Last Updated: 07/22/03

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March 3, 2002:  Santiago Arrival

We arrived in Santiago about 10am � we make our way to the metro and get out to the �burbs� � last stop! We take a taxi from here and make it to our homestay about 11:30am.   Senor Edgar is there to greet us.   He shows us around and we have a conversation with him about the bus system.  We nod a lot but don�t really get it.  Then the senora Maria comes home.  She rushes up the stairs and gives us both a hug & kiss.  She is very excited and speaks very fast�.we nod even more and understand even less! The place is really nice and better than both of us expect; we have the whole upstairs to ourselves � bedroom, bathroom and study room complete with two desks.  From what we understand our se�ora will take us to school tomorrow.  I hope we are right because we will never get there ourselves (we hoped we could walk�but it is definitely a few miles away � so we�ll need to take the bus).  We decide to get our bearings, and walked all around the suburbs �didn�t try to find the school; we did some shopping � school supplies, etc.  instead.  When we get back to the house, the se�ora again talks to/at us a mile a minute; and we are concentrating so hard to understand, it hurts! We are both exhausted�but have serious incentive to study!
 

March 4, 2002:  1st Day of School

We go down for breakfast about 8:30am � coffee, tea, oj, fresh fruit, toast, cheese, ham, and salami are all set out for us.  Karen decides she could get used to eating breakfast.  Our se�ora takes us to school on the bus to show us the route.  It takes about � an hour by bus.  At school, we registered and were tested for our Spanish level.  We score within a point of each other; so we�ll be in the same class � and it turns out that we will be in a class by ourselves (a.k.a the beginner class.).  Class starts later today, about 11am, and will go to 2:30pm.  Once in class, it is total immersion, now ingeles � with our limited vocabulary you�d think we were playing charades rather than learning espa�ol.  After class we explore Providencia (barrio where the school is) and then head home at 5:30p.  Our room up stairs is so hot when we get home that we decide to study out back on the patio.  Good decision! It�s a really good place in the shade with a breeze to relax in.  Our dinner has been made and waiting for us when we decide to go back in around 8pm.  Dinner is pork chops and potatoes � Karen is really going to like it here.

March 5, 2002:  Tuesday

Full breakfast spread again at 8:30ish � we could really get used to this! Class today (and from now on) starts at 10:30am and goes until 1:30pm.  Class is actually not as intense as we thought � since there are only two of us (�but we like having �private lessons�) we only go for 3 hours instead of 4.  Even so�we are getting a lot accomplished.  New teacher today � young gal named Ester.  They rotate teachers so we get to hear different accents and experience different teaching styles.  Ester is a lot of fun.  We laughed all through class and had a great lesson.  After class, we went on one of the school excursions to ????? It was a really neat park, castle, garden, hill, granite rock cliff all blended together to create a really tranquil setting with amazing views in the city.  On the excursion there was just one other student (Louis) and we only spoke in Spanish � but we didn�t actually get that much new Spanish exposure because our �guild� just really took us there but didn�t tell us anything about the places�we still had a good time.  Back at home, we study outside and then go in for dinner about 8ish.  I think we�ve started a routine with the studying outside!

March 6, 2002:  Wednesday

Class again today � we have two different teachers today, Ester and Jose.  Ester is much more particular with pronunciation and exact sentence structure and Jose is more into suing words that are a little beyond us so that we have to mime to communicate; we need both.  Did we mention it�s hot here�yes, very, very hot!! We�ve been out trying to buy some cooler cloths � but it has been difficult since the stores are stocked with the new fall/winter stuff.  Today, we even tried to go to a public pool.  It took us quite a while to find it � and we didn�t have our towels with us so we decided to plan to go tomorrow instead.

March 7, 2002:  The Pool

We made it to the pool today � this time prepared with our towels, but unprepared on the food front.  Yesterday, we asked if they had food and while they do � it turns out to be nothing more than you can get out of a vending machine.  Oh well, next time.  Note: Don�t buy Cheetos in Chile � even though they are labeled and packaged the same � THEY ARE DEFINITELY NOT!! Other than that we had a great time.  The pool was huge surrounded by grass and trees for a more park like atmosphere (rather than lounge chairs and pool decking).  Not very many people either since school has started down here as it is technically fall or autumn � so not many people thinking about swimming.  John read a book � and Karen tried to do some laps.  She had a �conversation� with a little girl who was also swimming and felt proud to be able to cover basic questions about where we�re from, age, birthday, etc.  Karen had only one problem when she didn�t know how to say her sign, �Sagittarius� in Spanish.  The little girl yelled across the pool to her family to clarify.  We think she broadcast to everyone that Karen couldn�t speak Spanish.

March 8, 2002:  The Dinner

This afternoon, the se�ora invited us for a pisco sour before dinner.  A pisco sour is a South American cocktail made with �pisco� which is a type of liquor made here.  They mix it with lemon and sugar and it tastes a little like a margarita � we both give this drink a strong �thumbs up�.  We did get a �scare� when our hosts mentioned they were celebrating �mothers day� � for a few minutes, we thought that we had missed it, but then realized Mother�s day in the U.S.  is on a Sunday.  It took until the following day for us to realize that Mother�s day is in May and we are only in March right now.  This only underscores how difficult it is to keep track of dates and time when traveling for a long period.  During our aperitif, the other student living at the house, Kaz from Japan came home from school and joined us for another �trago� (cocktail � in this case a pisco sour).  We were all having such a good time that we ended up eating dinner together for the first time.  As dinner finished, our host family�s daughter and her family showed up (w/ two kids).  We had a wonderful time talking with them and they gave us lots of good places to go in Valparaiso (for the coming weekend).

March 9, 2002:  Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

After a long Friday evening last night, we didn�t get off this Saturday until after 10am.  We got to the bus terminal to find that huge luxury buses go to Valparaiso every 15 minutes.  Our Lonely Planet guide said this was the schedule � but we really didn�t believe it until we got there.  Valparaiso is over 2 hours away � and we still can�t believe they have buses going every 15 minutes.  Well, we grabbed the 11am and we were on our way.  As the bus sets off, they start up a movie � Dr.  Doolittle � pretty swank! Once we get to Valparaiso, we grab a taxi to the part of to the part of town John had read about and had a nice lunch at a restaurant on top of one of the famous hills in town.  Valparaiso is an old port-city that is a little like San Francisco as there are lots of houses � �casas� � and buildings built on all the steep hills.  They also have their version of cable cars called �acensors� (which means �elevators�) scattered around town to help transport people up the steep hills.  We walked the city for hours and rode a couple different acensors and enjoyed the sites.  In the evening, we decide to take the local train that runs along the coast to the near by summer resort city of Vina del Mar.  The city doesn�t really have much to offer�and it looks to be a condo meca! Huge high-rises, one after another made the city look like a giant �time share�.  We found a recommended hotel that is actually situated in the ocean and shaped like a boat � a little tacky, but fun.  We find a cute Mexican restaurant that was really good; and our waitress was great � a student at University de Chile in Valparaiso.  At the end of dinner we hugged and kissed goodbye � in the Chilean way.

March 10, 2002:  Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

We head back to Valparaiso and try to go to the caf� recommended by our host family on Friday night � only to find everything is closed on Sunday.  EVERTHING! We get pretty frustrated because we wanted to experience some more things that are �typical Chilean� rather than the cultural void of Vina del Mar.  We start to wish we had spent the night in Valparaiso so that we could have visited a restaurant on Saturday night with singing and dancing.  We maybe we�ll need to come back.  We head back early to Santiago around 1pm and finish working on the web site back home.

March 11, 2002:  Monday

Class as normal.  Today we also bring the computer to school with plans to get synced and finally put some pictures and journal entries out on the site.  We figured this would take a couple of hours since it is our first time --- well six hours later we finally get it working.  We find that the web site is taking a lot more effort than we anticipated, but it seems to be coming out better than we thought as well.

March 12, 2002:  Tuesday

Class as normal.  After class, we went out and got our first hair cuts; our Spanish is getting better � but having your hair cut still seems like a high risk activity where a communication break down could have serious consequences.  All goes well�

March 13, 2002:  Wednesday

Class as normal.  We head back directly towards home (via bus) and stop off at a local caf� that we�ve noticed.  John orders �Lomo a pobre� which is a large sirloin steak, with two fried eggs on top and french fries on the side - $6.50.  Karen has her favorite, Pollo Milanese, which is breaded chicken breast with french fries.  A couple of Schops (beers) each and by 4pm we are ready to call it a day.  The weather is so nice, that today feels like a regular �vacation day"

March 14, 2002:  Thursday

Class as normal.  After class we take all the film from Patagonia to be developed at a local Kodak place.  Still not 100% sure about getting the film developed here, but we want to send it back home; so we decide to �just do it�.  The pictures come out ok � not sure if some reoccurring issues are the fault of the camera, developing or the photographer (hmmmm�).  We decide to go see a movie this afternoon as well � Gosoford Park (in English w/ Spanish subtitles, which we highly recommend).  We make it home for dinner and then receive a phone call (our first!!) from our friend Mette that we met in Torres del Paine and traveled with on the Navimag boat through the Fjords.  She has arrived in Santiago and wants to make plans together for the weekend.  We are hoping to visit the wine country south of here.  We decide to meet for drinks to sort things out.  John and I jump back on the bus and head back to Providencia around 9pm.  We meet at the �club center� and head off for a few drinks.  It is quite a night scene with bands playing, salsa dancing, and even some guys performing a type of circus act.  As we walk past each establishment � we are �accosted� by people to come in and eat/drink in their place�this is pretty much the norm in South America � but here it is very intense.  We find a good �joint� and make our plans; and decide to meet again @ school to finalize our plans.

March 15, 2002:  Concha Y Torro

By 11:30am we�ve got the weekend figured out.  1st, Mette is able to join our school excursion this afternoon to Concha Y Torro, one of the big wine producers here in Chile.  (Thank you Linguatec!) 2nd � we�ll rent a car for the weekend and head down to Curico � �a service center for the surrounding orchards & vineyards� � Lonely Planet.  For Concha Y Torro, the school rented a van/driver to take us there and we all (12 students/teachers and Mette) crammed ourselves in.  Once we get there, we waited for our tour to begin only to realize we were missing the start as they left without us at 3:30pm.  Once we catch up � things go a little more smoothly.  Concha Y Torro has beautiful grounds, a huge lagoon, peaceful walkways, and huge cellars holding barrels and barrels of wine.  Surprisingly we were able to follow a good portion of the tour (that was in Spanish) because of our background in the wine production process (�and the countless tour that we have been on in English).  After wine tasting (�and buying a couple of bottles of wine) we head back towards school.  On the way back, we open a bottle of late harvest wine and pull out crackers, cheese and some meats.  This turns out to be a big hit with the group and the ride back turns in to a regular party atmosphere.   Note: open bottle laws in a moving vehicle are a little more �relaxed� down here :).  After we get back to Lingutec � the two of us head off to some local wine stores to find more maps/books/guides of the wine country for the weekend.

March 16, 2002:  Curico Wine Festival

Moving a bit slower after yesterday's activity, we were a little late this morning meeting Mette and Luis at the car rental agency.  When we got there we just needed to finish up some details and we were off.  We headed about 3 hours south to the wine region.  Our destination for the night was a small town named Curico and we hoped to find wineries along the way... after

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March 17, 2002

March 18, 2002

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March 28, 2002

March 29, 2002:  24 Hour Trip

Today we got all our stuff re-packed into our bags which bad been empty for a month.  It felt good to put them on our backs and get going again � that was until we walked outside the house to find it raining! 1st time in a month � and it really started to come down just when we need to walk to the bus-stop and wait for a local bus.  Luckily enough � we got one very quickly that took us straight to the bus terminal.  We get to the terminal with enough time to eat and good lunch before we leave � this was a good thing as our next real meal would be over 24 hours later.  That�s right�the trip from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama takes about 24 hours! We thought about flying � but thought this would be a better experience � plus it was a lot cheaper! The �cama� (�bed� in Spanish) buses are outfitted almost exactly like flying business class (almost can lie down).  They also provided 2 snacks, breakfast in the morning, pillows, blankets and we even played a game of black-out bingo (good opportunity for us to practice our numbers in Spanish)� not bad at all.

March 30, 2002:  San Pedro de Atacama

Woke up this morning on the bus � looked out the window and all we saw was dirt.  We are now in the Atacama Desert � we�ve heard/read, in places, it is the driest place in the world.  There is a town here that hasn�t registered any measurable rainfall in 20 years.  Anyway, it looks and feels like we are on the moon � nothing but brown dirt for miles and miles.  It really does look surreal and this is from people who are used to the desert landscape (i.e.  Arizona!) �just dirt with no plants at all.  If it were sand, it would probably look like the Sarah Desert.  We reach Calama by noon and decide to press on all the way to San Pedro de Atacama � which is sort of an oasis in this desert.  We find a local bus heading that way (our nice �cama� bus only went to Calama) and take the two hour ride.  San Pedro de Atacama is a very small town (1000 permanent residents�mostly in the tourist trade) made up of tiny adobe buildings and dirt streets; very quaint/charming.  We get a room and set up a tour for the next morning.  Did we mention this town is located over 3,400 meters (over 10,000 feet above sea level)? We �feel it� just walking around.

March 31, 2002:  Geysers & "Planet of the Apes"

Our day starts out in the early/dark morning around 3:30am to catch our tour bus to the �nearby� geysers.  We had to leave this early in order to arrive at the geysers before 6am when the winds and atmospheric pressure are low enough for the steam to rise straight up instead of being dissipated.  This is the best time to view the geysers � that is if you can stay awake! Actually, it was a neat site.  There were several hundred small geysers letting off steam and some others bubbling up very hot mineral water.  The only downside of this trip was that we did it too soon after arriving in San Pedro; we hadn�t given ourselves enough time to adjust to the high altitude and the geysers were located about 4900 meters (over 14,000 feet).  Coming from sea level (Santiago) just the day before made this very tough on �the system� (�and if you are not careful � you can actually get really sick!).  Both of us experienced some pretty ugly headaches and when we first got out of the truck � and when we walked up a small hill too fast, Karen almost fainted (we both learned to walk very slowly at this altitude).  The only real way to get over this is time and lots of fluids; returning to the lower elevation of San Pedro was a welcome relief.  Once back we decided a nap was definitely in order� but before we got to sleep, we found Mette had made her way into town and we linked up with her and Ellen (a girl from Germany Mette had met on the bus to San Pedro).  This wasn�t exactly planned � but running in to people you�ve met in other locations happens more than you might expect.  We decided to have dinner together and then getting our second wind, we decided to do a night-time horseback ride through the Valley of the Dead under the stars and a nearly full moon.  Just before we left, Ellen decided that the night time horse ride was too risky for her�and she decided not to go.  We should have known this was an indication that our travel and activity styles were different.  Anyway, the three of us continued on and had a lot of fun clip-clopping through the barren canyons. 

John and our guide thought the best way to describe the scene was to visualize Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes near the end of the movie when he was riding through some desolate canyons on horse-back � very weird.  The ride lasted about 3 hours� we might have gotten back sooner but Karen�s horse had its own pace (i.e., slow) as we were sure it would have rather been eating or sleeping rather than walking at night.  Anyway � needlesstosay by the time we got back, we were very ready for bed!

April 1, 2002:  Monday Errands

We have decided to travel to Bolivia on a three day tour from San Pedro that will take us to the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats of Bolivia) which tons of people say is a must see! In order to do this trip which is very rustic and crosses mostly rural mountain areas, we need sleeping bags and the agency we are going with does not have any we can rent� so today we headed a couple hours back to the nearest larger town of Calma.  There we bought sleeping bags and shipped our PC ahead of us to Karen�s cousins in Lima, Peru.  We heard enough stories about theft in Bolivia to make us a little paranoid and decided we really didn�t need to carry the PC with us on this outdoor excursion where we probably won�t have much electricity anyway.

April 2, 2002:  Around San Pedro

Today we went on a full day tour to the areas surrounding San Pedro de Atacama.  We saw green lakes with white salt shores, a national flamingo reserve and ended up doing a small hike by a creek and then climbed up a huge rock to see the sunset.  It was a day full of very different landscapes � hard to believe they were all within driving distance.  The flamingos were probably the most interesting because they seem so out of place here in the high desert but this is their breeding ground.  We saw them string up the mud in the lake shores looking for small critters to eat.  The way their long skinny legs bend at the knee made them look like they were doing a crazy dance.  On the downside of the day, there was an unbearable political element to our tour today as we seemed to get dragged into the complications of traveling with a group.  Deciding to travel to Bolivia a day ago turned into a group thing as Mette and Ellen would prefer not to travel to Bolivia alone.  This shouldn�t be a problem (in fact we�ve had a lot of run traveling with Mette in Chile in the past) but we (John, Karen and Mette) would like to leave for Bolivia on Thursday and Ellen would like to wait until Saturday.  To make matters worse, Ellen�s personality seems to clashing with ours and especially with Mette�s.  In fact, not sure if they can even stand each other at this point even though they are sharing a room together.  Unfortunately this meant a lot of quiet conversations today between groups of two either complaining about the situation or strategizing about how to change it.  Now we think we know what it must feel like to be on Survivor� and we don�t recommend it!

April 3, 2002:  Valley of the Moon

This morning we spent some time getting ready for our trip to Bolivia tomorrow (yes despite the difficulties we are still all going to travel together and we are leaving on Thursday � majority rules) and wrapping up our stay in San Pedro.  We did laundry and internet as well as walked the town taking pictures and visited their small museum.  The museum had a couple very good replicas of Inca mummies found in the area as well as numerous tools and pottery.  In the afternoon we went on a tour of the Valley of the Moon � which is a creator or valley in an extremely desolate area.  We were back in the Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston -- very stark, barren, rocky, inhospitable land � but extremely interesting to visit and actually quite beautiful at sunset.  We all hiked up a large sand dune ridge; then up some more to a rocky ridge where we could enjoy the sunset and all the amazing color that played against the red-brown rocks and nearby mountains.  Great way to end our stay in the desert of Atacama. 

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