Vignettes..

The rest of the days were variations on the same theme... relaxing in our new Cabaña that we moved in to after two of our Concepción buddies arrived, cooking elaborate breakfasts, hanging out on the beach and working on getting even more tanned, eating at new restaurants, enjoying the last few bottles of Chilean wines and generally lounging about blissfully. The last day was the perfect weather. 80 degrees, lots of sunshine and people around the tiny town center.

I realized just how much I would miss Chile. It had become a home for a beautifully long month, but suddenly that time seemed too short. I can't say I wasn't looking forward to being in Cincy again... this would be my last winter in the country... but I was really going to miss this new home we had created for ourselves. 

I learned so much about the country and it's people. Chilean culture is an interesting mix of gregariousness, fortitude, cautiousness and curiosity, to mention just some of the qualities they possess. So much can be learned from their culture and lifestyles. The miners taught us an important lesson in courage and patience down in the mines while we waited in the dark; the children at the day-care taught us how to take pleasure in the simple things in life; the host families taught us how to better prioritize our life; the people we came in contact with taught us how to be open and friendly towards everyone. The bonds I have formed with everyone – whether talking to someone on the street for a couple of minutes or with my host sister late into the nights – will last forever, and it continues to amaze me how much the people and the culture touched my heart in such little time.

This trip enabled me to not only learn from the Chileans, but also from my colleagues, and has already impacted me positively in so many ways. Through this trip, I was able to discover and explore different topics, personalities, and even facets of myself. Being in Chile for an extended period of time allowed me to peep into a different culture and really learn about the people of the nation; this is something simply visit to the country would not have equipped me to do, and I am glad we had the opportunity to delve into these issues and analyze them to bring out new perspectives and expand our horizons. This trip has enable us to become true global citizens of this world.

I will miss so much about the country. I don't know if I will ever be visiting Chile again, but I do know that the people have touched my heart deeply and I will always have fond memories of this trip.

I can't say goodbye, but I will say this... Chile, te amo!

Determination... and Bliss :)

We continued on with our adventures the next day, and in a big way! We went Volcano climbing! It was an amazing experience, and no, I would never do that again.

We started off at about 7:30 am, loaded on with big mountain boots, a backpack with some sandwiches and our boot spikes for when we are on the ice, and a ton of enthusiasm… which lasted us for about 10 minutes.

It was hard! Climbing a mountain is not easy, in case you were thinking otherwise! My friend and I (it was just the two of us, one chickened out) had to stop almost every 5 minutes and beg our guide to let us rest. We had assumed the ski-lift would be working, so we would have traveled almost 1500m of the 4817m up without actually having to use our legs. But who does our luck was that good?! Nope, Fate decided we simply must endure the entire experience. REALLY use our legs.

The views along the way did much to sustain us. The higher we climbed, the closer to heaven I felt. Literally! We could see the big blue lake, and the gray-brown mountains surrounding it from all sides. As we went higher, we could see some clouds below us, forming soft comfortable balls of cotton that made me feel like I could jump on it. It really was a beautiful walk up. So you can imagine how disappointed we were when we were told we could not go further up to the top of the crater, when we had less than 500m left!

I can’t blame our guide; the conditions did get progressively worse as time went on. Soon a mist surrounded us and I couldn’t see more than a new meters ahead of me. The climb got icier – so much so that our guide made us stop and wait for a while before we started our journey back to safer ground.

Even though we couldn’t make it all the way to the top and actually look down the crater, it was an incredible experience – for me, one time was enough, though. And although I can’t cross it completely off my list, I do plan on seeing the top of a volcanic crater one day – preferably in a chopper, taken up in style J

We did have the chance to unwind the next day, when we went to the natural hot springs that evening. There were about seven or eight different pools, all at different temperatures, some indoors and some out. It was a nice way to stretch out our muscles after that mountain hike!

Carried it over the next day, when we went to la playa at the lake. Crystal clear non-freezing blue water, gentle ripples, ground volcano rock in the form of warm black sand, and a relatively empty beach in the afternoon accompanied by a person selling yummy strawberry drinks – BLISS!

More on the rest of our week soon!

Lost, not deserted!

So much has happened since I last wrote. Unfortunately, we didn’t have internet for the rest of the trip, so I couldn’t update all of you. But, here goes.

I was so miserable the final day I spent with everyone. We had formed a mismatched inconvenient sort of family – the kind that irks the **** out of you but you still cant get enough of! A couple of people left before we did, and I was fine until then. But when my two companions and I were leaving, I was just so sad. Don’t get me wrong.. Im really not the crying type! But I wished so hard that we could have stayed just one more day with everyone else and then gone to Viña again with them.

We were so busy saying a million goodbyes to about 10 people that we almost missed our bus to Pucón, which was to be our new hometown for the next week. Like all rockstar travellers though, we made it… just as the bus was about to pull out!

An all night bus drive later, I opened my eyes to the small, charismatic town of Pucón. Early in the morning, the streets were deserted and there was a chilly wind blowing. Not the ideal settings for a fantastic week, we all thought. We made it to our hostel and started to settle in for the day after a hiccup with the booking (made for the days after we were to check out!).

Ravenous and cranky, we set out in search for breakfast. And boy, did we hit jackpot! One street ahead of us, in a little hostel called Ecolé, we had the most delicious all American breakfast of eggs, toast and sautéed potatoes! But my favorite bit was – IT WAS A VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT! No longer was I to die hungry for lack of choices!

By the time we left the restaurant, we were satiated and feeling exploratory, so we walked to the town center. More people had started to come out by 10am, and we could see what a quaint little tourist area this was. In the distance, Vulcan Villarica rose majestically with a snow capped plateau showing in the clear cloudless sky. The lake was yet to be seen, but a short distance away, with the promise of warmer waters than the Antarctic currents elsewhere and warm, black volcanic sand.

We started off strong – horseback riding the first day! A first for the other two, and it was hilarious to see them start off timid and nervous, but after a beautiful two hour hike getting bolder by the minute. We stopped at a point where the guide said was a short trek to a gorgeous waterfall. Lies! This was no short trek! Up and down the side of a rocky mountain we seemed to scale! Holding branches, rocks, and each other for dear life – this was our true test of friendship, which we passed with flying colors. Thankfully, I can safely say that the waterfall turned out to be worth the trip after all!

More about our adventures to be continued…