Easter Island

Ok, so after the North Trip I went to school, saw all my classmates again, and got back into the routine of not having so much free time, but also making the most of the weekends. During the next month I will go many times to Santiago, and Talca ( a city a litle farthur south), feel an earthquake at 4 in the morning, win my school's soccer tournament with my class, and go to Lollapalooza, Chile's largest concert. It was all great time, but I'm just going to get right down to what I most enjoyed: Easter Island.

For a Canadian boy from Waterloo, it was pretty surreal to just get on a plane in Santiago, which is on the edge of the largest ocean, and fly directly west, out into the Pacific Ocean.

We flew for nearly 5 hours, and if it hadn't been clowdy, I'm sure we would have only seen water below us. That's because, as we later found out, Easter Island is the most isolated island in the world, having litteraly nothing within the 4000km around it. So goo thing the pilot knew where he was going. As we landed my best German friend said "there's water on BOTH sides of us!". He was right, on Easter ISLAND, there was water on both sides of us.

We touched down, and immediately got going, with leis around our necks and first went to Rano Kau, the volcano closest to the only town on the island called Hanga Roa. We trecked around the crater, then down the mountain to arrive at our hotel just in time for dinner. That night, and over the next 4 days we enjoyed great food on the Island, which is much more heavily spiced than in Chile from the Polynesian influence on the island. It was omnomnom.

After spending the night out in Easter Island, the next day we were up early to the mountain in the centre of the island where all teh Moais were carved and then transported around the island (still nobody knows how they did this). After that we saw the biggest row or Moais on the island, which are facing inland with their backs to the Pacific. We returned to the the hotel after seeing some volcanic caves and slept soundly.

The next day was spent on the beach. But this was what a real beach was Canadians, palm trees, perfectly clear water, sand, coconuts straight from the tree. We even ate a barbeque from plates which were actually leaves of a palm tree. Rugby and soccer were played on the beach, and it was enjoyed by all.

The last day may have been the best one. We woke up and went to the base of Volcano Terevaka which is the highest point on the island, and that's where we found the horses. The majortiy of horses on the island are wild, brought by the Europeans and Chileans when they colonized the island, but there are a couple horses that are tamed for one purpose, to ride up the mountain. We all got a horse and begun the 3 hour treck up the mountain. It was definately the best day spent on the island, spent on horseback walking through the forests and fields of Easter Island to maybe one of the best views I have ever witnessed. You got to see how isolated you truly are on the island, and how special it was to be able to visit this place.

That night was spent at a show called Haha Va'Rua Te Ra'ai. It was an indigenous celebration, which started with a barbeque that is cooked in a deep hole in the ground and covered with palm leaves to create an oven, which was delicious. We then got to watch and participate in the indigenous dancing afterwards.

The next morning was early, and sad, since even though it had only been 5 days we felt like the island had been our home for while. We all climbed on the plane and slept the 5 hour flight away (none of us got much sleep the last night on the island) We landed and with that finished the last trip in Chile for most of us. Ever since I get back from Easter Island, the fact that I am going home in 2 months has seemed ever more prominent in my daily life. It's wierd to say that I'm going home in 2 months because it feels a lot more like leaving home.

North Trip 2012

I guess the only people able to make more than 60 hours spent on a bus during a 9 day trip are exchange students. Because that's essentially what it took to get across the Atacama desert, to 4000m-above-sealevel geysers, to coastal inlets with dolphins, to tremendous beaches that stretch from tremendous desert, it's not all within walking distance if you know what I mean.

Anyways, all of the exchange students in Rancagua got together to take a bus to Santiago so that we could get on the bus before it left for the North. Unfortunately, the bus that we had bought the tickets for never arrived, so we hopped on another bus, and still got there moderately on time, but no worse for the wear.

We hopped on the bus and, with the other 40 students, some of them great friends, some of them complete strangers, we headed to La Serena, a city that I had already visited with the Sotos, but never in summer, when tons of Argentinean, Chilean and Brazilian tourists come to the beaches there. 
When we arrived in the night, we immediately went to a parade in the town center, where, since we were a large group of exchange students, we caused as great a commotion as we could, joining in with the parade, joining the people on the floats, and having an incredible time with the locals. That was then followed by a night bus ride to the observatory further in from the coast where it is said you can see some of the clearest starry skies in the world. We could see 3 different planets, and got to look close up at Jupiter.
The next day we packed up all our stuff and left the hotel (this is a common theme throughout the trip) and went to Punto de Choros, where we hopped in boats, and traveled up and down the coast seeing dolphins, sea lions, and even small penguins, the same ones that I saw in Patagonia, seems like they have travelled a good deal north here... It was amazing, and although we were all quite burned when we got back on the bus.
That night, we spent sleeping on the bus. I managed to make this experience as uncomfortable as possible. I began at the back of the bus, which was an over when the heat was on and a freezer when it wasn't on. I then moved back to my seat to find it occupied, and ended up sleeping face down in the aisle. I kind of felt like my dad on Garuda...

The night on the bus ended up being worth it, because we arrived, past Bahia Inglesa, in the one of the most extreme climates of Chile. We stepped off the bus, still tired from the rough sleep and were in the middle of the desert, with snow covered mountains all around us. When we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama, we were truly in the most "deserty" town we had ever been in. All the buildings were made out of mud, sheep casually strolling through the streets.

The next days in San Pedro may have been the best on the trip, seeing volcanic geysers, swimming in hot springs, seeing flamingos, it was really incredible. After spending all the time we had for San Pedro, we went to Iquique, the farthest north we would get on the trip, and lay on the amazing beaches, and visited the city, which is one of Chile´s most historically significant. 

Reaching this point meant we were beginning the treck home, but we managed to enjoy those last couple days nonetheless. We stopped at Bahia Ingles, which I was already quite familiar with, and after spending a day on the beach, playing soccer, we had our last party with all the exchange students where there was a bit of crossdressing that went on, although I wont put any photos us, sorry guys. Anyways, the next day was spent on the bus, and finally we got back to Santiago where there was a lot of flag signing, and tears. It truly was an incredible trip.

Summer (Part 2)

The best way to get to know  new family, a family that you will be living with for the next 5 months, is to head down to the south of Chile and pack yourself into a cabin in the middle of nowhere. So that's exactly what I did with my second family in early February. We had an incredible time, and let's just say you don't have an incredible time with just any family you're stuck in a 3 room cabin with.

The south of Chile is the closest you can get to Canada in Chile. It is filled with forests, lakes, waterfalls, volcanos, and also has a beautiful coast line. With the Maulens, I got to see all of that. We went to the town of Panguipulli, and I got to swim in a fresh water lake, something that made me realize how much I miss swimming in the Great Lakes. We played tennis, had barbeques, and celebrated my new aunt Lily's birthday with traditional Chilean celebration, long nights spent talking around the "parrilla" (Chilean Barbeque).

We went to visit the Water fall Huilo Huilo (above), and came across maybe the most incredible hotel I have ever seen. Tucked into the woods the Montaña Magica Lodge is a mountain with a waterfall running down the side, oh, and its also a hotel inside. Although we didn't stay long, and certainly didn't have the financial means to actually be guests there, they allowed us a quick look around, and to take photos.

The next day we went caving in the volcanic caves underneath Volcano Villarica, one of the most destructive volcanos in South America. It was an incredible experience, especially when we turned the lights off and experienced "true darkness".

In our last couple days, we visited the towns of Pucon, Villarica, and Valdivia. After a great two weeks, we headed back home, but as is typical on exchange, I only went home with enough time to do laundry, and head off to the coast to visit Cristobal in his cottage in Algarrobo.

I took a bus to Algarrobo, a town on the coast of Chile, and went directly to the beach. We dove into the giant waves, lay on the beach, played a new version of beach tennis, and soaked up the sun for a really enjoyable week. It was really nice to see him again and a good way to end summer, but wait, there was one more thing to go: the highlight of my summer. I guess I should give it it's own blog entry, because it was just that awesome

North Trip 2012

Summer (Part 1)

I guess I have to get to it sometimes. 

Try to fit the best summer of my life into the white confines that are my blog.

Well then here it goes.

 Summer 2012

The truth about my summer is that, looking back on it, I can safely say it was the best summer of my life. But I can't safely say that it started that way. The first 2 weeks were spent mostly in my room, hating myself for not doing more, but doing little nonetheless. However I see this now is the time I spent learning what it would take to fill my summer, and the possible consequences of not getting up and finding ways to entertain myself. It's free time I now look back on as wasted, but it was wasted time that served a purpose. If I hadn't passed those first two weeks so miserably, I might not have passed the next 2 months so incredibly.

This is the highway that takes you to the north of Chile. On either side is vast desert, rolling dunes, and sun that sucks all like out of the sand. It's incredibly interesting, for the first 20 minutes of the trip. It does however lose it's appeal during the next 10 hours spent driving through it.

My family and I spent about 12 hours driving north through the Atacama Desert to arrive at Bahia Inglesa, a small town on the Pacific Coast. We unloaded the truck into the beach house with the smell of the sea all around us. The first few days were spent exploring the town, lying on the white
 beach (considered one of the most beautiful
 in Chile), kayaking and eating at the great
 restaurants on the beachfront. After a couple days of relaxing on the beach, Ramon flew up from Santiago to enjoy the vacation with everyone. After more days spent on the beach, and in the pool, I decided to go to Antofagasta. 
Antofagasta is the largest town north of Santiago, and my host brother Celso happened to be going to university there. I took a 8 hour bus even more north, but eventually arrived, and was met by Celso who took me around the city. After a couple days getting to know the 
downtown, going to the "Portada" (a rock structure off the coast that Antofagasta is famous for), and getting lost on the bus a couple times, we decided to head back to the rest of the family in Bahia Inglesa. We spent the last days of our holiday visitng the beaches that run along the coastline, and enjoying the incredible weather that makes up a Chilean summer. We also saw a pretty cool sunset (see picture).

At times I find the relaxed nature of Chileans very easy to live with, something I almost wish more Canadians could adopt, at times even my family could adopt. Changing families 2 days after coming back from vacation was not one of those times. Due to a bit of a miscommunication between my new and old families, I had less than 24 hours to prepare all my things, and say a very difficult goodbye to my family, with whome I had spent all my best memories with in Chile. 

From left to right: Danny (cousin), Lucas, Me, Magaly

So with a sad 24 hour "despedida" (a goobye, hard to translate to english), I was in the car with my second family, driving to "lo Miranda", a suburb 30 minutes outside of Rancagua where my second family lives.
However right away I began to get to know them, playing in the pool with my brother Lucas, and my sister Paula, and getting to know my parents Magaly and Christian. We played lots of soccer, swam a lot and went to the plaza 5 minutes from my house a lot during the first 3 days I was there. But right away I found out I was to go on holidays with my new family to the South of Chile, but that is a story for another blog entry...

The South

The Holidays

After opening all the presents under the Christmas tree, and moving into the living room so that Fran could try out one of her presents, I heard a noise behind me. Before I would turn around to look, I got showered with a bowl of white Styrofoam balls that were supposed to be snow. So it turns out I got a white Christmas after all...

But before Christmas got going, I get to see an old friend who, when we went our separate ways, I never thought I would see again. My old Chilean brother Cristobal, who stayed in at our house on HIS exchange invited me to his house just an hour away. After he picked me up, we spent a weekend playing hockey, soccer and visiting Santiago. We also skyped with the family back home and gave them a great surprise. It was honestly one of the best weekends I've spent here, seeing my original Chilean brother.

Similar to Canada, the holidays in Chile are for spending time with your family, eating great food, giving gifts, sleeping in, and listening to Bon Iver. As a family, we ate a dinner that featured the largest turkey I have ever seen, let alone sown closed. After eating, we awaited 12:00am when we opened our presents and experienced a quick snowfall. Although I missed the cold, I missed the real Christmas tree, and I missed everyone back in Canada, it was a Christmas I don't think I will ever forget, and certainly won’t be organized inside my memory with the 15 other ones spent in the comfort of my own home. 

Of course after Christmas comes New Years. I'm used to the Fowler family New Years which are often spent somewhere in the heart of Canadian winter, and its a wild one if my parents even make it past 11pm. Let’s just say I made it a good deal past 12:00. First my family had a party with all the family friends where there was dancing and great food. Oh and being Canadian I had to watch the world Juniors Then at 12:00 we welcomed in the New Years and congratulated everyone. Later that night I went out with my friends and got as little sleep as possible. It also, was a New Years to remember.

They say that on a Rotary Exchange, Christmas is when you will miss your family the most. I found that I missed the small things the most, like the snow, the music and the feeling of being with your roots, with your real parents, your real sister, and in a place that you have been since the beginning. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Patagonia - Glacial Waters in "La Tierra del Fuego"

It can be tough getting your head around the fact that once you cross the southern hemisphere, down is cold, and up is hot. I’ve forgotten a couple times, like asking if, to escape the Chilean summer, people head up north to the cold. I usually get a response of, “what, to the desert you mean?”. The point is, Chile has four very distinct directions. To the east are the Andes, always, and eventually Argentina (Bolivia in the North). To the north are the deserts, the beaches, in general pretty dry. To the west is the Pacific. And then there is the south.

Before I came to Chile I knew the name Patagonia, but didn’t really know where or what it was. I signed up for the Rotary trip because I knew I wanted to see this part of Chile, even though I didn’t really have any idea what it was. I packed a backpack according to a packing list that was sent to me, and I boarded a plane with all the other exchange students with little idea of where I was going. Apparently my well packed bag didn’t either because it preferred to stay in Santiago while I went to the end of the world with only a carry-on bag.

It’s impossible to notice anything else first other than the mountains. Arriving at the first “refuge” you look up at a mountain that you can trek for 5 days without ever leaving its shadow. The first night was incredible, we met many amazing people also trekking through Patagonia (sooooo many Germans), and got to see a sky full of stars only rivaled by those of Lake Temagami.

The next day we trekked to the Torres (Towers in English). After borrowing sufficient clothes for the day, and praying that it wouldn’t rain, we began walking into the hills and the base of the mountain. The hills turned to forest, the forest turned to dusty path that began climbing, and eventually it was boulders, and a view down that would make Martha Taylors head spin. And then you climbed over a ledge and saw something I can only describe with a picture. (below)

The next day we hiked to the next refuge (luckily my bag arrived that morning), and saw an avalanche on the way. Everyone slept soundly in their tents as the rain beat down outside, except for Johan, Max and I who had to share a 2 person tent, without mats to sleep on, with the rain beating down on a rain fly that worked more to inconvenience the rain from getting to us, but soaking us all the same.

Since the rain didn’t let up that night, we decided to stay at the refuge the next day. 40 Exchange students trapped in tents and a small dining room for a whole day of coarse has repercussions. First we swam in a glacial lake that according to my feet couldn’t have been more than 5 degrees. And then everyone stampeded to the 2 showers, one of which was broken, and then paid for.

The next day we hiked to the final refuge, one much bigger to accommodate our group. Although the rain came back the next day, and made it impossible for us to see the glacier, we spent an amazing day inside preparing presentations and playing cards. The presentations, that could be about just about anything, were amazing. Not to brag but our Disney themed song and dance routine preformed by 5 16-18 year old guys was Harvest Night worthy. The next day we took a boat, then a bus to the city of Punta Arenas, considered the southernmost “city” in the world. Punta Arenas is a city of incredible history, with settlers from Germany, Spain, England and many other places. We got a tour at the beginning, seeing all the sights of Punta Arenas, then given the afternoon free. We were walking down the coast of the city when we looked on a broken down peer and saw a whole bunch of birds. Some of them were seagulls, but the others were penguins. Not typical ones you see in zoos, but small ones, and tons of them. I now say that I have seen wild penguins, and I only had to go to the end of the world to see them.

That night we went to the airport of Punta Arenas, that pretty much only flies to Santiago. We boarded our ridiculously late flight, arrived in Santiago at 3am, and I was back in my house in Rancagua at 5am.

That’s what you find when you “head south for the summer” in Chile

Viña del Mar y O'Higgins

Facts:

• Wikipedia estimates the population of Santiago, Chile to be just under 5.5 million
• Santiago is a city with mountains surrounding it, certainly not a coastal city.
• Chileans like to go to the beach
• Viña del Mar is the closest, best furnished coastal city to Santiago
• Just under 5.5 million people all get stuck on the same 2-lane highway almost every weekend heading to Viña del Mar.

Two weekends ago, my family and I went to Viña del Mar, which also includes the cities of Valparaiso, Concon, and Reñaca, all in the same cove type thing, on the Pacific coast of Chile (what am I saying, Chile really only has Pacific coast). Due to the facts stated above, the normal 1-2 hour drive to Viña took about 3-4 hours, but it was worth the wait.

We stayed in a hotel that was actually in Concon, but everything was an easy drive away. We had an amazing view of the ocean from our porch at the hotel, and I've decided that sometime in my life I want to live on the coast. Doesn't matter where.

That night we went out to see the city at night, which is really when Viña is at its best. We ate Mexican food, which is verrrrrry different from Chilean food, I've had a lot of people assume its the same. 

The next day, we went all around Viña and Valparaiso. We took a horse-drawn carriage thing, which im told used to be the only thing on the road. We also found a boat tour of all the cities from the bay. It wasnt just any boat though. It had a massive Canada flag on it. The captain told me it was because he goes to Toronto every winter to see his girlfriend, but I think all the Canadians in Chile are following me. By the way if I never told you, I met a guy from Kitchener, he lives beside my school. That's not weird at all.

Anyways, we saw a really cool city, and I'm sure I will go back many times. We ate lots of seafood, took lots of pictures, and had an incredible time. I'm also really happy I got to walk around this city before it gets to hot. Its mid spring right now and we're getting 28, 29 degree days already. I think I'm gonna melt.

As I have already mentioned, soccer is a pretty big deal here. My city of Rancauga has a team, its called O'Higgins, after the Bernardo O'Higgins, a famous general that helped Chile gain it's independence. The game was against Colo Colo, probably the largest team from Santiago, and currently in second place. I think O'Higgins is somewhere around 14th. To put it in Canadian, its like when the Leafs play the Canucks. (I know, the Leafs are near the top right now, wait a couple months). Nevertheless, some friends and I went to the game with our baby blue jerseys and cheered in spanish (also shouldnt be translated). It turned out to be O'Higgins day, we won 2-0. My friends and I hurried out of the stadium at the end of the match, there were a lot of Colo Colo fans and frankly South America doesn't have a rich history of peaceful soccer games.

P.S. I go to Patagonia in two weeks for my first Rotary Trip!

Later Days,

Stuart