Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Las Casas de Pablo Neruda
I have now officially been to all three of Pablo Neruda's houses. He is a famous Chilean poet who had three separate houses built in Chile before he died, one in Santiago, one in Isla Negra, and one in Valparaiso. I liked the layout of the house in Valparaiso, but Isla Negra was definitely my favorite because it was right on the ocean!
La Chascona, Santiago.
Isla Negra
La Sebastiana, Valparaiso.
La Chascona, Santiago.
Isla Negra
La Sebastiana, Valparaiso.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Easter Island
Early last Friday morning the whole group of exchange students on our program sleepily met at the Santiago airport in order to travel to Easter Island (also called Isla de Pascua in Spanish, and Rapa Nui to the residents of the island). Easter Island is over 3000 miles from the coast of Chile and just as far from French Polynesia to the West. After a five hour flight we landed in the most beautiful place I have ever been.
Easter Island is the most isolated yet still populated island in the world. Only people born on the island are allowed to own land and the majority of the island is a national park, meaning that it is not overdeveloped or incredibly touristy.
After settling into our hotel we began touring the Island. The first place we went to was the Rano Kau volcano which had erupted and the top had collapsed leaving a crater a mile wide. The crater had filled with rain water and various plants over time. From here we also were able to see a tiny piece of land off the coast where men used to have to swim and retrieve an egg from a bird that nested there. They then had to make it back to Easter Island without breaking the egg. The first man to make it back won 'birdman' status and a lot of respect for the year. We also stopped at a point from which you could see almost all of the island. After a group dinner we spent the evening stargazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible and I saw at least two shooting stars! Easily the most stars I have ever seen.
Our hotel:
We all got lei'd at the airport!
Off the edge of a cliff near our hotel, the water was such a pretty color:
Volcano Rano Kau:
The small island that men would swim to in order to bring back an egg:
Rapa Nui homes:
A wild fruit that we all tried:
The second day we toured more of the island and got to see A LOT of Moai (the giant statues that make Easter Island famous). There were around 900 Moai on the island at one point and all were knocked down during civil wars. After the island was discovered they began to stand up some of the Moai again. Many are still knocked down though:
This place has the most standing Moai on the island! An amazing place where we spent a few hours taking pictures with the 15 standing Moai.
Moai with a hat! How did they get it up there?
The Moai are very mysterious. No one knows for sure how the Rapa Nui first got them to stand up and how they moved them around the island. There are many different theories on how they were moved: rolled on logs, or moved refrigerator style.
We also got to go to the Moai factory, where most of the Moai were built. They were carved from this one mountain and there are tons of Moai in varying stages of completion scattered down the side of the hill, many of which have been buried over time.
We ended the tour with a few hours on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Lush green grass and palm trees turn into soft white sand and clear blue water. Also a group of Moai face inland from the edge of the sand. I spent most of the time swimming far out into the warm water. It was so clear that even when it was too deep to swim to the bottom I could see all the way down.
At the end of the day we ate atun empanadas and watched the sun set before we went to a Rapa Nui dance show.
At the show a bunch of us got our faces painted and had the chance to dance on the stage with the dancers!
A very interesting dance show involving very little clothing:
The third day we visited the hat factory, the place where the Rapa Nui carved hats for the Moai from red rock. We explored a cave where some Rapa Nui used to hide out in order to stay pale. The guide lead us all the way through the very dark cave. We stumbled along using our camera flashes and Allison's booklamp to light the way. We also visited a the only Moai that are facing outward towards the sea.
Good friends and good fun on Easter Island.
We had an afternoon free so Natalia, Cody and I hitch hiked from our hotel to Hanga Roa (the only town on the Island) and tried to find some surfboards (don't worry, hitch hiking is a safe and acceptable way to get around Easter Island). Everywhere was closed since it was Sunday but we were able to borrow boogie boards from the man running the empanada stand where we ate lunch. We spent the afternoon trying to avoid cutting our feet on the rocky bottom of the ocean and riding waves. The next morning we made a trip to the overpriced artisan market to buy souvenirs and got our passports stamped before heading back to the airport to return to Santiago.
I took about 800 photos on Easter Island but I don't think that they or this blog post can really do justice to how incredible the trip was. The Island was absolutely beautiful and the isolation was refreshing. It was a very carefree weekend and I don't think I've ever been so content. Although it is very expensive, I would love to go back again one day.
Easter Island is the most isolated yet still populated island in the world. Only people born on the island are allowed to own land and the majority of the island is a national park, meaning that it is not overdeveloped or incredibly touristy.
After settling into our hotel we began touring the Island. The first place we went to was the Rano Kau volcano which had erupted and the top had collapsed leaving a crater a mile wide. The crater had filled with rain water and various plants over time. From here we also were able to see a tiny piece of land off the coast where men used to have to swim and retrieve an egg from a bird that nested there. They then had to make it back to Easter Island without breaking the egg. The first man to make it back won 'birdman' status and a lot of respect for the year. We also stopped at a point from which you could see almost all of the island. After a group dinner we spent the evening stargazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible and I saw at least two shooting stars! Easily the most stars I have ever seen.
Our hotel:
We all got lei'd at the airport!
Off the edge of a cliff near our hotel, the water was such a pretty color:
Volcano Rano Kau:
The small island that men would swim to in order to bring back an egg:
Rapa Nui homes:
A wild fruit that we all tried:
The second day we toured more of the island and got to see A LOT of Moai (the giant statues that make Easter Island famous). There were around 900 Moai on the island at one point and all were knocked down during civil wars. After the island was discovered they began to stand up some of the Moai again. Many are still knocked down though:
This place has the most standing Moai on the island! An amazing place where we spent a few hours taking pictures with the 15 standing Moai.
Moai with a hat! How did they get it up there?
The Moai are very mysterious. No one knows for sure how the Rapa Nui first got them to stand up and how they moved them around the island. There are many different theories on how they were moved: rolled on logs, or moved refrigerator style.
We also got to go to the Moai factory, where most of the Moai were built. They were carved from this one mountain and there are tons of Moai in varying stages of completion scattered down the side of the hill, many of which have been buried over time.
We ended the tour with a few hours on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Lush green grass and palm trees turn into soft white sand and clear blue water. Also a group of Moai face inland from the edge of the sand. I spent most of the time swimming far out into the warm water. It was so clear that even when it was too deep to swim to the bottom I could see all the way down.
At the end of the day we ate atun empanadas and watched the sun set before we went to a Rapa Nui dance show.
At the show a bunch of us got our faces painted and had the chance to dance on the stage with the dancers!
A very interesting dance show involving very little clothing:
The third day we visited the hat factory, the place where the Rapa Nui carved hats for the Moai from red rock. We explored a cave where some Rapa Nui used to hide out in order to stay pale. The guide lead us all the way through the very dark cave. We stumbled along using our camera flashes and Allison's booklamp to light the way. We also visited a the only Moai that are facing outward towards the sea.
Good friends and good fun on Easter Island.
We had an afternoon free so Natalia, Cody and I hitch hiked from our hotel to Hanga Roa (the only town on the Island) and tried to find some surfboards (don't worry, hitch hiking is a safe and acceptable way to get around Easter Island). Everywhere was closed since it was Sunday but we were able to borrow boogie boards from the man running the empanada stand where we ate lunch. We spent the afternoon trying to avoid cutting our feet on the rocky bottom of the ocean and riding waves. The next morning we made a trip to the overpriced artisan market to buy souvenirs and got our passports stamped before heading back to the airport to return to Santiago.I took about 800 photos on Easter Island but I don't think that they or this blog post can really do justice to how incredible the trip was. The Island was absolutely beautiful and the isolation was refreshing. It was a very carefree weekend and I don't think I've ever been so content. Although it is very expensive, I would love to go back again one day.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Pucón
Last week we had a day off for Semana Santa (Easter week) so eight of us decided to take a day off from our internships and travel to Pucon for the weekend. Pucon is a town in the south of Chile, famous for Volcan Villarrica, a historically active volcano that you can hike up, and many other outdoor activities and sports. We took a 10 hour bus ride Wednesday night and arrived in Pucon Thursday morning a bit tired and sore but excited about how beautiful Pucon was. It's so green and surrounded by mountains and the volcano. Unfortunately we weren't able to see the volcano until about a hour before we left Pucon because it rained the whole time we were there. I guess that's why it's so green.
A picture of the main street in Pucon:
Delicious fruit from a market across the street from our hostel:
We stayed in a hostel called Hostel Backpackers which looked exactly like a cabin. It was cozy with a wood stove constantly burning and drying everyone's wet shoes and jackets. One of the things I love about staying in hostels is that we are able to cook our own meals. Although the kitchen was crowded and a bit grungy we made a few delicious meals. We ended up spending every evening sitting in the common room near the fire, drinking mate, eating dinner or snacks, playing cards, chatting with other visitors from all over the world, and drinking wine and pisco. It was a great place to stay, very chill with pretty cool proprietors and a white dog named Nieves (snow).
We went to Pucon with the intention of climbing Volcan Villarrica however the weather prevented us from making the ascent. So each day we found something else to do in the rain. Thursday was very stormy and when we were eating dinner in a restaurant the power in all of Pucon went out and stayed off til the next morning. We ate our delicious Mexican food by candle light until the restaurant began to flood after a hole in the wall began gushing water and we had to hurry to pay the check and leave. Needless to say, we were drenched by the time we got back to the hostel.
Friday we took a "hike" around Pucon and Lago Villarrica on the edge of town. Three of us even convinced the security guard to let us hike around the private peninsula to get better views of the lake and mountains. After this we attempted to go to the only museum in Pucon, the Mapuche Museum but it was closed for Semana Santa so we settled for wandering around the artisan markets and eating some delicious french fries.
Lago Villarrica:
Everyone in our group (minus me).
Lago Villarrica and our hike around Pucon. Volcanic ash makes the beach of this lake black.
On Saturday a few of us decided to take a bus to Parque Nacional Huerquehue and go hiking. There are only 3 buses a day so we only had a few hours in the park, but we had a great time! There was some snow on the mountains and we saw a lot of waterfalls. We also had to walk through a farm at one point and saw both a giant turkey and a giant pig, and a bunch of other farm animals.
Adorable puppies that we saw while hiking in Parque Nacional Huerquehue!
La Parque Nacional Huerquehue
On Sunday we did a tour of the region around Pucon and the first place we stopped was Los Ojos de Caburgua. It is a group of waterfalls and small ponds that are bright blue because of the volcanic ash. It was really pretty and looked perfect for swimming despite to no swimming signs posted everywhere.
The second place we stopped was Lago Caburgua. It is a beautiful serene lake with a white sand beach and surrounded by mountains and mini volcanoes. Supposedly its very crowded in the summer but it was one of my favorite places that we visited near Pucon.
We ended the tour by soaking in termas (hot springs) for the afternoon before heading back to Pucon to eat a quick dinner and drink a glass of Kuntsmann, a locally brewed beer, before getting back on a bus for the long ride to Santiago. I had a great weekend and even though we didn't climb the volcano, I now have an excuse to come back to Pucon someday (not that I need one!)
A picture of the main street in Pucon:
Delicious fruit from a market across the street from our hostel:
We stayed in a hostel called Hostel Backpackers which looked exactly like a cabin. It was cozy with a wood stove constantly burning and drying everyone's wet shoes and jackets. One of the things I love about staying in hostels is that we are able to cook our own meals. Although the kitchen was crowded and a bit grungy we made a few delicious meals. We ended up spending every evening sitting in the common room near the fire, drinking mate, eating dinner or snacks, playing cards, chatting with other visitors from all over the world, and drinking wine and pisco. It was a great place to stay, very chill with pretty cool proprietors and a white dog named Nieves (snow).
We went to Pucon with the intention of climbing Volcan Villarrica however the weather prevented us from making the ascent. So each day we found something else to do in the rain. Thursday was very stormy and when we were eating dinner in a restaurant the power in all of Pucon went out and stayed off til the next morning. We ate our delicious Mexican food by candle light until the restaurant began to flood after a hole in the wall began gushing water and we had to hurry to pay the check and leave. Needless to say, we were drenched by the time we got back to the hostel.Friday we took a "hike" around Pucon and Lago Villarrica on the edge of town. Three of us even convinced the security guard to let us hike around the private peninsula to get better views of the lake and mountains. After this we attempted to go to the only museum in Pucon, the Mapuche Museum but it was closed for Semana Santa so we settled for wandering around the artisan markets and eating some delicious french fries.
Lago Villarrica:
Everyone in our group (minus me).
Lago Villarrica and our hike around Pucon. Volcanic ash makes the beach of this lake black.
On Saturday a few of us decided to take a bus to Parque Nacional Huerquehue and go hiking. There are only 3 buses a day so we only had a few hours in the park, but we had a great time! There was some snow on the mountains and we saw a lot of waterfalls. We also had to walk through a farm at one point and saw both a giant turkey and a giant pig, and a bunch of other farm animals.Adorable puppies that we saw while hiking in Parque Nacional Huerquehue!
On Sunday we did a tour of the region around Pucon and the first place we stopped was Los Ojos de Caburgua. It is a group of waterfalls and small ponds that are bright blue because of the volcanic ash. It was really pretty and looked perfect for swimming despite to no swimming signs posted everywhere.
The second place we stopped was Lago Caburgua. It is a beautiful serene lake with a white sand beach and surrounded by mountains and mini volcanoes. Supposedly its very crowded in the summer but it was one of my favorite places that we visited near Pucon.
We ended the tour by soaking in termas (hot springs) for the afternoon before heading back to Pucon to eat a quick dinner and drink a glass of Kuntsmann, a locally brewed beer, before getting back on a bus for the long ride to Santiago. I had a great weekend and even though we didn't climb the volcano, I now have an excuse to come back to Pucon someday (not that I need one!)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Me encanta Chile!
Someone asked me today if I liked Chile so far, my reply was that I love it. He then asked me why and I couldn't think of anything specific at the time, so I just said I liked todo (everything). Here is a short list of a few of the things I love about Chile:
I can see the Andes almost every day and they are absolutely beautiful! It is a view that definitely doesn't get old. Santiago is a huge city literally surrounded by mountains.
I love speaking Spanish!
The Chilenos that I have met here are very nice and so welcoming.
I enjoy afternoon siestas.
Dancing is so much better here! Where as fist pumping is an acceptable form of dance in the US, people here are great dancers and dancing salsa is common.
I also love how relaxed I feel here, I am wayyy less stressed out then I usually am at home. My student visa actually permits me from having a job so that might be a part of it. But in general people here are less concerned with getting as much done as possible in a day and are more laid back about time.
I can see the Andes almost every day and they are absolutely beautiful! It is a view that definitely doesn't get old. Santiago is a huge city literally surrounded by mountains.
I love speaking Spanish!
The Chilenos that I have met here are very nice and so welcoming.
I enjoy afternoon siestas.
Dancing is so much better here! Where as fist pumping is an acceptable form of dance in the US, people here are great dancers and dancing salsa is common.
I also love how relaxed I feel here, I am wayyy less stressed out then I usually am at home. My student visa actually permits me from having a job so that might be a part of it. But in general people here are less concerned with getting as much done as possible in a day and are more laid back about time.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Internship
Two weeks ago I started an internship with Youth for Understanding Chile. YFU Chile is a faction of the larger, world-wide group Youth for Understanding, which is a non-profit organization that sends high-school students on exchange to different countries around the world. Everyone who works here is very nice, they call themselves a familia, and are very welcoming. So far I like my internship, although I'm not a huge fan of sitting at a desk all day. I admit, last week I googled non-desk jobs on one of my breaks.
My current assignment is to try and find businesses in Chile to donate scholarships for children who can't afford to go on an exchange. Apparently money donation is not a big thing here in Chile so hopefully I can successfully find at least one company to give YFU a scholarship! Part of this assignment is for me to go around to different companies and give presentations to them about why they should donate to YFU, a little nerve-wracking but nevertheless a great learning experience.
My current assignment is to try and find businesses in Chile to donate scholarships for children who can't afford to go on an exchange. Apparently money donation is not a big thing here in Chile so hopefully I can successfully find at least one company to give YFU a scholarship! Part of this assignment is for me to go around to different companies and give presentations to them about why they should donate to YFU, a little nerve-wracking but nevertheless a great learning experience.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
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