Week 1 of break down! I can't believe that one week has already passed, but it must have since I'm in a different country than I was 7 days ago and I've traveled to 3 cities (and two little villages) in 2 countries thus far. I've been doing a lot, seeing a lot, and I don't think that I've ever walked this much in my life. Pictures and daily descriptions are below!
Day 1: Buenos Aires, Argentina to Córdoba, Argentina; distance: 427 miles/ 687 kilometers
I spent all morning packing and trying to get my visa at the Brazilian consulate. Unfortunately, their visa-printing system crashed, so I have to try again when I am in Chile. I left Buenos Aires at about 3 pm (after a slightly traumatic incident at the bus terminal where I thought that I had missed the bus, but it was just late), and drove for about 9 hours to Córdoba. The scenery is stunning, but I was so tired from the stress of finals week that I crashed for most of the drive. I arrived in Córdoba around midnight and took a taxi to Baluch Backpackers Hostel, where I met the rest of my group who had arrived earlier that day. Other than the stress at the consulate and the bus terminal, this first day was relatively uneventful. But I've started my trip, and I can't go back! An exciting and terrifying thought.
Day 2: Córdoba, Argentina (day trip to Villa General Belgrano); distance: 501 miles/ 806 kilometers
Today we went to a small village called Villa General Belgrano, which is about 2 hours from the main city. This town was originally settled by Germans, and still has a large German influence in the food and architecture. Of course, the touristy parts of town are more German than the actual village, but it was so cute to walk around!
Upper left: An awesome Oktoberfest is held in Córdoba every year because of the German tradition there. This keg in the town square reminds visitors what Germans are really all about! (They also have an awesome Alpine chocolate festival in July too!)
Upper right: Stollen (the world's greatest breakfast bread with nuts, fruit, and icing) was everywhere here! It was so strange to see German items with Spanish words.
Bottom: Cute little shops and restaurants lined the streets. This one is for you Frozen fans: it's called "Olaff".
Day 3: Córdoba, Argentina to Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/1855 kilometers
We packed up all of our stuff this morning, since it was our last day in Cordoba. We spent the day waling around the city and went inside two art museums: the Emilio Caraffa Fine Arts Museum and the Evita Fine Arts Museum at the Palacio Ferreyra. We tried to find an outdoor artisan market, but the weather had been sprinkling a bit of rain so the market closed early so we chilled out in the hostel before leaving for the omnibus terminal. We were told to arrive 1-1.5 hours early because it was an international micro (long-distance bus, compared to a city bus used for public transportation which is called a colectivo), but we ended up not needing the extra time since there was no extra paperwork or special things to do. Our bus was nice, and because we had paid the upgrade for cama (bed) seats they reclined much more than the semi-cama seats we took to Mendoza, and we were served dinner and breakfast. Our bus left the terminal at 10 pm, so I crashed shortly after eating!
Top left: A view of our first museum: Provincial de Bellas Artes Emilio Caraffa.
Middle: The second museum: Superior de Bellas Artes Evita Palacio Ferreyra (which, yes, is in an actual palacio or palace)
Bottom right: Our dinner: a bread roll, some weird Argentine appetizers, chicken and rice, and a cherry dessert bar.
Day 4: Córdoba, Argentina to Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
I woke up this morning to the waiter tapping on my shoulder asking if I wanted breakfast, which was crackers and dulce de leche. Along with my breakfast, I got a stunning view of our drive through the Andes. When we arrived to the Chilean/Argentine border and customs, the only hassle was that I had not left Argentina within the 90-day restriction, so I had to get paperwork to pay a fine before re-entering the country. This wasn't a surprise to me, but the paperwork took longer than I thought it would. After nearly 15 hours, we finally got to Santiago, Chile! This is the first South American country that I've been to outside of Argentina, and the difference is totally noticeable. More American brands and stores are available here, and the porteño accent that I picked up in BA (very different from a standard or neutral Spanish accent) seems strange here, obviously, so I have to actively work on neutralizing my accent and vocabulary! After changing our money (hello, $10000 bills) and arriving at our hostel, Moai Viajero Hostel, we decided to walk around the town. Some of the students in my group had already been to Santiago, so we went to a supermarket they knew of and bought some food. We walked around the city for over two hours and returned to the hostel to relax.
Day 5: Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
This morning started off really well in part because of the killer breakfast that was freshly made after I asked for it- check out the picture below! I spent most of the morning trying to deal with the Brazilian consulate to get my visa paperwork in order. My paperwork was approved and they told me that it would be ready by December 23rd- I hope it is because my flight to Rio de Janeiro is scheduled for December 24th! For much of the afternoon, my group and I stayed near the hostel. We went shopping at a local verdurdería (fruit and vegetable stand) and got some groceries at a local grocery store (which was much more modern than the Argentine grocery stores we are used to!) and spent the afternoon planning our various trips, since we are splitting up tomorrow. For dinner, we went to a sushi restaurant that the girls in my group had gone to previously. We ordered a huge sushi boat that had a ton of fresh-fish sushi and it was, as one would expect, delicious! After dinner, we came back to the hostel to relax and sleep.
Day 6: Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
Today was the day that our group split up! After checking out, the rest of my group stayed at the hostel until it was time for them to go the airport to get their flight to Peru. I, however, am in Chile for a while, so I decided to switch hostels (just to switch things up!) and said goodbye. I left them at the hostel and walked across town to my new hostel, Kombi Hostel. It was a long and hot walk (it's summer here, remember?), but the view of the bustling city is phenomenal. I checked into my hostel, which is huge! There are two stories and tons of bedrooms and hang-out locations. Then, I went for a self-guided tour around the city. I went to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Chilean Museum of Pre-Colombian Art) and the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. The best part of both of these locations were the children's exhibits, and I now have a piece of artwork on display at the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. Unfortunately, the Catedral and the Museo Histórico Nacional were both closed for repairs, but I was able to check out the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library). After a very busy and tiring day of walking around the city, I went back to the hostel to relax.
Top: I ran across some sort of military display while walking to through the city. The military band sounded amazing!
Below: One of the many amazing exhibits at the Pre-Colombian Art Museum.
Left: One stunning view of the plaza near the Palacio de la Moneda, where the Centro Cultural de la Moneda is located.
Right: I wasn't kidding- I actually do have a piece of art on display in the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. In the children section. As part of their Naif (a Brazilian style of art) collage. (Mine is the one on the top of the right-most column).
Day 7: Santiago, Chile to Valparaíso, Chile (with a stop at El Quisco); distance: 1266 miles/ 2037 kilometers
Today was undoubtably one of my more interesting days on this adventure (not necessarily in a very good way). It started out normally: I woke up and ate breakfast at the hostel, and then checked out and headed to the omnibus station to catch a micro to El Quisco, a small coastal town, on my way to Valparaíso, a large and picturesque coastal town. I got lost in Santiago trying to find the bus terminal, and when I reached it I found out that I was at the wrong terminal. I got directions to the correct terminal (and decided to take the subway instead of walking) and finally got on a bus headed to El Quisco. This little beach town is about two hours outside of Santiago and is pretty impoverished. The main tourist attraction other than the beach is Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's three houses in Chile. After asking several locals how to get Isla Negra and learning how to take their local colectivo, I toured the beautiful house. It has stunning architecture and was expertly designed with the ocean view in mind. Stunning. After touring the house, I made my way back to the micro station only to be told that both of the micro companies in that area did not have a bus to Valpo (Valparaíso's nickname). After a minor freak-out session, I was finally told by a local that there was, in fact, a bus that came every 30 minutes or so. All I had to do was wait at a street corner and flag it down. After one hour of waiting around at a sketchy street corner, the bus finally came. An uneventful ride to Valpo ensued, and I got off at the first stop in the town. What I did not realize was that the bus had several stops around the town and I got off on the wrong side of Valpo! After asking several nice women for directions to the train, and after walking through some pretty sketchy streets, I finally made it to the train and got my hostel, Hostal Po. Phew! After getting lost in three different towns with literally all of my belongings on my back, I was glad that the rest of the evening was uneventful. I did manage to meet up with one of the girls from my school at the hostel and we went out to dinner together. Cultural note: although porteños (or Buenos Aires citizens) can be found populating restaurants at 10 and 11 pm, Valpo restaurants close after 9 or 10 pm and only bars are open. We managed to find one Mexican restaurant that was open, so we ate there.
Top: A map of my route from Santiago to El Quisco.
Middle: A view of writing on Pablo Neruda's house. This is his handwriting, and it reads "Regresé de mis viajes. Navegué construyendo la alegría" which means (more or less) "I returned from my travels. I navigated by making happiness."
Bottom: A map of El Quisco to Valpo.
I am actually stunned that I am typing this one week into my six week journey. Considering all that I've seen and done already, the next few weeks are going to be overwhelming! (But in a very good way!) I will continue to share my journey and all that I see, do, and learn with you. Until next week...
Besos,
Tina the Exploradora
We packed up all of our stuff this morning, since it was our last day in Cordoba. We spent the day waling around the city and went inside two art museums: the Emilio Caraffa Fine Arts Museum and the Evita Fine Arts Museum at the Palacio Ferreyra. We tried to find an outdoor artisan market, but the weather had been sprinkling a bit of rain so the market closed early so we chilled out in the hostel before leaving for the omnibus terminal. We were told to arrive 1-1.5 hours early because it was an international micro (long-distance bus, compared to a city bus used for public transportation which is called a colectivo), but we ended up not needing the extra time since there was no extra paperwork or special things to do. Our bus was nice, and because we had paid the upgrade for cama (bed) seats they reclined much more than the semi-cama seats we took to Mendoza, and we were served dinner and breakfast. Our bus left the terminal at 10 pm, so I crashed shortly after eating!
Top left: A view of our first museum: Provincial de Bellas Artes Emilio Caraffa.
Middle: The second museum: Superior de Bellas Artes Evita Palacio Ferreyra (which, yes, is in an actual palacio or palace)
Bottom right: Our dinner: a bread roll, some weird Argentine appetizers, chicken and rice, and a cherry dessert bar.
Day 4: Córdoba, Argentina to Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
I woke up this morning to the waiter tapping on my shoulder asking if I wanted breakfast, which was crackers and dulce de leche. Along with my breakfast, I got a stunning view of our drive through the Andes. When we arrived to the Chilean/Argentine border and customs, the only hassle was that I had not left Argentina within the 90-day restriction, so I had to get paperwork to pay a fine before re-entering the country. This wasn't a surprise to me, but the paperwork took longer than I thought it would. After nearly 15 hours, we finally got to Santiago, Chile! This is the first South American country that I've been to outside of Argentina, and the difference is totally noticeable. More American brands and stores are available here, and the porteño accent that I picked up in BA (very different from a standard or neutral Spanish accent) seems strange here, obviously, so I have to actively work on neutralizing my accent and vocabulary! After changing our money (hello, $10000 bills) and arriving at our hostel, Moai Viajero Hostel, we decided to walk around the town. Some of the students in my group had already been to Santiago, so we went to a supermarket they knew of and bought some food. We walked around the city for over two hours and returned to the hostel to relax.
Top left: A view out of my window on the bus as we drove through the Andes. Yep- those are clouds that we are driving in! And some of the mountains even had snow on the top which was pretty impressive. (Remember, we are in the middle of summer down here!)
Top right: A stunning view of a pedestrian-only street, or peatonal, in downtown Santiago.
Bottom left: Me in our room at Moai Viajero Hostel, trying to understand $10,000 and $20,000 CLP (Chilean peso) bills.
Bottom right: A map of our route (more or less) via bus from Córdoba to Santiago. I know the picture says 10.5 hours- but the trip took more like 15!
Day 5: Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
This morning started off really well in part because of the killer breakfast that was freshly made after I asked for it- check out the picture below! I spent most of the morning trying to deal with the Brazilian consulate to get my visa paperwork in order. My paperwork was approved and they told me that it would be ready by December 23rd- I hope it is because my flight to Rio de Janeiro is scheduled for December 24th! For much of the afternoon, my group and I stayed near the hostel. We went shopping at a local verdurdería (fruit and vegetable stand) and got some groceries at a local grocery store (which was much more modern than the Argentine grocery stores we are used to!) and spent the afternoon planning our various trips, since we are splitting up tomorrow. For dinner, we went to a sushi restaurant that the girls in my group had gone to previously. We ordered a huge sushi boat that had a ton of fresh-fish sushi and it was, as one would expect, delicious! After dinner, we came back to the hostel to relax and sleep.
Top left: The absolutely delicious breakfast at our hostel. Fresh fruit, warm bread rolls, a made-to-order fried egg, and coffee and tea.
Middle: Our dinner! We split the sushi boat between four people, and it is one of the few solid meals that I will have during my break. One of my few splurges, and I enjoyed it!
Day 6: Santiago, Chile; distance: 1153 miles/ 1855 kilometers
Today was the day that our group split up! After checking out, the rest of my group stayed at the hostel until it was time for them to go the airport to get their flight to Peru. I, however, am in Chile for a while, so I decided to switch hostels (just to switch things up!) and said goodbye. I left them at the hostel and walked across town to my new hostel, Kombi Hostel. It was a long and hot walk (it's summer here, remember?), but the view of the bustling city is phenomenal. I checked into my hostel, which is huge! There are two stories and tons of bedrooms and hang-out locations. Then, I went for a self-guided tour around the city. I went to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Chilean Museum of Pre-Colombian Art) and the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. The best part of both of these locations were the children's exhibits, and I now have a piece of artwork on display at the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. Unfortunately, the Catedral and the Museo Histórico Nacional were both closed for repairs, but I was able to check out the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library). After a very busy and tiring day of walking around the city, I went back to the hostel to relax.
Below: One of the many amazing exhibits at the Pre-Colombian Art Museum.
Right: I wasn't kidding- I actually do have a piece of art on display in the Centro Cultural de la Moneda. In the children section. As part of their Naif (a Brazilian style of art) collage. (Mine is the one on the top of the right-most column).
Day 7: Santiago, Chile to Valparaíso, Chile (with a stop at El Quisco); distance: 1266 miles/ 2037 kilometers
Today was undoubtably one of my more interesting days on this adventure (not necessarily in a very good way). It started out normally: I woke up and ate breakfast at the hostel, and then checked out and headed to the omnibus station to catch a micro to El Quisco, a small coastal town, on my way to Valparaíso, a large and picturesque coastal town. I got lost in Santiago trying to find the bus terminal, and when I reached it I found out that I was at the wrong terminal. I got directions to the correct terminal (and decided to take the subway instead of walking) and finally got on a bus headed to El Quisco. This little beach town is about two hours outside of Santiago and is pretty impoverished. The main tourist attraction other than the beach is Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's three houses in Chile. After asking several locals how to get Isla Negra and learning how to take their local colectivo, I toured the beautiful house. It has stunning architecture and was expertly designed with the ocean view in mind. Stunning. After touring the house, I made my way back to the micro station only to be told that both of the micro companies in that area did not have a bus to Valpo (Valparaíso's nickname). After a minor freak-out session, I was finally told by a local that there was, in fact, a bus that came every 30 minutes or so. All I had to do was wait at a street corner and flag it down. After one hour of waiting around at a sketchy street corner, the bus finally came. An uneventful ride to Valpo ensued, and I got off at the first stop in the town. What I did not realize was that the bus had several stops around the town and I got off on the wrong side of Valpo! After asking several nice women for directions to the train, and after walking through some pretty sketchy streets, I finally made it to the train and got my hostel, Hostal Po. Phew! After getting lost in three different towns with literally all of my belongings on my back, I was glad that the rest of the evening was uneventful. I did manage to meet up with one of the girls from my school at the hostel and we went out to dinner together. Cultural note: although porteños (or Buenos Aires citizens) can be found populating restaurants at 10 and 11 pm, Valpo restaurants close after 9 or 10 pm and only bars are open. We managed to find one Mexican restaurant that was open, so we ate there.
Middle: A view of writing on Pablo Neruda's house. This is his handwriting, and it reads "Regresé de mis viajes. Navegué construyendo la alegría" which means (more or less) "I returned from my travels. I navigated by making happiness."
Bottom: A map of El Quisco to Valpo.
I am actually stunned that I am typing this one week into my six week journey. Considering all that I've seen and done already, the next few weeks are going to be overwhelming! (But in a very good way!) I will continue to share my journey and all that I see, do, and learn with you. Until next week...
Besos,
Tina the Exploradora
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