Long time no write, eh? Sorry for the sore lack of posting, but it has been a very, very eventful month and I just haven’t had the time or the desire to sit down and write. I suppose a health update is due; I am fine, I feel normal now, but I
In Santiago.
have recently had a semi-unfortunate diagnosis from my endocrinologist here: diabetes. After doing a series of blood tests, I found out that my glucose was abnormally high, which led to one thing which led to another (including an infection and all sorts of goodies) but eventually they determined that diabetes is probably the cause.
It was very stressful having to go to the doctor almost every week, but I’m glad to know at least what’s been going on. I feel much better and am taking medicine and am on a pretty strict diet with my host mom’s help (what I’ll do when I have to cook for myself again will be another story…). Because of the health issues and being busy with my lovely visitors from home, I just haven’t been able to get around to updating my blog, so I apologize! I was very grateful to see my family and Taylor though, it was just what I needed after a very difficult few weeks.
As for the visits, everything went wonderfully. Mom, Dad and Scottie arrived on May 8th and stayed until the 15th. We toured Santiago for a day then went to Valpo and Vina for the rest of the week. I got to show them around town
Cerro Santa Lucia in Santiago
with the help of my host brother Gonzalo who got to play tour guide and practice his English (thankfully…he knows a lot more about this place than me). Vivi had us over for tea one night and dinner the next, being the gracious hostess that she always is. We tried to compensate by taking her and Gonzalo to dinner in the casino with some slot machines afterwards.
On the Friday that they left, we went to Santiago to pick up Taylor who came in that same day. We had lunch and explored the fine arts museum for awhile before the fam had to go to the airport for the long ride home. I was sad to see them go but glad to have Taylor here to hang out with after. It was great getting to see them.
Taylor and I spent two nights in Santiago doing some more exploring, two days in Valpo and Viña, and then six days in the beautiful Atacama desert up north. I was definitely worth a trip, but I don’t think I’ll need to go back any time soon. It’s the driest desert in the world, and it certainly lived up to that title. I got dehydrated very easily, so I was constantly drinking water (bottled only…there’s arsenic in the water from all the mines around San Pedro). We went with three of my girlfriends from the ISA program and did a bunch of tours.
Taylor and I posing on the Salar de Atacama - Second largest salt flat in the world.
We got started touring on the second day of our trip with a bumpy off-road bus ride to Los Ojos Cejar. It’s a grouping of super salty lakes that you can float in like the Dead Sea. There is so much salt that when you get out of the water you are covered in a white, crusty layer.
From there we continued to Los Ojos, which are two twin lagoons in the middle of the enormous desert where you can dive in and wash off all that salt. Taylor and I decided to give jumping in a try…it was absolutely FREEZING. Coldest water I have ever jumped into, I am sure. But it only lasts a few seconds. I was so cold that I didn’t even feel it after getting out…it was just like a numb sort of burning sensation. Rather exhilarating, actually.
The last stop of that day was the Salar de Atacama, the second largest salt flat in the world. I believe the one in Bolivia just across the border beats it. We arrived at sunset just in time for the incredible colors to show themself on the mountains. It looked fake it was so beautiful (as you’ll see in my photos). It was pretty awesome, for lack of a better word. Definitely worth getting salty.
Laguna Altiplánica Miscanti
The following day we did a tour of las lagunas altiplánicas, or the altiplano lakes. Things started out a little hectic…our guide slept in accidentally so we had to leave an hour after we’d planned, but all ended up working out fine. The altitude was a little rough at over 4000 meters, so I had to rest a lot in the van with a headache, but I did manage to see some beautiful sights. The lakes are truly as blue as they look inte photo. I loved seeing the contrast of colors. It felt a bit strange to find so much beauty in the middle of such a desolate place as a desert.
We had lunch and descended from the mountains to see the flamingos at sunset. That was one of the more bizarre sights I experienced – thousands of flamingos flock there and eat tiny little shrimpy things that live in the salt flats. It was a very interesting sight indeed. The last stop was in another small desert town called Toconao where we were able to buy some handicrafts (the same stuff you can find in artesan shops everywhere around here). I ended up buying a sweater made from alpaca fur which is extremely soft and warm and very useful during cold nights in the desert.
The third day we toured the Salar de Tara, saw more flamingos and other wild life, and I got lots more altitude sickness. Mmm. It was worth it though to see all the things we did. Glaciers many years ago carved out these weird rock formations that seem to defy gravity in the middle of the desert. I think the flamingos were maybe my favorite part, but it was all pretty incredible to see. Oh yeah, and I ate llama too. Tastes beefy.
The flamingos and I at the Salar de Tara.
By the final day all of us were rather wiped out from all the touring and physical exhaustion of the altitude. We still managed to get our butts up at 3ish to go see Los Geysers del Tatio by sunset. Once again the tour agency was late, but we made it on time. There were tons of geysers everywhere which was neat, but I’m not sure it was worth braving the frigid -17 degrees celsius and losing sleep. It was so cold that I was pretty much convinced I was going to get frostbite in my toes (even with thick socks and sneakers on). Once the sun came up over the hills though it warmed up rapidly. Lucky for us there were also some hot springs to dip our feet into to warm up as well.
Later that afternoon we did another tour to the famous Valle de La Luna, very close to San Pedro where we stayed. It was a great way to end the trip. Valle de La Luna is named very appropriately…it looks just like the moon or Mars or something of that nature. We saw more interesting rock structures, including Las Tres Marias (The Three Marys) and El Ampiteatro (The Ampitheater), and watched the sunset from the top of a huge dune. The panorama from the top of the ridge was really incredible. All the mountains and volcanoes in the background turned shades of purple, orange, red and pink.
Taylor and I at Valle de La Luna.
Fantastic. The only thing I can imagine it might be like would be perhaps the Grand Canyon, though I’ve never been there before.
Well, now I’ve been to the extreme south and north of Chile! I guess the middle part a bit too, but there’s always tons more to see. It never ceases to amaze me how geographically diverse this country is. I suppose it makes sense since it’s so long and skinny, but still. There’s so much to see…five months doesn’t feel like enough time!
We’re in fall here in Chile and it’s definitely starting to feel like it. It’s gotten much cooler recently although still not really cold. When I go to Mendoza next weekend it should be a drier cold than here…we shall see. I need to rest up some before I can think about going out on another journey, but my time is running out! If I don’t go soon to Mendoza I won’t get the chance because it can snow a lot there in the winter and close down the roads. I’m going to visit my friend Elisa that was here for a couple of days last month. It should be a lot of fun. It’s very easy to get there by bus. I guess we’ll see. I’ll be sure to post more pictures as soon as I can…hopefully it won’t be another month from now!
