded quickly and ended up giving us a fabulous deal that included an upgraded room, 6 nights when they only offer 4 or 8 night packages, and one free night – i must admit, we still paid more than we ever have before and never would have expected to do something like this on an extended trip that is more conducive to hostels and B&Bs, but after 3 weeks of jumping around, I jumped at the chance to unpack for 6 nights in an absolutely lovely place! 

We didn’t have the most wonderful weather (although there really isn’t such a concept as great weather in Southern Patagonia), and the hotel sometimes reminded us of a cruise ship, but ultimately, it was totally worth it. The view from our room was unbelievable (see picture above) and sometimes made it hard to leave.  The hotel was geared toward physical activities in the park and we wanted to take advantage.  The hikes were either half day or full day and there were many options including a full day hike we did to Grey’s Glacier (see picture).  We left before sunrise and took the hotel’s boat across the river to the valley.  Then hiked along the Grey Lake toward the eastern tongue of the glacier.  There were mostly mild hills with a few tough ones mixed in, and a mix of forests, streams, and very rocky terrain.  Ultimately we were very lucky with the weather and only got rained on for about 15 long minutes of being pelted with what felt like sleet, but we had much less wind than is usual for the area and even saw sun temporarily with a lovely rainbow.  We walked at a steady pace for about 12 km and it was a great time to get to know a few of the other travelers that had opted for this more challenging hike.  When we reached the glacier, we were at once struck by two things – incredible wind, and the fascinating color of the ice. The wind was strong enough that we could lean into it without falling over! And the blue color is caused by less oxygen in the ice; essentially the older the glacier, the longer it is compacted and forces out the air, creating an optical illusion to the human eye.  Instead of hiking back, we were picked up by a boat that took us even closer to the glacier (and served whisky and pisco sours with glacier ice, which freaked out Raj b/c who knows what is in 500+ year old ice!) and then took us back toward the hotel.  It was definitely the best hike we did but the other couple of half day hikes were great for seeing other (less icy) parts of the park, including Sarmiento Lake with it’s brilliant blue water that reminded us of the color of the Mediterranean, and also Condor Lookout with offered a 360 degree view of the side of the park by our hotel.

The horseback riding was also half day or full day but we ended up opting for several half days rather than full days.  The scenery we saw by horseback was very different than hiking and was fantastic too! They offered riding from two different locations – an estancia on the NE edge of the park (which has nicer weather for geographical reasons) and the hotel’s personal stables, which was the fanciest environment I could ever imagine for horses, complete with personalized saddles for each of the 30 or so beautifully groomed horses.  The rides were not as strenuous as in Futaleufu and they had silly rules like no galloping and we had to stay behind the gaucho (both of which I got “in trouble” for not following on the first day :P)  But, we also got to do a few things we hadn’t had the chance to do before, such as cross rivers where the water came up to our stirrups, and get up close to some wildlife (specifically guanacos). 

At the estancia, where the horses were a bit less pampered, we also witnessed the most hilarious scene at the end of the day – as the gauchos took the saddles off each off the horses and set them free to pasture, each one of them immediately laid down in the mud and rolled around for a few minutes before running off! You have to watch the attached video – it is brilliant!

Although disappointed to leave such beautiful scenery and the available activities, our next adventure on a cruise to the southern most tip of South America, Cape Horn, and the opportunity to see penguins, seals, and other cold-loving animals awaited us.

The Lake District

After checking back into the Holiday Inn Express in Puerto Montt we decided to get some much needed laundry done and contacted some guy our cab driver gave us in order to book a rental car for the next three days. It was a Saturday night in Puerto Montt, but all we could handle was room service and some R&R after a long week of exhilarating riding.

The next day we picked up our rental car, which I like to call “piece of shit car” after the Adam Sandler song (Jeff you know which one I mean). No joke, this thing was falling apart. The stereo was stuck on an FM channel and the volume was stuck too. The car itself made some funky noises and I’m pretty sure if we pushed it the wheels might have fallen off.

Anyway, Tovah navigated us out of Puerto Montt and we headed for a couple of Volcanoes we could see in the distance. Winding through lakes and beautiful scenery, we took some pretty crazy dirt roads and constantly worried about our “piece of shit car”. We drove through a number of small German- influenced towns and finally decided to stop in Valdivia, which was a very pretty town with a couple of rivers. We found a pretty cool Hotel across from the river. We parked ourselves in the hotel bar and drank wine and ate cheese for dinner as we wrote the last few blog posts for Futaluefu. Pretty fun night really drinking wine overlooking the river and watching couples stroll along the bank.

The next day we headed northeast to another set of lakes and volcanoes. We stopped for lunch in Villarrica and then headed for the resort town of Pucon, which sits a few kilometers from an active Volcano. We watched a beautiful sunset before walking into town to sample a middle eastern restaurant we’d heard of (a nice change from traditional Chilean food). Found another dog that was in need of my Shish Kabob.

The next morning we chilled out in the hotel spa before heading back to Puerto Montt which was a good 5 hour drive back. Checked into “The Holiday Inn” as snoop dog would say and frantically booked our next segments of our trip to Torres Del Paine and a cruise through southern Patagonia down to Cape Horn.

6 days and 5 nights of horseback riding and estancias (Part 2 of 2)

Day 3: We woke up at Irvin’s a bit sore from sharing the tiny bed that sinks in the middle, and certainly in part from 2 long days of horseback riding. Seeing the location by daylight, however, was illuminating.  Though the small house was similar to how it looked by candlelight, the scenery around it was a pleasant surprise, as it was on hill overlooking the lake.  Once Fabian returned from a ride to the neighbors to buy some bread, the four us had breakfast, I helped Fabian remove a big splinter from his hand (thank you big tree from night before) we packed a lunch of sandwiches, and set off on a hike. Irvin led us through his enormous property and beyond. We saw a waterfall, enormous trees (including one that was hollow at the base and likely housed a wild boar, an abandoned cow corral at the top of the mountain, several streams, views of the lake and also fields of charred trees from the fire 40 years ago. It was great!

     

Later in the day, we rode onto our next location and took a shorter route than planned to ensure we would get there before dark – we had had enough evening adventures at this point.  We were also a bit desperate for running water and the promise of a real shower!  Most of the day was a basic ride, but I do remember well Raj and I galloping at full speed into a large green clearing with a river on one side that and racing each other up the gentle hills.  After a few days, we were both so much more comfortable with the speed! My hat flew off as we let the horses really go for it , and watching Raj manage as if he’d been raised a cowboy is a sight I will remember when we are old and gray! If only I had a picture for the rest of you!

Our hosts, Elena and Edermo, were incredibly sweet, and also lived on one of the most picturesque properties we have ever seen.   Not only did they have large green pastures, but they were directly at the mouth of the river with a swinging bridge (a very terrifying bridge with several holes that we had to walk our horses over one at a time the next day) and they were close enough to town to have some more modern conveniences. Fabian had promised us a shower but we were shocked to find that we actually had our very own cabin that Edermo had built himself. This gorgeous cabin had a full bathroom, kitchen, fireplace, electricity, a sleeping loft and was built around a tree giving it the sense of a luxurious tree-house.  It was also immaculately clean, which was another fabulous bonus.  The food was again fantastic and fresh and abundant and our hosts introduced us to the traditional customs of drinking Yerba Matte. They also gave us beer and wine!  We have to admit that we weren’t exactly roughing it as this place! I could easily live there without feeling deprived of anything except a refrigerator and a washing machine – it was absolutely lovely.  

Day 4:  The next day was beautiful and since we only had a 4 hour ride to the next location, we took it easy in the morning.  We enjoyed chatting with our hosts (who didn’t speak English but spoke slow enough for me to catch most of it), skipping rocks in the river, watching Edermo prune his apple and cherry trees, and playing with their dog, Corvata. It was perfect!  We also took a walk/hike to see one of the Futaleufu river’s biggest rapids – Devil’s Throat; it is actually considered impassable and from what we saw, I for one can understand why. 

When we arrived at the next home, the first thing that greeted us was an adorable 6 month old puppy and his dad. He was sort of a spazz, like Guinness ,and we instantly adored him.  We joked with his owner, Magdalena, that we wanted to take him with us – she did not approve. Magdalena and Marciel had a very nice home, also on a lake, with electricity, running water in the kitchen, and even a washing machine. Oddly, though, they did not have a bathroom, and instead utilized an outhouse. It certainly wasn’t the first place we had stayed without a toilet, but it was an odd contrast to their other amenities. Also, the outhouse was “decorated” with pictures from magazines – mainly of women’s underwear ads and product ads. It was strange for sure.

Before dinner, Fabian took us for a walk and we found an interesting boat to take out on the lake for sunset. It was a row boat/pontoon boat that looked more like a square piece from the dock.  Along the way to the dock, we also picked up another puppy, presumably the sibling of Magdalena’s. So, Fabian, Raj and I took turns rowing (mostly in teams) and we had a nice time on the very quiet water.  They had a Chilean BBQ prepared for dinner when we returned along with salad and wine.  Somehow, Raj ended up coaxing me into reading Fabian’s palm, and then Marciel and Magdalena’s as well with Fabian translating.  I was surprised at how easily it came to me after so long and they seemed slightly unnerved by the accuracy of a few things I said.

Day 5:  The next morning over breakfast we tried to teach Magdalena a bit of English, as she is trying to learn for business purposes.  We then were just chilling out and watching TV and ended up watching the movie, The Firm, while Magdalena cooked us a pack lunch to take on our journey. When we stopped a few hours later to eat at the Condor Nest (a small cabin owned by Expediciones Chile that is used for honeymoons and overflow), we found that lunch consisted of spaghetti, rolls and salad, complete with oil and vinegar and cheese and tomato sauce and real plates; Fabian must have been exhausted from carrying all of it on his backpack!

Just as it was getting dark, we arrived at our final hacienda.  Benedicto and his partner were just finishing up dinner and lighting their single gas lamp.  They were used to working with tourists and were very patient with communication – they even preferred Fabian not help so that I would be forced to practice more.  Despite being only 12 km from town, they live about 99% off their land; as far as we could tell, the only foods they purchase are rice, oil and Nescafe. They have an entire potato patch, two huge greenhouses and other gardens. They make their own butter, jams, teas, cider and vinegar. Additionally, they have cattle, chickens, pigs, rabbits, ducks, goats and sheep.  They spool their own yarn from the sheep’s wool and then make ponchos, bags, slippers, etc. to sell in town. So, during the summer months they work with tourists and during the cold winter, they hole up and weave, weave, weave. It was truly fascinating.

After dinner, Raj and Fabian had a chess rematch.  There wasn’t anything else to do after that, so Raj and I decided to check out the night sky (it had been cloudy on all the previous nights).  When we went outside, the sky took our breath away.  We could clearly see the milky way, Orion’s belt, the Big Dipper, and I suspect we could have seen any other particular star in the sky had we been looking. It was the most stars we have ever seen, no doubt about it. We were mesmerized at the reality of how many are really out there that we miss throughout our lives.

Day 6:  We woke up the next morning to the sound of ducks engaged in some form of a world war – it was ridiculously loud! We were also completely freezing and getting our first sight of the house in daylight, we understood why; there was not only zero insulation, but there were huge gaps in the walls and floorboard exposing the ground and the outdoors. We marveled at how the couple manage to survive the winters there since we were so cold and it was technically the end of summer.

After breakfast, they took us on a tour of their gardens and property.  We also got to meet their rabbits and 9 piglets!  Then Fabian took us on another hike – this one was very steep and we ended up on the river in a lovely spot. Raj and Fabian talked about movies (did I mention before that they talked about movies for the entire 6 days?) on the beach, and I explored the boulders and rocks by the water and meditated for about 20 minutes.  We finally, and reluctantly, began our journey back up the hill which required two breaks to catch our breath!

After 6 days of riding, we felt surprisingly great. Raj’s knees hurt a bit, and my butt was definitely sore, but otherwise, we had no trouble whatsoever.  About an hour before we reached town I realized that my bum was indeed sore enough that I’d like a break, so the timing couldn’t have been better. Raj and I had been fantasizing about a long hot shower at the Lodge and then curling up in bed to begin writing this blog or maybe watch a movie on our laptop, but that was not to be. After unloading at Fabian’s barn, the three of us were walking back to the Lodge and ran into everyone else staying there as they piled into a van to go to a BBQ outside of town.  We literally threw our bags behind the reception desk and piled into the van – we didn’t even have a chance to go to the bathroom or wash our hands! So, our trip ended in a field, with a bonfire roasting a lamb and a bunch of adrenalin-junkie kayakers.  At least the previous weeks of eating meat had prepared me for this style of cooking!

The next morning Fabian accompanied us on the 2 hour journey to the airport in Palena, and we said goodbye to our new friend.  We are hoping to get to see him again – perhaps in the States, as he wants to travel through soon. It is daunting to think of what we could show him that would possibly compare to all that we experienced with him!  In any case, our weeklong adventure was truly wonderful and we highly recommend such an experience to all of you.  If you can go to Chile, you have to make time for something like this – the combination of cultural immersion, beautiful scenery and exploration certainly left lasting marks on us.  We’ll be happy to return with you and repeat the experience anytime!

As promised…

Sorry for the week-long teaser! It wasn't really intentional – we just ran out of time to write and also had no access to our computer or Internet all week. So, here we go...

1. Getting pulled over by la policia after drinking a bottle of wine - In Santa Cruz we drove out to a lovely dinner in a rural area at a traditional family owned restaurant. We shared a really nice bottle of Montes wine (for $13) and asked the owner/waiter to order for us (meat for raj and fish for me-although I'm eating meat on this trip, I am still ordering fish when possible). This place was a bit too much for me to handle ordering meat anyway because the lamb was cooking over an open fire about 20 ft from our table (picture attached). There is only so much a newly converted vegetarian can handle. After finishing our wine, the owner brought us our complimentary choice of traditional liqueur for dessert. Without thinking much of it, we hopped in the car to try to find our way back to our hotel. We quickly got lost and were driving through the town trying to find our way through a confusing maze of one way streets and lack of street signs. We were not drunk, but we were still pretty freaked out when we got pulled over at a road block! We played the part of the dumb Americans pretty well though and ended up asking the cops directions to our hotel before they could question us at all. Since they didn't speak any English, our tactic worked pretty well.

2. What Santa Cruz Wine Valley is like – very much like California's wine valleys – very warm, sunny, lots of hills, and a strange mix of both lush yet dry terrain. They mostly grow grapes for red wine. We were there during their first week of the harvest, so not only were there beautiful orchards all around, but they were bursting with purple grapes ripe and ready to be picked.

3. Wine tasting by horseback – Our B&B introduced us to a guy named Diego who organizes more adventurous tours of the valley (i.e. mountain biking or horseback riding). We, of course, went for the horseback riding. It ended up being six of us total – Raj, me, Diego, our gaucho, and two girls from Canada. We hoped on our horses around 10:30 am and began a ride through a mix of orchards and steep rocky hills. Our horses were amazing - a mix of the traditional Chilean Criollos and quarter horses. We rode mainly uphill for nearly two hours and then came to a small wood gate. We dismounted and left the horses with the gaucho. Diego guided us through the gate and up some stone steps and we arrived at a beautiful deck overlooking the valley. On the deck was a an old wood wine barrel with a bottle of wine and 4 glasses. This was our first wine tasting! It was so different, and unexpected, and absolutely perfect! The 4 of us shared the bottle (Diego abstained) and some conversation, and then hopped back on our horses and rode back down for another hour or so. It was getting pretty hot, so although I was bummed to say goodbye to my horse, the air-conditioned van that drove us to the next winery (and lunch) was very welcome. The rest of the day followed a more traditional wine tour itinerary. It was a very fun day.

4. GPS getting directions to Santiago airport wrong – Our drive from our hotel in Santiago to Santa Cruz took about 2.5 hours, so we were careful to budget about 4 hours to get to the Santiago airport expecting plenty of time to get lunch and return the rental car. Before we left, we downloaded directions onto my phone. Unfortunately, despite being an International airport, Google maps does not know where the Santiago airport is. We arrived at the location it said was the airport and were more than a bit uneasy to find ourselves in the middle of the city at an office building! To make a long story short(er) we asked directions from a few women on the side of the street and again from a few other drivers (again– difficult due to my pathetic excuse for Spanish) and eventually found our way to the airport just in time rather than significantly early as expected.

5. Raj giving away his burger to the needy – on our way to the Santiago airport, we stopped for lunch along the highway. As we ate outside, a stray dog wandered over to us (obviously, we continue to wear the “we are suckers” signs on our foreheads). We both started putting aside some of our lunch with the intention of giving him some scraps, but Raj decided to go a step farther and actually gave the sweet little guy about a quarter of his burger. Didn't you know that he was worse than me???

6. Charter plane to Palena – Normally to get to the Futaleufu Valley, one would take a plane to Chaiten, but last year, Chaiten was devastated when its volcano erupted. So, instead we flew in an 8 seater to Palena. The flight plan took us over the bay and we were low enough to see the salmon and trout fish farms. Then we reached mountainous terrain that appeared impossible to reach. There were pockets of lakes high in the mountains that were sapphire blue and sometimes emerald green and several glaciers as well. It was quite beautiful. There was also a lot gray due to the volcano's ash everywhere – made the glaciers a very strange color. Then, all of a sudden, we left the mountains behind and entered a valley where we landed smoothly on the single, small runway.

7. Ride to Futaleufu Valley – Our driver, Pato, picked us up at the tiny little airstrip and we began the 2+ hour journey to Futaleufu.  For the first 2 miles or so, it is a paved rode, but after that, the entire way is dirt/gravel. It was a beautiful, if bumpy drive through the valleys and along the rivers. It made me really excited to get out into the wilderness. There were also a few places where new bridges were being built – a sign of how the area is growing and that the road from Palena to Futaleufu is being used so much more now that Chaiten is no longer the first destination.

8. “The Lodge” in the Valley – We arrived around 1:30pm just in time for lunch that is served family style there. I had somewhat high expectations of this place for some reason. I had done the research on this portion of the trip and had the impression that the lodge would be cushy and comfortable and that part of us would not want to be leaving to stay in haciendas and such. However, the lodge was actually more like a hostel with private rooms.  Not the cleanest place I’ve ever stayed and although the staff seemed nice, they weren’t the most helpful we’ve experienced either. It wasn’t until around 5pm that Saturday that we finally found out our itinerary for week when Chris Spellius (owner and former Olympic kayaker) knocked on our door. He came in with Fabian (our fearless guide) and explained that Raj and iI were the only people going on the trip and that they had created a special program for us and that we would be leaving Sunday morning and coming back Friday evening (rather than Monday to Thursday). Also, our first day riding would be the longest – 8 hours!  His main question for us was “Can you handle it???” to which we replied “Sure” even though we had know idea still what exactly we were going to have to handle.

9. Why Tovah is no longer interested in Kayaking – That night at the lodge we learned that everyone else staying there was there to kayak the “Fu” with Chris. The ONLY thing they talked about all night was kayaking. They took turns telling personal stories or horror stories they had heard. They talked about rolling and as far as I was concerned, used so many kayak specific terms that they might as well have been speaking another language. In any case, I realized that I am not crazy enough to attempt the stuff they were talking about and that if I ever get in a kayak again, it will only be a sea kayak. No rapids for me!

10. Our 5 day tour through the mountains that have not been ridden this season (due to volcano eruptions that wiped out a town last year) and staying at haciendas with locals who were notified today via radio that we’d be dropping by.) Okay, forgive us, but we can’t possible update you on the past week in this posting – there is simply too much and it really deserves its own section with lots of pictures. For now, let me just tell you that it was absolutely fantastic, that I have every intention of repeating it several times over the years and I highly recommend it to every one!

10 Things we will tell you about next weekend (after we get back from #10)

1. Getting pulled over by la policia after drinking a bottle of wine

2. What Santa Cruz Wine Valley is like

3. Wine tasting by horseback

4. GPS getting directions to Santiago airport wrong

5. Raj giving away his burger to the needy

6. Charter plane to Palena

7. Ride to Futaleufu Valley

8. “The Lodge” in the Valley

9. Why Tovah is no longer interested in Kayaking

10. Our 5 day tour through the mountains that have not been ridden this season (due to volcano eruptions that wiped out a town last year) and staying at haciendas with locals who were notified today via radio that we’d be dropping by.

Riding Horses through vineyards. What could be better?

Unfortunately this is a quick post as it's 2am in Peuto Monte, Chile and we have a 8am charter flight to Futaleufú Vally for a week of riding. more to come on the next post in about a week.

Anyway the last few days in Santa Cruz have been amazing. From jumping into a rental car and finding our way down to what I'd like to call the James bond on wineries (Casa Lapostolle's Clos Apalta), to riding through vineyards experiencing the beauty of the back country on amazing strong horses.

I wish I could write more, but you'll have to wait a week for the details. Oh got stopped by the policia two nights ago, but luckily they where cool:-)

Click here for all the latest photos...

Have we really only been here 36 hours???

That is what I asked Raj about 10 minutes ago as we sat by the pool enjoying recounting everything that we have already experienced...

So, our flight arrived in Santiago, Chile yesterday (March 10th) at 6:30 AM. We easily got through customs/immigration and hired a taxi to take us to our hotel. As you can imagine, the hotel wouldn't allow us to check in at 7:30 am, but they were very nice and were willing to hold onto our bags so we could explore for a bit. So, without the opportunity to change or freshen up from our 16 hour journey and red-eye flight, we set out to see what Santiago had to offer. Fortunately, our hotel was centrally located and we easily stumbled toward the most obvious of Santiago's tourist destinations, Parque Metropolitano. Since we arrived there before 9 am, and the Funicula (a tram that takes you up/down the steep hill) didn't open until 10 am, we ventured out on the one hour hike up the very steep hill (I was not wearing the appropriate shoes or attire for this, and poor Raj was still carrying his heavy backpack with our Netbook and everything else he had carried onto the plane). The beginning of the path was not clearly marked and we initially took a wrong turn. During this short walk going the wrong way, we were enthusiastically greeted by two stray dogs, who seemed insistent upon escorting wherever we went. One of them, stayed by our side when we realized we needed to back track. This sweet little girl (picture attached) guided us all the way to the top of the hill, and an hour later, plopped down beside us at the steps of the statue and took a little nap as we sat, rested and took in the view. We named her Mira (because she was so excited to be showing us “her hill” and seemed to constantly be saying “look!”). She stayed by our side until we took the Funicula down the hill (my feet were starting to blister in my inappropriate shoes and couldn't bear to walk back down). We wandered back toward our hotel around 11:30 am, and were very lucky and relieved to find that they had a room ready for us (3 hours early!). So, we took much needed showers and a very nice long nap until about 4pm. We woke up hungry but unwilling to eat a large meal because we wanted to explore the nightlife. So, we strolled down the street in the opposite direction as in the morning and quickly came across a little cafe. Our waitress did not speak any English, and my Spanish is very limited (generous), but she was incredibly patient and we eventually ended up with an interesting and yummy sandwich to share and two beers.

A few hours later we walked to the Buena Vista district (known to be more Bohemian and young and randomly chose a lovely restaurant for our first dinner. By now it was after 10 pm, as we had read that the nightlife doesn't begin until around 9:30. However, we found that the nightlife consisted of drinking on patios and the restaurant was actually empty except for 2 other tables. We had two waiters, but neither spoke any English. They were slightly less patient with our lack of Spanish than the waitress earlier, but mostly nice and our food and bottle of wine was not only delicious, but cheap! It was definitely worth suffering through awkward ordering!

First impressions of Santiago: an energetic city, very pedestrian friendly (sidewalks were wider than the street), friendly and helpful people, clean roads, but surprisingly bad air pollution, stray dogs everywhere, but seemingly well fed. Second impression: not enough going on to stay more than one night.

We had only reserved one night in the hotel in Santiago, but we have a flight out of Santiago to Puerto Montt on Friday, so we decided to take a couple of days to explore the Chilean wine country. Although there are a few wineries that can be visited as day trips, we wanted to get a bit farther away from the typical tourist locations. We got a solid suggestion to check out the Santa Cruz in the Colchagua Valley. So, this morning I called a B&B highly recommended on TripAdvisor and booked us 2 nights. Then the fun began because Santa Cruz is about 3 hours south of Santiago. Short notice transportation was a very expensive option, so the hotel assisted us in renting a car (they brought it right to our hotel). Now, for those of you who know the story about my parents driving through England, I have to say that for the first 20 minutes of our road adventure, I imagined titling this blog, “Bloody hell, give way!!!” But honestly, once we found our way to the main highway, the drive was incredibly pleasant and was a great opportunity to see more of the Chilean lifestyle and scenery as we drove through tiny towns and through valleys, corn fields and wine orchards. We arrived at our 6 bedroom B&B much earlier than we expected and were greeted by a helpful staff who immediately made us a reservation at a nearby winery called Lapostolle (voted Best Winery in the World by Wine Spectator Magazine last year). We really enjoyed the tour of the modern facilities and the detailed information about their production (like they are the only winery in Chile to hand separate the grape from the vine, and the owner lives in France and also owns Grand Marnier – she only visits here about 4 times a year). The wines we tried were good but not good enough for to buy any and lug around... or even to drink tonight really – we'd prefer to sample something new. As soon as we got back to the hotel, we rested by the pool in the sun and shared a sandwich as we realized we had missed lunch altogether...again. We also arranged for tomorrow's adventure, which will include a full day of wine tours (3 wineries) and wine tasting, but with a twist – we get to do almost all of it on horseback! Woohoo! Apparently, not too many visitors are brave enough for this so we don't have any feedback on what to expect – we'll get back with you on that. The guide was very pleased to learn we have horseback riding boots with us though. And we are happy to have another day to use them so that hopefully we won't resent the extra weight they add to our bags :(

Anyway, we are having so much fun already. We've had a perfect balance of exploring, relaxing and adventure. We feel like time is moving very slowly for now; it feels like we have been here several days. It is very hard to believe we have been here only one night! We will try to post another update on Friday because we leave for our week-long horseback trip in Patagonia on Saturday and won't be posting anything until we get back.
Salud!