So, when we last left off the traveling trio was about
to board a boat south for 3 days. Would there be good
weather? Would there be seasickness? The answer to
these questions and many more in this email.
I´m sure you all checked the link to Navimag out and
realized that this was no luxury liner we were
boarding. While we weren´t in the lowest class (which
would be airliner type seating) we were in little
bunks and shared bathrooms. Surprisingly enough I
didn´t sleep all that horrible in the little bunks.
That may be due to the bottle of wine Kathy and I
split every night with dinner... What else do you
expect when you have 150 backpackers stuck on a boat?
After the first night we had to turn back to take
someone to shore that was sick which put us back about
6 hours the rest of the trip. The weather held out
nicely although one day was pretty much all rain
leading into crossing the Gulf of Sorrows. I guess it
could have been a worse crossing but for my first time
on a boat it was bad enough. Jen and I both took
seasickness pills ¨just in case¨ and survived it all.
The last day aboard we were treated to some amazing
views as we passed narrowly by islands and the rising
mountains around us. By this time I think everyone on
the boat was a little anxious to get off onto stable
land. Kathy had talked about her ¨land sickness¨ that
she gets after being on a boat for a while and I
laughed at first. While never really getting sick it
was similar to that strange sensation you get after
riding on rollercoasters all day. Every once in a
while I would think that the room should be moving.
Speaking of moving, always on the go here. Jen wanted
to do some major trekking in Torres de Paine and with
time running out I had a decision to make. I could go
with Jen and do some hiking and hanging out, but after
3 days in a boat and nearly finishing the book I
brought I decided to head to Argentina with Kathy
(she´s also running out of time here and T. d. Paine
wasn´t at the top of her list of remaining things to
see). So this morning we caught a bus to El Calafate
and here I am now. We made arrangements to go to the
Moreno Glacier tomorrow and spent the rest of the day
walking around checking out the options for the next
two days after that. Looks to be either a boat trip
to some other glaciers or minitrekking on Moreno.
A week left and the trip is quickly coming to an end.
December 3rd I catch a bus back to Puerto Natales
(Chile) to meet back up with Jen and bus south to
Punta Arenas and fly back to Santiago and back to LA.
Mmmm, Bakersfield. Smog, fog, and my own bed.
So, to bring you up to date in my adventures, we
didn´t get the good weather as hoped for the first
full day in Ancud, on Chiloe. We postponed our sea
kayaking a day and headed south on another bus.
A brief aside - I´ve been getting to see a lot of
countryside and the back of my eyelids with all the
busses we ride on. The burden of not having your own
car for transportation. The problem is I seem to have
what I´ve termed ´buscalepsy.´ It is similar to
narcalepsy, carcalepsy (falling asleep in cars), and
barcalepsy (falling asleep in bars). I´m often woken
to the prod of whoever is sitting beside me (when
Kathy and Jen don´t make me sit alone) to see
something like a massive bridge or the mountains
passing by.
Anyway, we took another bus down the island to Castro
where we walked around a small market and looked for
things to buy. Problem is most of the items were
wooden or woolen. One being bulky for my bags at this
time and the other too warm for wearing in
Bakersfield. I did end up with a green wool hat that
smells just like the market.
Yesterday the weather was better and we were able to
go sea kayaking. Along with our guide Ruth from
London, Jen went in a solo kayak and Kathy and I the
double. It was a bit cloudy all day but all in all
one of the highlights of my trip to date. We got
lucky on crossing back over the bay as the wind and
rain started to pick up right when we were coming in.
Today we are just hanging around in Puerto Montt
waiting to catch the Navimag ferry down south to
Puerto Natales. This would be the 3 nights on a boat
I´ve been mentioning. Evidently we are in the Class C
cabins along with 100+ others. Bunks in rooms with
curtains. Almost with the cows. After that it looks
like we´ll spend the remainder of our time in Torres
del Paine and not even make it to Argentina. That´s
how things go down here.
Anyway, happy turkey day to all and enjoy some
cranberries for me.
> So, yea - we are still on the move. From Puerto
> Varas
> where we took a catamaran (er, boat) and were
> treated
> to spectacular views of 3 volcanos along the way. I
> wonder if this might be a good field trip for a
> geologist next year... Also saw the mountains peaks
> that make up the Chile-Argentina border. In the language-food
update,
> I was even able to order myself "chocolate con leche" or hot
chocolate
> at lunch. Yea, sad to say that if left to me I would
> be able to order a plate of hot cheese and hot
> chocolate. By the end of the trip I have a
> challenge to order dinner for the three of us.
> Could be an interesting meal.
>
> Today we caught another bus to Ancud on Chiloe
> Island.
> Small town, we walked around most of it today.
> Booked a sea kayaking trip for tomorrow if the
> weather
> holds out. Lots of boating going on this trip. I
> looking forward to the 3 day journey south. There´s
> been talk of taking wine on board so I won´t know if
> it´s the wine or the sea that makes me sick. I´ll
> be
> sure to locate the closest sink just in case...
>
> That´s the update for today.
>
> luego,
>
> mel
I´m sitting in the office of the adventure company we used yesterday to go rafting and sit in thermal pools. The river was amazing...biggest I´ve ever rafted. Even had to ¨get down¨in the boat twice. So it´s fitting that my fingers are freezing. We´ve not been blessed with the best weather - much rain all though the night.
After Santiago we took a bus ride south. Did I say 6 hours? It was 11 hours. Guess I need to listen better when making plans. We are staying in a small house with three beds in a small room along with 3 other rooms with travellers. It´s been since college that I slept on the bottom bunk and fitting enough my college roommate is above me. A step down from the hotel but not quite the hostel environment. We´ve been able to cook our own meals though - which has been nice. Kathy much enjoyed the salsa I brought down once we found tortilla chips.
Like I said, while in Pucon we´ve not had the best weather and supposedly tomorrow it will be sunny. If so we stay another day so Jen can climb the volcano. Otherwise we head south. We have to be in Port Montt Monday for the ferry-boat to Port Natales. That is a 3 day excursion...better get some Dramamine before.
Oh, and for those keeping score at my pack weighed 57 pounds at LAX with my main pack of essentials being 35 pounds of that. I´ve no idea who won but I´m sure I´ll find a prize fitting while down here.
Hope we have better weather or I´ll actually be happy to return to Bakersfield.
So...here I am...in Chile. Turns out there´s an
internet place right next to our hotel.
After a full day of flying from LA to Atlanta and then
the 8 hour leg to Santiago where I didn´t get the luck
of the draw and ended up in the middle. Once we
landed roughly and navigated our way through customs,
we were met at the airport by Kathy. So yes, she´s
still alive down here.
We got in at about 10 am so after checking into our
hotel (Hotel Vegas) we headed out to see some sights
at Mercado Central and grab some food. We almost at
at a place a friend had suggested (had forgotten the
name at the time) and instead opted to walk around and
found some small restaurant where I was clueless on
ordering food. If by the end of the trip I can order
for myself it will be a success - unlike today where
my fish had mussels or snail on it I think. Yum.
Other highlights include, well, sleep, and seeing a
ChevronTexaco ad on the television. Also, I´ve
noticed a strange obsession with hot dogs and ice
cream here. Chileans love their ice cream. Oh, and
the movie Five Easy Pieces was on the
tele...Bakersfield...can´t get away from it.
Today we took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Valpariso and
walked around the city. Could almost fool yourself to
think it was San Francisco with the port and close
housing but very much different.
Anyway, tomorrow we leave Santiago and head south for,
um, I´m not sure - but it´s about a 6 hour bus ride
and it´s probably going to rain. Just like
Bakersfield...
Okay - the final countdown has begun. All the silly little errands are ran and the last minute pack/repack is done. Tomorrow morning I'll weigh my pack to come up with a winner to my little "how much shit is Melissa taking to South America" contest and jump in the very small Ford Focus rental car and be on my way. I don't think it's fully hit me yet. I'm going to South America!!!
I think I'm unconsciencely trying to adjust my internal time clock to that of Chile - some 4 hours ahead (I think). It's 12:41am - I'm still up and last night it was 3am before my head hit the pillow. I think I got most everything packed tonight - although I'm sure I'll revisit the load tomorrow to make sure I have everything and there's nothing that could be left behind to lighten the pack. Still have to burn a couple of cds for the trip and pick out a book for the flight. Oh, and work for three more days.
Birthdays have always been one of those things for me. I've never been one of those people that wants to stand in the spotlight. Not that I don't desire some spotlight every now and then but, I've never been one to make anything of my birthday. Just as happy to let it pass by, marking the day with listening to a special song or something of the sort. Something about this year was different. It was the cake decorated to memorialize my impending trip to South America. The emails sent with cheesy 80s songs. The impromptu invite to drinking at a bar where so many of my friends showed face. Returning to phone messages just saying "happy birthday." They really meant a lot to me. I've never really felt like I snuggly fit in one single group. I'm more of someone who floats on the outskirts of several pods but tonight everyone came together. Yea, I think I just delved into the "in a can" section of cheese but it's true. Just having all these people that I know show up meant a lot. So if you are reading this - thanks. If you are reading this and didn't show up...you owe me a beer. ( :
Let's just say that this morning's event is one I don't want to repeat any time soon. Fact is I'm sitting here at work with a belly full of good ol' Number 56 on the Atomic Chart and quite frankly, feeling like ass. Hopefully it's all worth it in the end and the docs can figure out what's the deal with my esophagus and the urp issue.
