The More You Know. The Less You Need.

Cheers to Iced Coffee! Not easy to find around these parts.

After having such a great time in Valpo, we were due for a hangover. We got lazy in terms of learning Spanish and also got a little too comfortable staying in one hostel for an extended period of time. Traveling is exhausting and with the distances we've covered over the last few weeks, we've really had to work for it.

              Our first night, post Valpo was at La Casa Roja in Santiago. Having avoided party hostels until this point, it was good to see first hand what Travel Partying was all about. Lucky for me, it was a Sunday and things were rather tame, but you could see the potential for shenanigans was there. Those who know me, know I still have enough left in the tank to party. However, attempting to communicate/travel with even the slightest hangover is an absolute nightmare.

Showing our enthusiasm for the sites.

             There are many ways to travel and meet new people. La Casa Roja, as well as some of the other party hostels offer a party atmosphere that I'd highly recommend if you're young and single. I'm neither.....maybe young, but not single. Billy actually made some friends at the hostel, who he later went exploring with. That's one of the benefits of staying at these types of hostels, meeting outgoing/social people.

           Another approach, which we've taken is staying at low key and sometimes more expensive hostels and making friends while in Airports or Bus Stations, or even on Tours. One of the highlights of this trip for Jess and I have been the amazing people we've met along the way. It's not easy leaving your comfortable life at home, for roughing it in a foreign country. You immediately have that bond/connection when you cross paths with someone exploring a foreign land like yourself. They're also a great source of information and the reason I decided to ditch my Lonely Planet travel book a few weeks back.

Walking Tour MVP - William Keller

          One place which was recommended by several travelers we met was the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago. This turned out to be the highlight of our stay there and left me with a strange feeling of guilt. Although the US wasn't specifically mentioned in the atrocities that took place in Chile in the 1970s and 80s, I'm aware of the role our government played. When you travel to different countries and introduce yourself as a traveler from America, you will inevitably be judged. Typically the reception has been warm. However, I often wonder how educated these individuals are in their countries history and how the U.S. might have played a role. A role that often isn't very appealing, depending on your political views or family wealth.

One of the nicer stretches on the 30hr bus ride.

           Between Santiago's heat, my Valpo hangover and my quickly diminishing funds, we decided after three days in Santiago to head North to the coastal town of Arica. Unfortunately, this would require taking a 30 hour bus ride and splitting off from Billy for a few weeks(He left Team Party Poopers for Team Travel Babes). The payoff being a short 20 minute bus ride to the Peruvian border and posting up for a day on the beach. I've stressed this whole trip how I didn't want to rush anywhere, but after comparing what we were spending in Chile to Peru, we had to get to Peru as quickly as possible. Chile is a beautiful place with a strong economy thanks in part to their copper reserve that helped them during the economic collapse. However, this doesn't bode well for someone looking to travel for several months and looking to get the most out of their money.

Towards the end of our 30 hour bus ride.

            Before our bus to Arica, we hadn't taken anything longer than a 7 hour bus ride. Anyone who has known me for 5 minutes, knows I can't sit still. However, we knew at some point we would be taking a long bus and flying was out of our budget. I booked the bus the day before and made two mistakes when doing so. A.) our seats were next to the bathroom. B.) we would be arriving at night. Luckily on this long bus ride my body/brain shut down. Yes, I read and wrote a bit, but for the most part I slept. Maybe it was the stench behind us or the cake Jess got us for Valentine's Day. Either way, we survived what is mostly a drive through Chile's Northern desert and coastal roads.

          When we arrived in Arica's bus station my brain was still a jello mold. The little Spanish I knew wasn't coming out of my mouth and I was quickly brushed away when trying to arrange a taxi to take us to our hostel. I'm not sure if it was the look of desperation or the fact that I was standing next to Jess, but for some unknown reason a Chilean or maybe Peruvian traveler approached us. "You only speak English?", he said. I mumbled something resembling "yes" and "muy poco espanol". Through that mumbling he called the cab he had already arranged and asked the cab to drop us off on the way to their hotel. When I attempted to engage him in both Spanish and English he couldn't understand me. What could have been a very poor ending to a bizarro 30+ hours, turned out to be a helluva ending to our stay in Chile (with the guy even paying for our cab).

            We spent our last day on the beach and in gringo fashion, awarded ourselves with a South American Sunburn. The next day we headed only 20-30 minutes North to the Peruvian border and began another adventure. Unlike Chile and Argentina, there isn't much English spoke in Peru. However, the culture is very rich and you can see Spains influence dating back to the Conquest of the Incas, especially in the Southern region, where we'll be staying. We arrived in the Peruvian border town of Tacna with the help of our French friends and hopped on a 6 hour bus ride to Arequipa. My initial reaction when we arrived at night was that this city looked a lot like Baghdad, but soon the cab took us through the cities historic center and my nerves were instantly calmed.

This kid rapped on our bus before we crossed the border. No clue what he said, but I'm pretty sure everyone tipped him. Including me. "Big Ups"

Plaza in front of our Hostel in Arequipa

           Tuesday, February 18th we will take a 10 hour bus to Cusco, the former Inca capital. We will take a survival Spanish class our Aussie friends recommended and hike the Inca Trail on March 1st with Uncle Billy through Llamapath.

           Sorry for the lengthy update, but hopefully this info will be helpful in your future travels.

     

Amazing bar at Paladar 1900 in Arequipa