San Pedro de Atacama

I arrive at San Pedro d’Atacama at noon. The sun is strong and I go to look for the accommodation that I booked, Backpackers Hostel. I have been recommended by the hostel in Pisco Elquí and at the blog of Francesc, Rutabaobab . A tiny hostel very comfy and familiar where you can organize tours cheaper than at the travel agencies in the village.

There I meet Daniella (Holland) and w ego for a walk around the small village, we have a coffee and fish for lunch at one of the many restaurants in the adobe buildings. She joins me to watch the match Barça 1 – Moudrid 1 that gives Barça access to the final of the Champions League!
Next morning I go to visit Tatio Geysers. They pick me up at 4:30 from the hostel to arrive there at 6:30 at the valley of Tatio to see the moment of maximum activity of this geothermic field at 4321m. You can feel the -10ºC. Luckily once the sun appears, the temperature goes up fast.

After go through the Altiplano watching fauna and flora we go to Machuca village a 4200m, and then we go to the valley of Cactus on the way to San Pedro de Atacama.

At the afternoon another tour! I want to make the day worth it. This one with Daniella and we visit the Valle de la muerte, the quebrada de Ckari and the Valley of the Moon before go to watch the sunset at the lookout of the desert and with the Valley of the Moon at our foods. What can I say...fantastic!

When we go back at Atacama, Daniella meets one friend and we go all together to have dinner... I have beef!
I sleep till late and after lunch I go on another tour, this one is to Laguna Cejar, lagoons with water tree times more salty than the ocean and that’s why you float in it! They have 35 meters depth, but you don’t go down... great! And when I go out I have all my skin white of salt. After this we visit the Ojos del Salar, two holes fills up of fresh water in the middle of the dessert. I have a swim to take out the salt of my body. To end this tour we visit the Salar of Tebinquiche, where a part of the salar you have a great perspective of the Andes and the desert. There we watch the sunset with a glass of Pisco Sour.

I have dinner with Daniella and her friend again to say goodbye because I go to Argentina and they are going to Peru.
Yes Yes, Argentina again! I was interested to do a 3 day tour on 4x4 to Bolivia visiting the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa and the Salar of Uyuni, but I prefer to go to the north of Argentina to visit the Quebrada de Humahuaca and got in to Bolivia from there. The tour I wanted to do it from Bolivia, much cheaper and more natural things to see.
So, next morning I take a bus to Purmamarca crossing the Andes again.

I really enjoyed those days in San Pedro de Atacama, a little bit too many tours, but for me worth it.

Some photos
2011-05-San Pedro de Atacama (CHI) https://photos.app.goo.gl/fFpxvfW4jMZ5npHN9

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Valle del Elqui, where the sky and the Pisco comes together

I arrive at Pisco Elqui at the evening, its dark. I changed bus at La Serena to get here, Pisco Elqui.
I stay at Hostal San Pedro. Here I meet Daniel (Switzerland), he is traveling by bike. We go for a walk around the small and empty village. We go back at the hostel to have some beers before sleep.

Next morning me and Daniel we go for a walk near Pisco Elqui. We walk as much as we can rich because the sun is heating hard and the mountains are without trees.

One year traveling around

Yeah, already a year that I’ve start this travel adventure that came’s from a wish when I was 20, and I was living in London.

I have been in many places that I wanted to go like Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Australia and Patagònia. I also visit places that weren’t on my first plan and have surprised me like Perhentian island in Malaysia, the south of China, Chiloe, Iguaçu and the south of Brazil.

I thought about taking the flight back that I have for now (The Roundtheworld ticket is only valid for 12 months) or not, but didn’t take me a lot of time to decide to make a little bit longer my trip.

So, I’ll be traveling on my rhythm along faraway lands sending posts telling what I am doing.

The Rhythm of the traveler, apart to be personal, changes every day you wake up. From the sun light that came’s from the window or from the clock alarm that warn you that you have to do the Check-out of the hostel or you have to run to catch a bus.

Because I am moving all the time, I have to take a lot of transports, sleep in so many different places, try to bargain always for save some money that can help to do another thing (you can see I am not like a politician here..). Because there are activities that one wants to do it and even there are expensive, when you are there you have to pay and enjoy it.
Do a long time travel is like having a job without fix hours and no holidays. The good thing is that you have chosen to do it.

Those days in Santiago I’ve stayed at Luis (Germán brother) place and his family. Has been three days of personal time, choosing staff that I send to Tarragona (at the end I send 10kg!), to relax a little and watch the match MOUdrid 0 – Barça 2.
My camera has been affected for crossing the Andes and in two days didn’t work at all. Luckily after two days work again before I bought another new one.

Right now I have Valle del Elqui, the desert of Atacama and Bolivia in my mint. My closest future. As I want to continue making real my wishes, I’m going there.


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Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, Las Torres del Paine and Magallanes

I go in to Chile again. Arriving at Puerto Natales where I do Couchsurfing in the Seguel family with many couchsurfers ... 4 tonight! We had homemade lentils for dinner.

The next morning I meet Judith and Karim to do some shopping of provisions for the trip to Torres del Paine National Park. We buy the lightest food and the more energetic one. The plans are up to 9 days to make the classic track "W" and "Circle" at the end of the “W” we'll see if we continue or not ...
In the evening dinner with fish and sleep... in the morning I have to go to the park.

Chiloé

In Castro I Couchsurfing home Ana and Leo (Chile) and the wonderful family near the center of town. Jan and Gisele (Switzerland) are also staying here.

It looks like is another country very different from the rest of Chile.

Jan and Gisele have booked a tour to visit some of the wooden church heritage and to see also the island of Lemuy. I join them. We visit Nercón, Chonchi, and the island of Lemuy where we eat an "asado" at a home of some farmers from the island.
We had dinner all the people of the house together.

The next day visited Castro in a relaxed way. It is very hot and at the afternoon I cut my hair.

It is the anniversary of Gisele and for dinner I make a tortilla with tomato with pa amb tomaquet to join the mussels, baked salmon, carpacho of salmon and salads. Cake as a dessert. In the house were a couple more of Couchsurfing Florian (Austria) and Kim (New Zealand).

Pucón, Petrohué and Puerto Montt

I arrive at Villarica in the morning. I stop at the information point to see what I can do, I walk along the part of the lake Villarica and I visit a small museum about the Mapuche’s at the University building. The girl in charge of the museum opens for me the exhibition and explains traditions, the meaning and utility of the objects that are exposed.

I decide to go to Pucón, on the other side of the lake. A little more touristy, but closer to the volcanoes.

The first thing I do is look for accommodation. The first idea was to campsite, but I love the first refuge that I go to ask, "El Refugio”, which is like a mountain hut in the middle of Pucón.
After some rest, I go for a walk around the port and beach. The day is overcast and it seems that the volcano Villarica is hiding.

When I come back to the hostel, I meet Peter and Anika (Germany). The dinner became a Chileans wine tasting! Anika will join me to go to make the hike the next day.

So turn the alarm soon 6:45, to catch a mini bus to the start of the road.

"El Cañi" is a nature reserve that one can see the giant conifer Araucaria trees and lots of endemic fauna. The views from the lookout are spectacular, 360 degrees of forests and volcanoes.

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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