Drinking From The Ganges

Santiago, Chile -the never ending post…. As mentioned in my previous Santiago, Chile post….I made it to Chile and found my hostel. I have much to say on Santiago, but I am really behind in my post. As a result, I will have to keep this post to an overview, rather than specific details.

Basically, I stayed in Santiago, Chile much longer than expected. There are several reason´s for this:

1) I took a week long Spanish class

 2) I really enjoyed the hostel I stayed in….the owners, Sergio and Marcos where so wonderful, if you stay in a hostel in Santiago, Stay in the Chilli Hostel, I HIGHLY recommend it!…so much fun! Almost every night they planned an activity for the backpackers to do together. Examples: Friday was BBQ night, Wednesday was free pasta night, Monday was free Pisco Sour night- Pisco Sour is Chile´s national drink- however the actual origins of the drink is still up for debate between Chile and Peru. To read further about Pisco (Pisco is a brandy) please see link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_sour My personal preference is the Pisco Sours made in Peru….but that´s because they are made with more froth on top in Peru (which taste similar to a blended Margarita), which I prefer.

3) I also made instant friends with two girls from Luxembourg- yes Luxembourg, the tini, tiny country bordering Belgium, France and Germany…yes that one! I knew the location of the country, but had never visited it or had never meet anyone from Luxembourg. Just for the curious minds out there….Luxembourg has their own official language, “Luxembourgish,” which is still taught and spoken-along with two additional official languages, French and German (which means they speak Luxembourgish, French, German and English-wow, do I feel stupid….me with one language-which i have a difficult time speaking on a daily basis) The girls call it the “secret” language, because only their small country speaks it, which means only they understand it. I have been lucky enough to be invited to stay with both girls in Luxembourg once I arrive in Europe this May…..they are great ladies!

I did quite bit in Santiago during my ten days and really have much to say, but will have to make an additional post later on the topic….when I have more time. The only place in Chile i visited was Santiago, for several reasons.

One- I took the Spanish class

Two- Santiago is VERY expensive. I was advised by fellow travelers that Chile was expensive, which I did not doubt. However, I was just not prepared. To put it in perspective……..A steak in Buenos Aires (the largest city in Argentina), I paid about 5 dollars - in Santiago I paid about 10 dollars….to have 1kg of laundry washed in Buenos Aires it cost me about 3 dollars - in Santiago I paid about 7 dollars, to buy a a bottle of wine in Buenos Aires it cost me about 2 dollars (a good local wine) - in Santiago I paid about 9 dollars. So you see, It was not a difficult decision for me to move on. I will save Chile for a three week vacation in the future, when I can really appreciate it!

I know this is a pathetic attempt at a post, I really do apologize to my fellow readers (if there are any still left :)…..but, since I left Santiago, I have been moving at rapid speed. Yes…..rapid, I have already reached Peru AND have already came, saw and conquered one city and have now just reached my second city in Peru! I promise, once I get settled for four days in Cusco (after my 3 day extravaganza in Lake Titicaca and The Floating Islands), I will make an additional post on Santiago and on Peru, thus far.

Oh, and a couple changes:

1) I have a travel partner for the duration of my trip in South America- In previous posts I mentioned I met two gals from England in the Northern part of Argentina….the two girls I did the REALLY long and ARDUOUS bike ride with and went Paragliding with on my B-day. Well, one of them went home and the other one contacted me about traveling together. Well she met up with me in Santiago and we took the 33 hour bus ride to the border of Chile and Peru and have been traveling together since.

2) Change to itinerary, I am now including Columbia. I have to sign off for now as I have a huge headache from the altitude in Puno, Peru.

Also, Mia (the gal I´m traveling with) and I met a local Peruvian girl and she is making us dinner…..so I´m off!

Santiago, Chile-

I arrived from Cordoba, AR to Santiago, CL by bus on March 21, 2008.  The bus from Cordoba took 25 long hours!!  Upon my arrival to Chile, i desperately needed to find an ATM, as I had no cash to take the subway to the hostel.  I obviously did not know where to locate the ATM in the bus terminal, therefore, I went to the tourist information booth to obtain directions.  Now mind you, generally speaking most information provided from a tourist information booth is in Spanish…..which was the case this time.  So, with the directions given in Spanish- I sorted through the words I know, the words I kind of know and the words I completely and utterly do not know and with that I proceeded to locate the ATM. 

Eventually, I found the ATM (which was about 50 feet away) and proceeded with my transaction.  However, upon first attempt the ATM said “no foreign transactions” (or something to that effect).  After reading this, I thought I hit the wrong button, so I tried for a second time…..but the second time had the same result.  After the second attempt, I became a bit concerned, as it was 8pm and no banks were open and I had exactly 0 pesos and 0 dollars on me!  My only option at that point was to try again.  However, while attempting my third try a fellow backpacker entered the ATM kiosk (I know he was a traveler, because he had blond hair and a large backpack on his back….dead giveaway :)  I asked him to try to use the ATM, (he is also a “foreign user”) I wanted to know if it was  just my card or if his attempt would prove futile.  Apparently, he had previously attempted to use another ATM within the bus station, but he received the same message as me.  I asked him to try this specific ATM for me, just to confirm it REALLY was not my card.  So, he did…..and indeed, it did not work!!!  [read on]