Santiago, Algarrobo, Isla Negra and Valparaíso

After sleep and sleep, I suppose for the jet lag and the high temperature of Santiago, we have lunch at Susana’s place and we watch “Inception”. Lazy day!

Next day I arrange to meet with Luís (brother of a really good friend in Tarragona, Germán). He pick me up and we went to the centre of Santiago to walk thru the typical galleries, watch (from outside) some of the cafés con piernas, where the waitress are only very little dressed.

We walk around the Centro Cultural del Palacio de la Moneda and we visit the Museo Precolombino where there is a really good collection of all the different cultures before the arrive of the Europeans.
Luís have a lot of knowledge of Santiago and Chile, perfect!

Between Auckland and Santiago, the longest day in my live

It has been the longest Sunday ever. When I say long, I mean it has been extremely long, a total of 36 hours being Sunday 16 of January 2011.
And what I did all this hours?

Well… starting with some night live in Auckland with Sarah, sleeping few hours (not many because I had to pack all my staff) and going to the airport to take the plane.
At the cue to check in, I meet Asunción, a Chilean going back after being in a wedding in New Zealand and, as many of the Chileans that I meet till now, they like to meet people and share histories.
At the airplane we seat next to each other … 9 hours watching movies, talking and trying to sleep.

I arrive at Santiago, change Continent, change language, changes…
The most estrange for me is the change of time... I took the plane at 16:30 of 16 January in Auckland, and I arrive at 12:30 of 16 January... I’ve win time even the flight was 9 hours!
Asunción offers to give me a ride to Susana’s place (Couchsurfing/Chile). Her husband and her kids are waiting at the airport and they give me the ride… good start, no?

Susana offers me stay in a nice room with toilet at her apartment. She is also engineer, she left all her obligations for travel for a while and now she is coming back . She find a good job, and she still have few weeks off…
I arrive, I take a shower and we eat something.
And we go to Parc Padre Hurtado where there is a Beer festival, Bierfest Santiago that for 5 euros entrance you can try all kinds of beers of the festival… Sun, music and good beer.

Doesn’t end the day here, first we go around Bellavista neighborhood and we take the car lane to go up to Cerro San Cristóbal. Mote con huesillo to drink with a really good panoramic view of Santiago while the sun is getting down.
Susana meets her friend Jorge (also Couchsurfing, Chile) at a Japanese-Chile restaurant. To drink I try the classic Pisco Sour.

Jorge is a journalist in a television and never end to tell histories and jokes. Is impossible to get bored with Susana and Gorge together!
We go back to Susana’s place…

At 00:00 of 17 January I clean my teeth’s and I go to sleep.

Long long day….

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Aukland and Coromandel peninsula

Sarah (That I meet on the bus from Vang Vien and Luang Prabang in Laos) is waiting for me at the Airport of Auckland.

She invites me to stay few days at her place. She lives in a 2 bedroom house in Glenfield, Auckland. Is Sunday, so we do dinner, movie and sleep.

In the morning she have to work, I go with her to Takapuna where she works. Here is where I slept two nights in the adventure with the motor-home last year with Albert, David and Santi.

I do a walk along the coast, I visit the i-side and I spend some time at the library reading about South America. I have Japanese lunch with Sarah and I lie down at the shadow of the trees next to the beach. Perfect to read and listen some music.

After Sarah finish to work, went with her to feed her two horses! Yes she does have two beautiful horses!

Next day she let me her car while she is working to go to Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. I do a walk in Piha, lunch at the beach and contemplating at some lookouts.

Friday... I went to the centre of Auckland with some rain following me and after lunch I took a ferry to Devonport where I meet Sarah. We went to North Head and after to drink some beers with her friends and dinner in a thai.

Rangitoto Island it was one of my things to do list in this stop in New Zealand (Like Piha and Coromandel). Is no more than 700 years old volcano just in front of Auckland. Well, Saturday morning we took a ferry to Rangitoto and we climbed and also we went to a very cool lava caves. (Track of the walk)

On Sunday I do Sunday. And at the afternoon we went to have dinner at Sarah’s mother where I meet her brother that he has been recently doing some volunteering in Cameroun. We talk.

New week, new place. I take a bus to Coromandel Peninsula. Tree Hours along the coast thru the narrow roads to Whitianga.
Backpacker in front of the beach with sea views from the bed!
The firs think I do is go for a walk.... I buy some food, I go to the library and I take the ferry to go walking to Shakespeare Cliff. I’m done and I go back to the backpackers.
But before get to the room, I see two girls with a shovel between her hands. I ask if they were going to see the Hot Water Beach and if I can join them. So I went with this two North American girls to Hot Water Beach by car.
You have to go there at low tide, and this week is only at 6AM and 6PM. At 6PM is packed of tourists.
The phenomenon of seeing the sand boiling is spectacular.

Next morning I go to Hahei and I walk to see the Cathedral Cove. A little bit beach time, reading and sunset while I’m preparing my dinner.

I have to wake up early to get the bus to Coromandel Town, a very very small town.
At the backpacker I meet a Kiwi, Mark (Napier, NZ) he offer me to go with him by car to see the north of the peninsula. Roads unsalted and virgin beaches!

At the afternoon I meet Taina (Finland) also at the backpackers and the next morning w ego for a walk thru the forests near the village and beach at the afternoon.

Map of Coromandel Town

And a nice sunset to say goodbye to Coromandel.

I go back to Auckland and I meet again Sarah. BBQ at the pool with her friends.

The last day in Auckland I do the walk Coast to Coast, really cool walk.

 At night we went to another BBQ and some night clubs.
Sarah has been a really nice host!

Some Photos
2011-01-Auckland and Coromandel (NZ) https://photos.app.goo.gl/DfyMiuCGiHmPwsXp8
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New South Wales. Horses, Sydney and New Years Eve......

I arrive at Sydney around 7 am after 10 hours of bus. Coffee and train to Winsord where I have to meet Veronica (Wwoofer, Australia) because she’s picking me up.

Winsord is a small village, well is one of the oldest village in the modern Australia.

Veronica takes me to the Cattle where she lives and where Statford Performance Horses is, in the very tiny Wilberforce area. There I meet her daughter Olivia and Cristopher (another Wwoofer, France).
The job here is to feed some of the 32 horses she have, clean the paddock and do some extra duties in the Cattle.
The place is beautiful!

A part of the job, we go sometimes with Veronica to some of the near villages to do some shopping, staff, etc. Good to go out a little of the
cattle.