Waterfalls, Hot Springs, Volcanoes, oh my!

Buenas Tardes!

If you are reading this stateside, there is now only an hour time difference between us - thank you daylight savings! The Chilean government decided not to participate in any time change because of their energy shortage.

[quick back story: There was a significant drought this summer in Chile,
and they are tight on energy]

Not sure how it helps in the end, but that is the word on the street.

I am back from Pucón, and have SO much to share!

[A 2 minutes summary of my journey to Pucón]

It all began with a 12 hour bus ride from Valpo to Pucón - 9pm-9am

Friday [forgot my camera, whoops]

Tour of Pucón... wet & rainy, but wonderful:

Trekked to see some Saltos, which are narrow waterfalls, but can be hundreds of meters long

Visited a Mapuche homestead, where we were warmed & dried by the fire and got a taste of the Mapuche people.... literally... after sitting in a hut around the fire, we shared sopapillas [similar to a doughnut/fausnaught], another scone-like pastry, jam, pebre [onion & tomatoe salsa], and tea

The Mapuche homestead was definitely my favorite part of the day, it warmed my body & my soul ;]

Then we went to some natural hot springs, and hung out there for a while

Returned to our cabañas [cabins], and SLEPT

Saturday

Somehow, I managed to reset the time on my clock, and woke up an hour late, and missed rafting.... unfortunate, but everything worked out in the end

Walked around the town of Pucón, and got a feel for the town's focus on experiencing the outdoors and local culture

Went horseback riding - hiked to another salto - then rode back on our horses

Here we are with our very experienced little Chilean guide

We got back and 3 of us made dinner with our random purchases from the convenient store from the previous day. Somehow we ended up with a potato-pumpkin-carrot curry soup. Perfect dinner shared with great friends. :]

Saturday

Hiked a volcano.

This was one of the most incredible experiences of my life..... more to come.

At the base

Villarrica, or Rucapillan in Mapuche, which means House of the Spirit

Here's our AWESOME mountain team with our 2 guides

I will have to go more in depth later about all this - I have a bunch of pictures, which I will share one way or another.

We headed home on another 12 hour bus ride. My host mom had breakfast all ready for me when I got back :] ....and then I took a nice 4 hour nap.

Luckily I don't have classes on Mondays, and I can rest all day today.

besos,

Amie

una dia en Chile

hola hola

Went on my first Chilean run. Quite different from anything I've experienced.

1. I saw the pacific ocean. Including some lobos del mar [sea lions].

2. There was some rather pungent fish & dog smells.

3. I got to see the ocean. :]

Tomorrow is the first day of classes, and guess what....I don't have any classes on Lunes [Monday]! Looking at my schedule makes me so happy to be in Chile. Most classes are held once a week, with the exception of my Español Comunicación y Cultura Chilena class, which is held 3 times a week, and is only for international students. I should end up taking 4-5 classes this semester, and that means only 1 or 2 classes every day. And sometimes none.

My thoughts are with you all. I am constantly reminded of home, and I wish I could share this whole experience in a more real way, but I guess we will have to stick to words and pictures.

Since I tend to forget to bring my camera with me, I do not have pictures of this past week, so I'll share with you another photo from the artist's market place. [I will try and work on the whole remembering my camera]

Chileanismo of the Day:

micro: Reliable, yet schedule-less public bus during the day, portable discotheque during the night. At night, expect black lights, loud music, and the fastest bus ride of your life.

PS: If you have Skype, add me! ae.miller

besos

Leaving PA.

LOTS of paseos [tours] of Santiago, Valparaiso, and Vina del Mar, one of the many scenes of gringos [Americans] in the city this week. And I am totally one of them, I'm just taking the picture.

Toured a vineyard - Don't eat the grapes, they are covered in pesticides... But the wine is A-okay.

We've been to a bunch of artisan's markets. Who would have thought that 12 different artists could make the same exact crafts??

...And their bags have tags that say "Made in Thailand." There are definitely some talented people here, they are often the ones living off of the spare change of the passersby.

[just a little food for thought]

Street outside of Pablo Neruda's house. Graffiti and murals are EVERYWHERE, and it is quite impressive.

We visited a cathedral and outside there was a plaza of artists - paintings & art everywhere. Potential future career?

Who can resist a little old man wearing a hat like that.

Santiago.

Hola. hola.

It has been almost a week since I've been in Chile, and I tried to make a blog before I came, but it takes time and, honestly, I didn't want to spend time doing that the night before I left. ;]

BUT... here I am, and here is this blog. So, now you can see all about this wonderful country and the awesome city of Valpo. I wish I could share more than just pictures and words, but they will have to do for now.

Besos, Amie

PS- These pictures are totally out of order.... but I'm very tired.