santiago

Chapter Twenty Four: Chile

~ Julie M. ~ Leave a comment

Chile started on a low note for us, with the US presidential election. We had bought wine and snacks and made friends with an American couple staying at our ho(s)tel and were excited to watch the results come in. Between the spotty internet and the bad news coming in with each click on the ‘refresh,’ the night ended on a somber note that we were certainly not expecting. The next day was also a bit glum as we couldn’t shake the implications of what had happened. Luckily, we got to feel glum in the picturesque setting of the Atacama desert in the town of San Pedro de Atacama (SPA). The town itself is quite touristic and serves as a jumping off, or finishing, point to a number of local tours, including the one we had just finished. There is a by-law in the city, restricting the use of artificial lighting and electricity so it has a very rugged, natural feel to it. A very rugged desert town, where you can get pizza, sushi and cappuccinos. Yes, we did! The roads are dirt and the red mountains rise along the sides. We had allotted two days of relaxing after our tour so we meandered around and ate some good food and relaxed at our beautiful accommodations with a lovely patio space but very eclectic owner who kept forgetting things that she told us shortly after.

From SPA we took a very picturesque (through the bizarre rock formations known as Moon Valley) but long 27 hour bus ride to the seaside city of Valparaiso. Valparaiso has a gritty but beautiful bohemian appeal to it. Smattered with art on houses, bridges, walls and very colourful buildings, as well as many, many stray-but-friendly dogs, it was a nice treat after the desert. We had some trouble finding our hotel, but when we did, we were able to sit on the patio and look down the hill over the town and the Pacific ocean. The city is also known for its artistic and beautiful ‘ascensores’ (funiculars) that take you up and down the steep hills. Sadly, there was a government-worker strike for much of the time we spent in Chile, so these were not operational. Which just meant slightly more calorie-burning for us as we hiked up the stairs to explore the main hills.

Valparaiso is really a wandering city, best to explore on foot and at leisure. Its sister city, Vina de Mar, is a short bus ride away and much more resort-styled. We spent a day there, walking along the beaches and eating amazing ceviche and salmon. We didn’t find much nightlife, so we got a $4 bottle of wine and settled in for the night.

The next day we went on to Santiago, the capital city. We were both really impressed by the modernity of it. It really appears to be a first world city – clean and large with amazing museums, bountiful markets, well kept gardens and terrific infrastructure. We were surprised to hear that there is still a massive income inequality gap here as it appears to be quite affluent throughout. It is, in any case, a great city to spend a few days in. They had an amazing new museum on the Pinochet dictatorship and human rights abuses. We did two different walking tours, both with excellent guides. We joined one of them, along with his friends, after our tour to watch Chile vs. Uruguay in a world cup qualifier game. Luckily, Chile won so the bar was alive and everyone was celebrating with calls of “Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le, Viva Chile!”

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We also had some local dishes: pastel de choclo (like a shepard’s pie but with mashed sweet corn instead of potatoes) and two seafood dishes, one like a mixed seafood in broth and another that was like creamed stew with crab.

(From here we dipped over into Mendoza, Argentina for a few days because we had time to kill before our flight to southern Chile, but I will save that for my Argentina blog.)

We took a short flight to Chilean Patagonia, to the town of Punta Arenas, as it is not really accessible by bus, due to all of the lakes and lake of proper roads. Really just our jumping off point to cross into Argentina, we didn’t find much in the town itself, aside from overpriced food and laundry. We walked along the waterfront and explored the town, but the highlight was probably having food and wine with some new Czech friends that we met at our hostel in the evening. And with that, we were ready to move on from Chile. ❤

 

Chapter Eight: The Camino Part I

~ Julie M. ~ Leave a comment

I say part one because it’s important to first establish that there will be a part two one day. However it will have to wait as I unfortunately sprained my ankle (again – did I mention I sprained it in France?) as I headed out to start day two of the 115 km hike to the holy city where Saint James the Apostle is allegedly burried.

Let me back up. I arrived in Santiago de Compostela on a beautiful Tuesday morning after a less beautiful Monday night spent in El Prat airport. The fact that I found a broken bench with missing armrests in between them told me I might be lucky enough to sleep a bit. The jackhammering that began at midnight and went on through 4:00 a.m., however, told me otherwise. In any case, I did make it to my final destination, albeit somewhat sleepy. I dropped off some excess baggage (which is also allegorical to my life at the present moment) to store during my hike, received my first ‘buen camino’ and avoided looking around as I did not want to ‘spoil the surprise.’ From Santiago I took a bus to Lugo, and from Lugo to Sarria, where I collected my camino passport and hunkered down for the night, excited to start the next day at the crack of dawn… er, 9:00 a.m.

Sarria begins roughly at kilometer 115 of the trail and the route is broken down into approximately five days of 20-25 km each. According to my weather app, day one was the only day with under 90% chance of rain so I was eager to clock at least 20 of those km in the nice weather and perhaps break down the rest of the trip into shorter distances as I was in no rush.

Day one was magical. The trail was breathtaking. Rolling hills, farms, fields, tiny villages and small forests were some of the things I passed. I stopped after my first hour at a small trailside albergue to have a coffee and pick up a ‘shell’ to strap onto my backpack, as is custom. I stopped in an open field of wildflowers to do some yoga and stretch out. And I walked. It was about 5.5 hours and 22 km, plus a few rest breaks. I was not for one second bored. When I strolled (read: stumbled in, huffing and puffing) into Portomarin around 3:30 p.m., one thing was certain: I needed a victory beer. I felt elated and also exhausted. After my beer I checked into a hostel and napped before dragging myself up for some food. I saw a friend I had met at  my first albergue, Fernando; a fifty-something man from a town in central Spain which I cannot pronounce. We chatted a bit about soccer, bulls and ancient American cultures. And I went to sleep.

I woke up feeling good on morning two and left to begin my hike at a whopping 7:45 a.m. (eager to beat the rain). However, destiny had another plan for me as I felt a familiar roll and snap of my ankle about 100 meters from the hostel. I hobbled back, trying to be optimistic that I could just rest for one day and then return but it soon became clear to me that this was the end of my camino… for now.

The pain wasn’t too bad but the disappointment was fierce. I realized I needed to come up with a plan B that required little walking so I could finally heal and get on with my trip in one solid piece. So currently I am on a urine-scented bus to collect my things in Santiago and will by flying out tomorrow morning to stay with Jasper’s parents for a week in Belgium. I am lucky to have such wonderful family close by to stay with, even if I cannot complete the trail. I guess it will have to wait.

Some photos below from my one beautiful day (and what I ate). ❤

 

ADDENDUM: The rest of the day had some highlights that I wanted to share so you don’t feel sorry for me. I drowned my sorrows in some churros and chocolate, I got a local Santiago almond cake and met some new friends at my hostel who cooked me a lovely pasta dinner with black squid in ink and pulpa, which is tenderized octopus. That they came in a can only added to the experience.

I also made it into the city just in time to attend the noon ceremony at the famous cathedral where eight men in robes (tirabuleiros) pull the botfumeiro; a giant canister with incense which swings like a giant hippy-scented pendulum. It was beautiful.