Friday, July 23, 2010
End of this Adventure
I'm sitting in my bed for the last night in Chile, and I can't help but be a little nostalgic and sad. I've been here in Chile for five months, and my time has been full of great friends, a wonderful family, enough Spanish for and Chilean slang for anyone, classes, great travels, and daily adventures. All in all it's been a fantastic semester, and I couldn't have asked for it to go better. I've been able to get to know Chile as well as I can in five months, and I've made friends and relationships that will last a long time. The past couple days have been full of packing, saying goodbye, and doing things for the last time in Chile. I went to the zoo in Quilpue yesterday, which was a good time, and tonight we had a big going-away dinner. I'm sad to go, but I'm also excited to get back to the US and my family and friends there. I guess I'm in a good place, because I'm sad to go, but I'm not sorry to leave, if that makes sense. Thanks to all of you for having interest in my adventures these past five months, and my adventures will continue. Next Monday I go to Jamaica with Nicole and two friends for a week, and then I go to Michigan with my family for a few days. After that, I'm looking forward to seeing my college friends at my house for a weekend, and then I'm off to my new apartment and grad school. Classes start the last week in August. Wish me luck!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Near the end
Well, I'm back in Vina del Mar, and it definitely feels like home at this point. I spent all of yesterday traveling, and arrived back at my host family's house in the late afternoon. It's good to be back, but I'm also looking forward to getting back to the USA and starting classes. Anyway, yesterday I just traveled and spent a little time with my host family. Today is more relaxing, packing, and maybe going to a little local zoo. I'll try to post some pictures tonight.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Buenos Aires II
Buenos Aires is a fantastic city, and full of things to do, places to see, and delicious and cheap food to eat. Today we slept in the latest we have the entire trip (around 9:00), and Elijah and I spent the morning walking to a park near the water, eating choripan, stopping by a bookstore, and generally having a great time seeing the city. It reminds me a lot of New York, in that it’s full of skyscrapers, bustling streets with people going every which way, lots of trendy shops, restaurants and cafes every corner, and people from all over the world. However, it definitely has its own distinct feel, and it’s similar to Valparaíso in a way. You can easily wander down just about any street and discover something interesting, and it’s easy to see the old European architecture, history, and uniqueness of this city.
The place where we bought choripan (which is basically a delicious sausage in a roll with fixings) was awesome. It was a street vendor’s grill, but it had an entire charcoal grill, huge roasts, a heap of sausages, and anything else barbecued you could want. The choripan we bought was a full-sized sub roll, and it only cost $1.50. Needless to say we went back the next day. After coming back to the hostel to pick up Elijah’s brother, Boris, we walked down the main shopping strip in town (avenida Florida) and drank in the sights and people watched. Buenos Aires is also famous for its cafes, and we spent a couple hours in one of the more famous ones, Café Richmond, where we drank coffee, played pool, and had a couple chess matches. We then grabbed another bite to eat, headed back to our hostel, hung out for a couple hours, and turned in early for the night.
July 20, 2010
Elijah and I headed out early in the morning to go back to the park we visited yesterday. Most of the park was closed yesterday, and we could walk around much more of it today. The park takes up a large part of an island next to the city called Puerto Madero. Puerto Madero is also the up-scale, trendy section of town, but the park is an ecological reserve that is mostly huge impoundments full of marshes and wetlands. We walked along the dikes for a couple hours, saw some good ducks and birds, and enjoyed the first day of nice weather we’ve had in a week. It’s beautiful today, and it was great to see such a big green space for wildlife in the heart of one of the biggest cities in South America. We then walked back to our hostel, checked out, and made our way over to the bus terminal.
In order to get back to Montevideo, we decided to take a combination bus/boat ride. The ferry was a modern, high-speed deal which only took an hour to get across the Rio de la Platte bay, and then a three hour bus ride to Montevideo. The boat terminal was set up like an airport, complete with customs and immigration, departure gates, and duty-free shops. It was also complete with a delayed departure due to technical difficulties, and we ended up waiting in the terminal for two hours. However, the ride was nice, and we then took a short bus trip the rest of the way to Montevideo.
We didn't do too much this evening, other than Elijah found a good pair of leather shoes to buy, we cooked a nice dinner in the hostel, and we chilled out and enjoyed each other's company for the last night together. Tomorrow we head back to Vina del Mar, and then only a few days left before back to the USA.
July 19
The place where we bought choripan (which is basically a delicious sausage in a roll with fixings) was awesome. It was a street vendor’s grill, but it had an entire charcoal grill, huge roasts, a heap of sausages, and anything else barbecued you could want. The choripan we bought was a full-sized sub roll, and it only cost $1.50. Needless to say we went back the next day. After coming back to the hostel to pick up Elijah’s brother, Boris, we walked down the main shopping strip in town (avenida Florida) and drank in the sights and people watched. Buenos Aires is also famous for its cafes, and we spent a couple hours in one of the more famous ones, Café Richmond, where we drank coffee, played pool, and had a couple chess matches. We then grabbed another bite to eat, headed back to our hostel, hung out for a couple hours, and turned in early for the night.
July 20, 2010
Elijah and I headed out early in the morning to go back to the park we visited yesterday. Most of the park was closed yesterday, and we could walk around much more of it today. The park takes up a large part of an island next to the city called Puerto Madero. Puerto Madero is also the up-scale, trendy section of town, but the park is an ecological reserve that is mostly huge impoundments full of marshes and wetlands. We walked along the dikes for a couple hours, saw some good ducks and birds, and enjoyed the first day of nice weather we’ve had in a week. It’s beautiful today, and it was great to see such a big green space for wildlife in the heart of one of the biggest cities in South America. We then walked back to our hostel, checked out, and made our way over to the bus terminal.
In order to get back to Montevideo, we decided to take a combination bus/boat ride. The ferry was a modern, high-speed deal which only took an hour to get across the Rio de la Platte bay, and then a three hour bus ride to Montevideo. The boat terminal was set up like an airport, complete with customs and immigration, departure gates, and duty-free shops. It was also complete with a delayed departure due to technical difficulties, and we ended up waiting in the terminal for two hours. However, the ride was nice, and we then took a short bus trip the rest of the way to Montevideo.
We didn't do too much this evening, other than Elijah found a good pair of leather shoes to buy, we cooked a nice dinner in the hostel, and we chilled out and enjoyed each other's company for the last night together. Tomorrow we head back to Vina del Mar, and then only a few days left before back to the USA.
July 19
Monday, July 19, 2010
Buenos Aires
After an all-night bus ride, we arrived in the capital of Argentina at about 6:00 a.m. The bus terminal we chilled in for an hour was the biggest I've ever been to. It had three stories, huge complex of restaurants, and boarding slots for 75 buses. We left after it got light out, took the metro into downtown (which costs $0.25 per person) and then checked into a very nice hostel. I don't know why they're called hostels because they are so nice, but I guess it's because they have dorm rooms. It was raining all day, but we saw the city anyway, and we started off by walking to the Museo de Bellas Artes, the national fine art museum. It was a beautiful museum, and we enjoyed seeing the exhibits of european, argentinian, pre-colombian, and modern art.
We then took a taxi ride to a certain market/fair that is only open on Sundays, and we walked around for an hour or so. This particular market is set up as an antique's market, and I saw more old glass seltzer bottles yesterday than I have in the rest of my life combined. I bought a couple of gifts, and we splished and splashed our way back to our hostel. One of the things that Elijah and I have been craving more than anything is mexican food, and so we made a 14 block pilgrimage to a California Burrito Co. It was amazing and well worth the trip, and after coming back again to the hostel, we took a pleasant nap.
We woke up in time for dinner, and one of the things that we had to do while we were still in Argentina was go out for a big steak dinner. Argentina is known for its beef, delicious and cheap, and last night it definitely lived up to its expectations. We went to one of the many "parrillas" that line every street, and it was both delicious and cheap. A huge steak costs about 6 dollars, and Elijah's brother said it was the best he's ever had in his life. After dinner we talked with some Australians who were also in our hostel, and then had a wonderful night's sleep.
We then took a taxi ride to a certain market/fair that is only open on Sundays, and we walked around for an hour or so. This particular market is set up as an antique's market, and I saw more old glass seltzer bottles yesterday than I have in the rest of my life combined. I bought a couple of gifts, and we splished and splashed our way back to our hostel. One of the things that Elijah and I have been craving more than anything is mexican food, and so we made a 14 block pilgrimage to a California Burrito Co. It was amazing and well worth the trip, and after coming back again to the hostel, we took a pleasant nap.
We woke up in time for dinner, and one of the things that we had to do while we were still in Argentina was go out for a big steak dinner. Argentina is known for its beef, delicious and cheap, and last night it definitely lived up to its expectations. We went to one of the many "parrillas" that line every street, and it was both delicious and cheap. A huge steak costs about 6 dollars, and Elijah's brother said it was the best he's ever had in his life. After dinner we talked with some Australians who were also in our hostel, and then had a wonderful night's sleep.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Esteros de Iberá
We went to the middle of nowhere, we made it back, and it was amazing.
On the 15th, we woke up early and caught a bus down to the city of Posadas. The bus took a while, but they did give everyone a small cup of chocolate liquer; only in Argentina. We ended up getting there in the afternoon, but after that, we weren´t too sure how to procede and get all the way to the town of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini. Colonia is a town of 600 people in the middle of the National Reserve Esteros de Iberá, and it is difficult to get to. There is one bus a day that goes there, but from the other direction than Posadas, and it would take a day and a half to get there. I spent about an hour on the phone, and miraculously we were able to hire a pickup truck to take us down the 150 mile long dirt road to the town. We got into the town at about 10:00 pm, and we were taken to a cheap, but very nice, hostel to stay in. The owner made us dinner, and we slept very well that night.
On the 16th, I got up earlier than the other two because I wanted to go birding a little before breakfast. I saw a lot of great birds including a Southern Screamer, Red-crested Cardinals, and Maguari Stork. Esteros de Iberá is one of the largest wetlands in South America, and the protected area of it is 13,000 square kilometers. After breakfast, the three of us went out on a two-hour boat ride into the marshes. We got really close to a lot of animals including lots of caimans and capybaras. I´ll upload a video later of me chasing a capybara, they´re deceptively fast. After the boat ride and lunch, we went on a walk around the trails of the park, and saw a few more interesting things, but nothing too crazy. I think all the animals were pretty shut down because today is the coldest day in the region in ten years. We then went to a fun little antique shop in town, and the owner talked our ear off. After another great dinner cooked by our hostess, we got to bed nice and early.
17th - I went birding again a little before breakfast, but it was raining today, and there wasn´t too much out and about. We lucked out again and got a pickup truck ride down south to Mercedes and it only cost about $20 per person for a two hour drive. We left at lunch time, and the scenery on the way was beautiful. The park is enormous, and it´s just long stretches of wet grassland to the horizon in every direction. There´s trees that dot the landscape every once in a while. The most exciting part of the ride was the Greater Rheas that we saw on the way down. There were quite a few, and I asked to stop for a little while to watch them. After arriving in Mercedes, we went gift shopping for a little while, and now we´re waiting for our bus down to Buenos Aires. We leave at 8 and will get there at 6 in the morning. The internet is slow here, so I´ll post pictures later.
Red-crested Cardinal
Capybara
Southern Screamers
Similar to the boat we were on in Esteros de Ibera
Black Caimans
On the 15th, we woke up early and caught a bus down to the city of Posadas. The bus took a while, but they did give everyone a small cup of chocolate liquer; only in Argentina. We ended up getting there in the afternoon, but after that, we weren´t too sure how to procede and get all the way to the town of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini. Colonia is a town of 600 people in the middle of the National Reserve Esteros de Iberá, and it is difficult to get to. There is one bus a day that goes there, but from the other direction than Posadas, and it would take a day and a half to get there. I spent about an hour on the phone, and miraculously we were able to hire a pickup truck to take us down the 150 mile long dirt road to the town. We got into the town at about 10:00 pm, and we were taken to a cheap, but very nice, hostel to stay in. The owner made us dinner, and we slept very well that night.
On the 16th, I got up earlier than the other two because I wanted to go birding a little before breakfast. I saw a lot of great birds including a Southern Screamer, Red-crested Cardinals, and Maguari Stork. Esteros de Iberá is one of the largest wetlands in South America, and the protected area of it is 13,000 square kilometers. After breakfast, the three of us went out on a two-hour boat ride into the marshes. We got really close to a lot of animals including lots of caimans and capybaras. I´ll upload a video later of me chasing a capybara, they´re deceptively fast. After the boat ride and lunch, we went on a walk around the trails of the park, and saw a few more interesting things, but nothing too crazy. I think all the animals were pretty shut down because today is the coldest day in the region in ten years. We then went to a fun little antique shop in town, and the owner talked our ear off. After another great dinner cooked by our hostess, we got to bed nice and early.
17th - I went birding again a little before breakfast, but it was raining today, and there wasn´t too much out and about. We lucked out again and got a pickup truck ride down south to Mercedes and it only cost about $20 per person for a two hour drive. We left at lunch time, and the scenery on the way was beautiful. The park is enormous, and it´s just long stretches of wet grassland to the horizon in every direction. There´s trees that dot the landscape every once in a while. The most exciting part of the ride was the Greater Rheas that we saw on the way down. There were quite a few, and I asked to stop for a little while to watch them. After arriving in Mercedes, we went gift shopping for a little while, and now we´re waiting for our bus down to Buenos Aires. We leave at 8 and will get there at 6 in the morning. The internet is slow here, so I´ll post pictures later.
Red-crested Cardinal
Capybara
Southern Screamers
Similar to the boat we were on in Esteros de Ibera
Black Caimans
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Iguazu Part II
Well, I’m writing this from my own laptop, which is pretty exciting because it at least booted up one more time. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get another month or so out of it :). Today I succeeded in meeting up with Elijah and his brother, Boris, and the bus station at around 8:30 am. After checking them in to the hostel, we bought some empanadas for lunch, and headed out to Iguazú falls. We wanted to go today because it’s gorgeous weather, about 60 degrees and sunny, and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. We got to the park at around 10:30, and we stayed there until around 5:00. We mostly just walked around on the various paths overlooking the falls, and we had gorgeous views all day. The sun was out, so we saw lots of rainbows, and the vistas were simply incredible all day. We hiked to some views that I hadn’t gone to a few days ago, and it was a beautiful sunny day with lots of rainbows. That's what we did most of the day, and we got back to town around 6:00. We chilled around the hostel, and afterward went to dinner at a buffet nearby. It was a great dinner, and I still feel full a couple hours later. We chilled some more, and tomorrow hopefully head out on our way to Esteros de Ibera. Meanwhile, here's a bunch of waterfall pictures:
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
All of the rain that we had yesterday was apparently a cold front coming through because it was 40 degrees this morning! I said goodbye to Andrecito and went on my way back to Parque Provincial Urugua-í. It was sunny today, and it made it much easier to see all the new birds! I had a great time walking around the park, and then traveled back to Iguazu. That took about three hours, and after checking back into my hostel, I went back to the Hummingbird Garden. It was a pleasant afternoon, and I saw two new beautiful birds at the garden as well. A pretty relaxed day overall, and I´m sorry I don´t have too much more to report. I´ll meet up with my friend tomorrow morning, and maybe go back to the Iguazu falls.
Violaceous Euphonia and Sayaca Tanager
Chestnut-bellied Euphonia
Green-headed Tanager
A stream in Regional Park Urugua-í
Violaceous Euphonia and Sayaca Tanager
Chestnut-bellied Euphonia
Green-headed Tanager
A stream in Regional Park Urugua-í
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