A dreary Iowa day

Today is a dreary day, everything is overcast, a bit tepid really. The snow has melted a little bit, leaving strange patches of dead winter grass, surrounded by mud-covered mounds of snow. The wind is strong, and very cold, it gets dark much earlier here, around four thirty, I went from extreme to extreme, solstice to solstice.... summer to winter...luckily I will go back again...

It would appear...

It seems to appear that updating my blog has become something fleeting, a goal that is just out of reach. I am at a loss to really say just why, no good excuses can be given. No maybe it is nothing more than a bout of full-blown writer's block.

That question that always lies in wait, what in the hell am I going to write?

Right now I am in the quite world of Iowa City, that is an Iowa City without its students. Lots of snow here, though some of it melted today. Doesn't seem to be a lot to do, nothing is really happening other than a few sporadic social gatherings, there is nothing.

I am waiting for more snow so that I can embark with cross country skies in hand, ready for the saddle dips and curves of Iowa "slopes" Not quite as dramatic as Chile now, but there is beauty in the plains of snow covered crops that surround Iowa City. There is serenity in the subtlety, enough to make being outside during colder weather worth it.

Christmas is a different day altogether depending on the temperature. The outside gives the phenomenon of being inside a heated house with the fam added value.

So these first few days move confusingly as I run into people I haven't seen for sometime. Tonight I am going out to a friend's place, it will be interesting to see who is there, could be fun, could not, guess I'll just have to wait and see...

One week to go...

So I have one week left of teaching at the copper mine, I have really enjoyed alot about this experience, it was something that I never envisioned when I arrived in Chile. It has opened my eyes to another world, I have met some interesting characters, people I never would have encountered if I were only working in Santiago. I got access to places that most people don't, many of the people who work for the mining company, some for more than ten years, haven't seen the mine itsself. I made better money, which allows me to do some exciting stuff over the summer, like travel to Torres del Paine and hike for days on end!

Of course, there were the downfalls, the massive amount of travel that arriving to the mine required, getting up at 5:30 am one day, arriving at 3 am to Santiago the next, my sleeping cycle hasn't been regualar since it started. There was also a bit of a culture shock going back and forth from what amounts to an isolated outpost high in the Andes to the speed, impersonlity, and noise of a city of five million people. My personal life was effected, especially my relationship with my girlfriend,we were left with little time to spend together, which is made worse by other commitments to places like the Santiago Times, and other classes in Santiago.

It was worth it, before I was feeling like I hadn't been pushed enough in Santiago, that I needed a bit more intensity, and it allowed that. Plus, it gave me time alone in a silent room that has been good for reflection, every week that I went back to Santiago felt a bit like a brand new start, every time I went back to the mine, the end of something. That cycle, as disorientating as it was, really made me think about what I am doing, and why I am doing it. I came to Chile to learn, recently teaching English has seemed like a burden, but I think that I lost perspective a bit, it was never the sole purpose for my trip, just a way of making it possible and giving me a structure, and a connection to a foreign land. It serves that purpose well, I think I need to be better at creating my own creative life outside of it, the two really go hand in hand very well.

So next week I move into a new stage of my Chile experience, and I am sooooo looking forward to the change!

Strawberries...

One of the best things about being in Chile is that there is a plentitude of cheap and fresh fruit for sale, this morning on my way to class I bought half a kilo of fresh strawberries for 500 pesos, or a little under one US dollar. Vegetables are equally as cheap, it makes for some good eatin...

I'm back...

Thats right, I know it has been a very long time since I wrote anything on the blog, I seem to do that, gain momentum, lose steam,

I have been trying to continue with my outdoor focus during the weekend in Santiago, riding the bike, going for a hike, BBQing outside. The natural wonders that Chile has to offer are second to none, it only takes 30-40 minutes and your out of the city and into a rugged mountain region.

I also got to see Infocap University, where Carolina works, it is for the poorest people in Chile, offers classes on various topics, from cooking, carpentry, plumbing, basic interview skills, art and resources like internet. The campus is beautiful, lots of trees, an observatory in the middle of a grassy field where lambs and peacocks roam. The classes are taught almost entirely by volunteers. The campus is also home to Tetcho Para Chile, whose office is filled with computers, posters and the feeling of activity.

Only two more weeks left after this week at the mine. I will be terminating my contract, so I have to leave the country and come back on a tourist visa, so I think that I am picking up some discount air tickets to Buenas Aires, Argentina, we have been talking about going for a few days, and I think that it is going to happen.

I am also excited to have some time to focus more on my writing for the Santiago Times, and on video and biking, plus, the weather is very nice now, lots of things going on outside like live music in the plaza across from my apartment.

Bring on summer!

A warm day in Santiago...

It is so nice to have some good springtime weather. Winter really gets the best of me sometimes, even here where the winter is very mild compared to the cold of an Iowa winter. I took a ride on my bicycle, arrived high above Santiago in the surrounding cerros. It is so important for me to get out and get some exercise on a regular basis, but this week it was essential. The stress of my work evaluations, the uncertainty of the fact that I might have my classes canceled and be out of a job, (which didn't happen) it just can be a bit much sometimes.

On another note, check out Carolina's photoblog, I am very impressed with the blog, and her keen photographic eye. It is a quality that I always appreciate in a girlfriend...

and my mouth waters....

check out this blog... the lack of diversity when it comes to food in Santiago is bothersome, there are some Indian, and Thai places around, but the Indian places are expensive, and the Thai one disappointing (no peanut sauce) I guess it is just more motivation to expand my own culinary skills...

Al Shamshoon

The Simpsons in Arabic, without bacon, beer or Moe's tavern, it just doesn't seem to make much sense. Los Simpsons exists in Chile, Homero is pretty much the same pig he is in the US, I think if the US is going to export its culture, at least keep it accurate, Omaro (I think that is what he will be called) drinking soda isn't going to portray what Springfield is all about...it would be interesting to watch to see how on earth they can form the bizarre plot lines without mentioning beer or bacon though...

Almost thought...

So last night this whole building (at the mine) rocked back and forth for a minute, I honestly thought it was an earthquake but it turned out to just be a bunch of explosions meant to open up some new areas of the mine.

I have talked about it before, but I will talk about it again, the scale of this place really blow my mind away. The company here is supposed to make something like $1 bn this year, and it is a smaller mine. In total, the copper mining makes around $ 12 bn yearly in profit. The electricty bill here is something like $1 million a month. There are trucks that could smash even the biggest of the SUVs without the driver really feeling anything.

What will happen when all of these sites start to run dry? There are those people who talk about resource wars, and I think we are already in the midst of one over oil. What about the rest of the natural resources that drive our world? Copper, iron, even water, I have the sensation that I will get to see alot of these problems unfold over the course of my life...it is all a bit unsettling.

back at the mine...

Back up here, my boss is with me, here to observe my classes and see how things are going. I really dislike having to teach for an audience, especially when it is my boss. The attendence of the students hasn't been very good, for many reasons, I don't know if they will let me finish the course through this December. I guess a decision will be made. I don't think I have ever seen such unstable work, maybe temp work putting popcorn into boxes, but you know that will be unstable when you start. There is this illusion about teaching English, set times for classes, attendence of students, your paycheck, you think you know what it will be, and then bamm a surprise comes. I am trying to find some other way to be busy here that will make my superiors feel like it is worth it to have me, but that is if my job stays intact this week.

Other than that, life is good, here in my 27th year of life....

a few more...

From my birthday

nunoa hounds

THE WAITING WRATH OF THE NUNOA HOUNDS

They lie in wait, move in packs, and bark louder than they bite, they are the resident strays of the Plaza Ñuñoa. Who are these canines? There are several of them that I see often in my travels to and from my apartment, located within barking distance of the plaza.

As far as strays go, they have a much better life than many other “vaga peros” who call the alleys, parks, bridges, and streets of Santiago home. There are several restaurants for the dogs to pick up fallen scraps of food, one of the street vendors has taken a liking to these pooches, setting up makeshift cardboard shelters, and even applied a splint to the broken leg of one of the injured mutts.

This is not to say their lives are easy, I looked into the eyes of one a particularly strange looking one with a long body and short legs. It was raining, and he looked rather sad, though I have seen the same one chasing bikes with plenty of glee.

On the whole, they are all rather calm, save a few instigators. One of the furry mutts always gets worked up when a motorcycle or bike comes close to the plaza. His display of doggone inhospitality catches on and pretty soon there are loud packs barking up a storm.

When the night falls, they tend to get more aggressive. I haven’t had too many problems riding my bicycle through the plaza during the day. However as the sun sets, the dogs start to growl.

I have seen them gather in a group of around fifteen, waiting for a motorist on an off-road motorcycle to cross Irarrazavul. The light changed and the rider proceeded, the pack converged and made chase like fox hounds going after a kill.

Only a dog knows what exactly is so offensive about a motorcycle or bicycle that warrants a dramatic show of teeth and an exhaustive chase. Regardless of their motives, if you happen to be riding by the Plaza Ñuñoa, it might pay to pack a good size stick, (or a tender steak) lest you feel the wrath of the Ñuñoa hounds.

So how bout a challenge....

So maybe I will regret deciding to all this, but I have entered into the NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month, ie november) challenge. I had read about this last year but missed it by several months. It involves writing a novel between Nov 1 and nov 30, it must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and it all has to be sent into their site by midnight of the 30th. It is an event that started several years ago in1999 with 21 participants. Last year 42,000 people registered, and 6,000 people finished. This year the organization is estimating around 60,000 people will register. It also involves forums, and more, sort of a community for creative bingers who for some reason think it is a good reason to do something like this. It is perfect for me because I have been wanting to write something longer for awhile, more than just an email, short story, or blog entry, and it is one of those things that always seem to be put off until tomarrow. You can read more about it at their website, the deadline is the first of November.

So what do you think? crazy or not?

We'll see on the 30th of November.

It has been a year...

I find it hard to believe that somehow I have been in Chile for a full year. I never would have believed it if anyone would have told me that I would be working in a copper mine, writing for an English newspaper.

It is hard to really get a sense of how I have changed in the last year. I think that when your living in such a different situation, a foreign country, the military, whatever, and coming from somewhere completely different like a flat university town, there is really no good point of refference to see exactly how you have changed. I really use people for all that, but the people I know here don't know me as I was before coming. So it really is difficult to say how I have changed, besides being able to understand an increasing amount of Spanish, I think that isn't all, and that much more is in shift and I won't really get a sense of that until I set foot in Iowa City once again.

I reall have been lucky, I have met some really cool people so far in Chile, from Carolina, to those I met traveling through Peru, crazy artist types selling jewewlery in La Paz, English teachers, Chileans of all sorts of different types. I have been able to see some pretty cool stuff, from Machhu Pichu, Lago Titikaka, the copper mine, the ocean on a regular basis, I have now lived in a large city for the longest period ever, one day I will have to stay a bit in a US city to compare it to Santiago.

I wasn't really sure when I left the US whether I had made the right decision, at first it was a bit difficult to feel comfortable with what I was doing, and even now I am not 100 percent stable, but I don't know if I ever will be.

So this weekend I will have to celebrate this milestone, along with my 27th birthday...

Took a ride to the country...

It was a really nice place, a small rustic cabin set into the hill. Plenty of life around, animals, lizards, snakes, weasels, a good place to let time slip away.

We took a couple day trips, one to a small waterfall, where the sun was hot and the water cold, I got sunburned, but it was worth it.

I also rode to some small little town, got lost, my bike pedal fell off and upon arrival we bought wine and meat, a group of men debated on how to fix my bicycle, they were an interesting bunch, the town must've been around 500 people or something.

the double life I live these days...

It really feels like a double life.

Go to the mine, come back to Santiago, go back to the mine, go back to Santiago, it is some sort of strange cycle that has my head spun up a bit. And my shift is rather easy. The people who actually work here pull shifts suck as 7 on 7 off, 5 by 2 10 by 5, not exactly stable living.

A number of people have commented that they feel like strangers in their own home, that their children don't listen to them because they aren't around. The money is good, and it is Chile's strongest, and biggest industry. With the price of the copper where it is, around 1.80, which is very high, the demand for production from the owners is very high. This means alot of stress for everyone involved in the business.

I feel lucky, in that I get a sense of how it is without having to fully subject myself to the lifestyle. It is a good gig for the short term, in my case, 20 weeks, but I couldn't imagine working here for years on end, on a longer 7 by 7 shift...

went up to the mine...

took a hike this weekend....

It has been to long since I updated or anything, many apologies but I just haven't made it anywhere near the blog lately.

Here is a photo from this weekend, I will try to post some more, if I get a chance while I'm up here at the mine.

So I haven't managed to update lately...

It has been hard to get myself to update the blog lately, I have been super busy going between the mine, Santiago, my new internship at the Santiago Times, social life, friends, girlfriend, celebrating diezyocho, Chile's independence day.

This last weekend I went to Talca to celebrate the national holiday with some of Carolina's friends. It is starting to look like springtime, which is really nice after a succession of rainy cold weekends in Santiago. We drank lots of wine and chicha, a national drink that tastes like cider that spent a little too much time sitting the fridge. Chica is a little better, has some sugar added and all.

The weekend before that I went to the coast, laid on the beach and ate some sea food. I have several pictures from both weekends and will post them when I get back to Santiago. For now I wait for students to arrive, it is a beautiful day up here at the mine, blue sky, nice and warm. Tomarrow is the first day of spring, and I am more than ready to start some outdoor activities. Some hiking in the Andes this weekend if all goes well.

Sittin round...

In Santiago there is a cemetary that is completely full of these large buildings, brick pathways, good sized trees, large structures with small slots for bodies. I have no idea how many people are buried here, but there are alot. From Salvador Allende, to unnamed workers. Most of the space is taken up by shed sized buildings housing a family. There are bigger buildings that house soceities and groups like firefighters, military, foreigners from far away. The designs of the structures vary greatly, from simple stone buildings to ornate reproductions of Aztec temples.

It is a nice place to come to and just wander around. You can sit and see all these other people walking through. Some are on bicycles just getting exercise, others are taking picures, many are visiting relatives. Every now and then you see an old woman visiting her long lost spouse, people praying to a cross in the center. There are lots of pepper trees for some reason, it is very fresh but I wouldn't even consider using pepper from a cemetary tree.

Along all the tombs, graves and buildings are flowers, old and new. Photos, figurines, plaques, and momentos all provide a visual collage that sparks curiousity about who these people were, what the did, how they died and who they left behind.

In the center is a large grave for Salvador Allende, the former president killed during the military coup of 1973. It has his last words inscribed on a marble podium. It is a very simple design.

The walls look like something build for a castle, and you enter through a large gate. It isn't a place I go very often, but when I do, it always makes for an interesting afternoon...

I was watching the TV...

The damage from Katrina is staggering, I knew that New Orleans was vunerable to serious flooding, but seeing on the TV is something else. It makes the flooding in Santiago seem like a spilled glass of water. There is a blog trying to post info about damage and info...

Waking up early at the mine

I don´t have much of a sleep pattern anymore since starting this job. I get up fairly early on Monday, obscenely early on Tuesday, and fairly early on Wednesday, then, my wake up time gets later and later as I move towards the weekend.

It is also a bit of a shock to go from the mine back to Santiago and vice versa. When I arrive in Santiago on Thursday morning around 3 am, it is a much different place from what I wake up to the next day. The hustle and bustle of the city is almost overwhelming. In the mine, I recognize many faces, people say hello to each other and aren´t afraid to make eye contact. All of that is out the window in Santiago. You avoid eye contact, keep to your friends, and pay attention. The smog blurs the view of the mountains, and the weather is different as well, more clouds, less sun, but warmer.

I feel like I have a double life or something. My focus and thoughts change depending where I am. The mine gives me more time for reflextion, to plot my next move, time to overanalyze everything, whereas in Santiago that sensation gets overwhelmed by the different options in front of me.

So tonight I go back to the mad world of the micro, where I have my space, and leave the cold, isolated, tight nit, and sometimes boring world of the mine until next week...

Everything is iced over and frozen up here. It is an interesting contrast from the mud and flooding of Santiago. I saw a bird all puffed up trying to keep warm. The temperature dropped to -14 below C, hopefully the heating system won´t go down!

one photo

So the snow has fallen, both up where I teach and down below. It was quite a scene.

snow up here....

lots of snow up at the mine, I´m trying to get photos online but am having alot of problems with the photo site...

Santiago turns into New Venice

You don´t have to go to Venice to have a romantic walk along urban canals, just come on down to Santiago and pick any major road, add a few days of rain, and enjoy...

Photos are from Sebastián Arancibia at Canal 13,

lots of flooding throughout Santiago ......

flood4
Originally uploaded by deambular.

lots of flooding throughout Santiago...

flood3
Originally uploaded by deambular.

more photos from Santiago

flood2
Originally uploaded by deambular.

lots of flooding throughout Santiago 1

flood1
Originally uploaded by deambular.

the rain continues..

P8270009
Originally uploaded by deambular.

It floods pretty bad when it rains hard. It has been raining since yesterday afternoon and the weather report says it won't let up until TUESDAY!

from where I sleep at the mine...

P8230006
Originally uploaded by deambular.

A little different from anything I have experienced thus far. The mine where I'm working is in one hell of a location. It really is something else...

Took a muddy ride...

I need a good ride after sitting too long at the mine. It 's good for the blood to take a ride as often as possible. Seems to get some sort of toxin out of the my system that the body creates when it has been enclosed in a small room, doing nothing for too long. All of those thoughts starting with "if" are pedalled out of my brain and at the end of it all, when I am finally relaxing, my life feels simplier.

So I set out, and not more than a minute after leaving it started to rain.

No problem , I thought, and headed on my way. My destination was a park in La Reina located on the edge of the mountain range. Even the edge is steep, and it is a ride that makes me want to give in. There is a hill that stands around 3,500 meters which I am aiming for, but after two attempts I have yet to make it up all the way.

The path takes me through several different neighborhoods, from tree filled, architecturally inspired part of town to muddy slums with too many metal fences. The road and side walk are full of holes, only a few curbs are anything decent to ride over. By the time I get to the base of the mountains from my apartment I have already fought through several kilometers of rough riding.

The uphill starts, and doesn't let up until you give up. It starts out on cement and goes straight up. Too steep, I always think as I stare up the road ahead of me. I thought that I would be able to handle it a little better since my last attempt. I had been on the bike more often and felt more confident about my physical condition.

Instead I found it more difficult. I was standing up while pedaling, counting my progress foot by foot. I had to stop several times in the cool drizzle that enclosed Santiago and isolated it from any sort of sun or blue sky. It also had a nasty way of holding in the smog, but that was only during the rain. After rainfall in Santiago you can actually see the mountains, in detail, and glazed with a fresh layer of Andean snow.

I continued my ascent, making progress slowly, but surely. After some time, I got to the block before the long, very steep patch of road before the entrance to the park. It was still the beginning of the ascent, but a patch of flat earth awaiting me. I stopped and took a short breather. While I was stopped, another biker, a mailman, pulled up to the intersection with his overloaded rig. It was still a drizzle, and the wet, steep street glistened, making it look even meaner. He took a look at the climb, then at me.

"Vas a subrir?" He asked me (Are you going up?)
"claro" I answered.
"puedes llevar un sobre alli? He asked (could you take an enevelope up there?)
"No problema"

I stuffed the enevelop, destined for the park office, coming from the bank, into my pocket. Pedal by pedal, I forced my way up the hill. I got to the top and delivered the letter to some confused looking workers. After all, it wasn't everyday that there was a gringo delivering bank notes.

This park consists of an event center, a luge-type slide, an equestrian club, picnic space, and several hiking trails. I started up the trails, but found the riding overwhelming. Wheezing for air, feeling a little sick from all the pedaling, I pushed my bike for awhile and then started pedaling again. It was around then that I realized that the entire time I had been using the middle gears, not the granny ones for climbing. The anguish of the push up hill made a little more sense, and I sighed seeing how much of a difference the lower gears made.

I pushed on ahead, and arrived at a wide trail, It had been cleared recently and was more of a road than a trail. I headed up and after awhile again had to get off my bike and push it. Finally I was about out of gas. The nice thing about this ride is that you can ride all you want, and without a problem find the point where you just can't ride any higher. I found some shelter under a tree and gazed out over the clouded view of Santiago. I could barely see my neighborhood, which was relatively close in the scale of things. The center of town, much less the other side of the valley ,were completly hidden in the smog and rain.

The drizzle picked up to rain, and I deceided to head back down. Coming up, the road had been dirt, going down it was pure clay. It stuck to my tires, surrounding the chain, the brakes, the derailer. I had to stop every few minutes in the ever increasing rain and clear out the clay. At one point I couldn't even turn the back wheel. It was a matter of pushing the clay clogged bicycle, but at the same town keeping it from rolling down the hill to fast.

Finally, I made it off the mud road, cleared away some of the excess mudd and headed back to the paved road. The downhill, normaly the highlight of the ride, was difficult, mud flying in my face, rain coming down, I was trying to keep my speed low but because of the grade it was tempting to just let go of the brakes and let gravity pay the bill.

In the end, I made the long ride back to the shelter of my apartment. I was completely soaked, covered in mud, had cold hands, and worn out.

In other words, one great ride.

The strange realm of the internet....

The internet is a bizarre place, or it can be. Especially its outlet hubs where people gather to view, interact, download, upload, chat, blog, copy, burn, and email. I remember in the computer labs of the UI library (UI by the way received a high ranking as one of the US's biggest party schools) people would gather and there was a strange sensation of some sort of progress being made in the world. Papers were being written, people were learning, in the internet room of the Hotel Mina, here in Los Pelambres, things are different.

There are those downloading music, some from the 80's, guns n roses, Tracy Chapman, Led Zeppellin, Chilean music, you name it. Others are playing army video games with people yelling commands in a walkie talkie style sound, screaming about this and that. Others download strange comedic performances taped in the Plaza de Armas of Santiago. Of course, no group of miners on the internet would be complete without someone downloading or copying some porn. I don't know if sites are blocked, but I doubt it. Needless to say, the noises, sights, and impressions all blend together in one very interesting medely.

Here's to the power of this strange creature known as the internet...

that struggle within...

Sometimes, well maybe a little more then sometimes, life seems to be this struggle to maintain some sort of continual balance. Ever since leaving school, and shortly thereafter, leaving the US I have been engaged in this struggle to figure out when on earth I might possible be heading. My focus shifts constantly, not just in subject, but on the level in which I squint my third eye. What part of my life demands the next step? Is it my personal life that needs some extra flavor? Is a good group of friends better than a best bud? Will a girlfriend overcomplicate my life or bring another aspect more beautiful than I could have envisioned? If I let my professional side lapse, can I make up the slack with my hobbies? These questions seem to be even more difficult when there is another language, another culture, and my own unstable brain all competing for that next conscious push forward. In the end, I end up moving forward on some sort of path that almost feels predestined. I try for something in spirit but all of my conscious efforts fail. Only after a mixture of coincidence, foresight, and a lot of pure luck do things seem to move in the way that I had wanted, or maybe more honestly put, move in a way that afterwards I can accept, thereby letting one part of my life move on, and actually feel somewhat content. That is, until things change, and that feeling which suggests that things must change sometime soon comes over me once again.

So it goes...

A test of sorts

A white winter has finally fallen...

Snow is here, or at least up where I'm staying at the mine. I was riding in an elevator last night on my way to my last class of the evening and I saw a street light. In the light you could see the snow pass by, it reminded me of cold Iowa winters spent trapped indoors. At lower altitudes it is only raining, but up here at around 2,800 meters there is a blanket of snow covering everything. It looks so smooth, so perfect, a soft layer of white that pleases the eye but freezes the hand.

Makes me think of all those winters sledding at Longfellow elementary in Iowa City. It was such a big hill, and I was so small. There would always be these pile ups of kids crashing into each other. I remember one really bad one, it seemed like there were fifteen kids all lying in a heap covered by snow and plastic sleds bought at Hy-Vee.

Snow is something that I do enjoy to see every now and then, but to be honest, once a year is probably enough, I look forward to spring which will be on its way in about a month. Bring on the good weather...

Hurry up and wait...

It was a concept that I thought I had left behind me as I drove away from Fort Bragg, NC. Getting up before the sun comes up so that you can spend most of the mourning waiting. Hurry up and wait, they say. It seems to be that I have found another opportunity to live in such a way.

I woke up at around 5:30 am this morning, roosters were calling out, telling me that it was entirely too early to be getting up. A cool rain drizzled down on to the quite streets of Salamanca. I found my place at the corner where the bus stops and boarded it a few minutes later. Then came time for a quick nap. It isn´t good sleep or anything, speed bumps, cramped spaces make it difficult at best to catch some Zzzzs. It was a long weekend so Tuesday was the first day of the work week and many people were still arriving to the mine from all over Chile.

The mine, especially in the valley near the copper plant, has a very particular odor. I sensed itimmediatelyy after getting onto the bus. It reminds me of industrial cleaner and food for the masses. It makes my stomach turn in place.

I arrived at the mine, had to get off the bus run to the gate office to get my ID checked, security guards use hand scanners to check every person who enters or leaves the mine, my ID is suppose to work, but it always has problems. Finally we arrived to the cafeteria, I ate quickly and went to find a ride up to the Hotel Mina, some 1,200 meters higher on the way to the mineitselff, however no one was home in the Human Resources building. That was shortly before 8 am.

It is about 10 now and I wait in a cold room typing on a slow computer, thinking about that warm, comfortable bed that I rushed away from several hours ago...

Dia del Minero...

Today is the day of the mine, an annual celebration of mining here in Chile. This year brings much to celebrate as Chile´s main export, copper, is selling at a high rate. This means that the mining industry is doing quite well, politicians are scrambling to impose taxes, workers are looking to change jobs as new work opens up, and the mine can afford to hire people to do things such as teach English!

The day of the mine is celebrated by a special lunch which is going on right now. A young girl sings songs and the hotel receptionist (where I work, and where most of the miners sleep at night) passes out wallets, belts featuring large, texas style belt buckle with the name of the mine, Los Pelambres. Tonight the operators, ie, the miners, will get a show from an exotic dancer with a name to the effect of tities so and so.. the management, and support staff (which features a percentage of females employees) will receive a tamer event, with singers, and a comedian. I hope to be able to make it to the watered down dinner. I have been warned that the comedian has been known to single gringos out from the crowd and make fun of them in a dialect that only a Chilean could understand. On top of that, I have also been told that there is an effort to well, bother any foreigners, gringos, Japanese, and whoever has the misfortune of ending up a target of bad humor. Last year one of the English teachers drank a little too much red wine and started dancing on a table. Something that was laughed at then, but was also noted when time came to renew the contracts. Needless to say, my boss gave us all a warning about "etiquite" but I think we all should be ok.

So goes my one month anniversary of working here, it has been interesting, to say the least.

Salud por el dia de la Minera...

I remember applying for the Peace Corps...

It was over a year and a half ago that I deceided I would apply to the Peace Corps. It was a decision based on my desire to live outside of the US for some time. There were many advantages of the Peace Corps, such as a good training program (or at least they claim) espenses paid, contacts upon arriving, and incentives upon completion of the two year stint. They would include a bonus, pay a severange of several thousand dollars, but aside from these financial benefits there were looming disadvantages as well. First of all, not being able to have much of a say where on earth I would end up. Tanzania is much different from Bolivia, there was no guerentee that I would´ve been able to land a job in a Spanish speaking country. The biggest disadvantage though, was the connection to the US governement, and utimitaly to the Defense Department, even if only in people´s mind. There are many reasons to distrust anything with a US government label these days, and having already spent three years in the heart of this military machine, I wasn´t too sure that I wanted anything that remotely was related. But of course, the Peace Corps is seperate from the military, and each situation depends on those involved. Well, this is the case now, but according to an article in the Washington Post, there is a plan on the table to incorporate military service with Peace Corps service. The move has alarmed many within the Peace Corps, and who can blame them. The idea of going from patroling the streets of Baghdad with a loaded M-16, then moving this person to a situation where they are working on a community project with locals sounds like a collision of two very different worlds. It would also make it hard for countries receiving help through the Peace Corps to rest assured that there is no other agenda at work within their borders. Altogether, sounds like a very bad move to me. My Peace Corps appication faltered at the first interview when I was told that everthing which I had applied for, well, I just wasn´t qulified for it. Teaching English on my own accord as a private citizen sounded much better, and I can say for sure now after reading about these new plans, that I indeed made the right choice.

Altitude can make the dreams wild...

So much has happened in my life since my last post. For starters I found a much better job teaching at the Los Pelambres copper mine some 400 Km north of Santiago. I'm working with a different language institute as well. The contract is through McLean Consulting, a much smaller company then Linguatec or Tronwell. It is nice to once again work at a business where I work directly with the owner. I still don´t know who owns Tronwell, the legend is that Willie Tronwell owns it, but I don´t believe it.

For this gig I ride a bus around five hours to Salamanca, where I spend the night. The next morning I get up around five am, catch a bus to the base of the mountain that houses the mine. The ride takes around an hour or so. We go through security, I eat there at the base, then head up the hotel mina where I write this entry. All the facilities are very nice, remind me slightly of the army, but are all much nicer. There is a very tight sense of community among the miners here. Most are away from their families for most of the week and often feel like visitors in their own homes.

I teacTuesdayay, sleep at the hotel, where I havsatellitete TV, and good food. In the morning I get up and teach all of my five one and a half hour classes once again, catch a ride down the mountain and then catch a bus to Santiago. Finally at around 3:00 am I make it home and can sleep in the next day (que rico!) It is nice to be on a bit of adventure during to week, not to mention the fact that it pays much better then Tronwell.

Anyways, it is about time for lunch,

hasta luego....

Gotta work in the mornin....every mornin

Yes that´s right, I now work every morning, at 8:30 am. I figure that at some point I will finally be used to getting up at this hour but until this day, I continue to down the Nescafè. It would be much nicer if I didn´t have to work until around 9:15 pm. I mean sure, I have some free time during the day but if it is less then a couple hours then I end up spending that time sitting on a park bench reading the newspaper.

In other news, Pinochet was stripped of his immunity by a Chilean court today, I heard this before, so I don´t know exactly what the difference between the two deceisions are. His name is a no-no, expecially in my spanish classes, it is one of the things that they warn you not to talk about. Pinochet was supposed to go in front of a court a week or two ago, but "fainted" the day before. I don´t know if I buy that one.

Chilean courts are also going through a dramatic change at this point as well. For the first time in recent history all trials will involve oral proceedings, instead of only written ones which was the system until now. This system had a test run in Conception, but now as of July 1st has came to Santiago. It already is having effects on soceity. A Chilean Senator, and accused pedofile, ended up confessing to his crimes because he didn´t want to face the oral proceedings. He then quickly denied that it happened the next day, but really, is pedofilia something you just admit to because you don´t want to go to court?

and the week begins again

Monday morning, it always creeps up on me. Luckily I didn´t have any classes this morning. Tomorrow I have a morning class at 8:30, if the student actually shows up. Getting people to come to class can be a difficult matter. Most people who need the classes are also quite busy. It means that I can never be certain how many classes will actually happen. If they cancel ahead of time, I don´t get paid, if the don´t I still get it on my check. It can make teaching a frustrating business as you never know exactly how much your going to make for a given month.

I have also deceided to start back up with Spanish classes. I really need to understand some of the grammar, and it just isn´t happening through conversation or reading the newspaper. It is money that I would like to save for traveling, but I think that it is going to a good cause, my ability to communicate here in Chile.

Been a little while

Let me just apologize for never updating this blog, it has been quite awhile since the last entry. Just teaching right now, trying to get some more classes, looking for other things to do in Santiago as well. The last two weekends I managed to get out of town, went to Coquimbo two weeks ago, stared at the sea, ate some fresh fish. Last weekend I went to a little lodge in the Andes owned by a French couple. Really cozy, beatiful scenery, even better food. I think that this weekend I will stay in Santiago and try to get some stuff down around town.

Also tomarrow I will start working at a house for 12 ninos, all orphans. It provides a place for them to stay and the majority of the work there is done by volunteers. I have been looking for some sort of vounteer opportunity, so we´ll see if this works out. I had interview, and complete a psychological evaluation, all in Spanish. Never thought I would be describing what the ink smear looks like to me in Spanish. Much to the surprise of many of you, I was pronounced "sane" what a relief!

Thinking

Life here can be quite complicated.

Micros passing me by, students not showing up, business deducting extra money from my check. It happens here in Santiago, it has happened in Iowa City, in the military. It is a certainty that there will always be tests, that life is never for sure. The only thing you really have to cope is how you view those complications. I realize that I have been taking the wrong approach, focusing on what I have, and trying to get certain results from many complicated situations. I need to change up my philosophy, to focus on the process of moving through these challenges. There are many opportunities, many openings around me if I allow myself to see them. If I close myself off to the possibilities, then I will never be happy, and never get anywhere. Especially when my mode of transportation is the micro...

a shout out

Hello world,

A quick shout out to Dan Hulsing, who will be going to Taipai to teach this July. He will be teaching mid sized classes of children, sounds excited about it. I would like to teach in Asia one day as well, maybe I'll have to make a run to Taipai as well sometime soon....

Crossing twisted bridges

bridge
Originally uploaded by deambular.

I seem to be able to find these places all to easy. I don´t ever seem to be happy, unless I'm balancing along, on a wooden handmade bridge.

Carnet

No longer an illegal worker, an issue which doesn't seem to be as big as in the US. My ID allows me to do wonderful things like pay Chilean taxes.

Haciendo tuto

Haciendo tuto
Originally uploaded by deambular.

Wandering the crooked streets of Valpo, and I came accross these two taking a nap on a beautiful day. They were quite the pair.

smoglight

smoglight
Originally uploaded by deambular.

The Andes at sunset around dominate the skyline, filled in the the red glow of the sun hitting the smog. I find it strange to find such beauty in something as ugly, dirty, and dangerous as Santiago's smog. As we move into winter, I notice it more and more. There are more days with rain, afterwhich the mountains are clear as can be. It is then that realize how bad the smog actually is. But, it allows for some beautiful sunsets, such as this one.

here we go

here we go
Originally uploaded by deambular.

I got invited to a costume party a couple of weeks ago. I ended up being Yung dum fuc a Japanese soccer player. Of course a sportsman of my level had to accompanied to an even such as this.

Reñaca 6

Reñaca 6
Originally uploaded by deambular.

It has been nice to be able to live so close to the sea. Having it as an option for a weekend geataway has been something that I used to dream about during cold Iowa winters. (and hot summers)

Its raining...

Everyone dawned their scarves, their coats and their jackets. People complain about the cold now, I don't think it is really that cold at all. You can walk around during the day without a jacket and not feel cold in the least. What makes everything strange for me, is that it is colder in my apartment then it is outside.

My place is located on the bottom floor, and in a corner of the building. I get direct sunlight into my living room for about 10 minutes a day. In the mourning it falls on the balcony, but usually the curtains are still drawn, so little warmth is gained. By nightfall, it is quite frigid, I have had to wear my jacket and hat inside a couple of nights. It always feels so cold, then I go outside and it never is as bad.

So it goes...

Been lucky...

So my three day weekend slowly winds to a halt. It is always amazing how fast three days can past. I was lucky enough to be able to get out of Santiago. It was the second weekend in a row, and I hope to keep it up if I can.

The family of one of Carolina's friends recently purchased a house on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean. It has a large deck that offers a panaromic view of the ocean. You can sit and have breakfast while watching the ocean spray off the rocks in the harbor. The house is in this quite little town. It is an uppty area and each house is more of a castle, with a few reaching palace status. Everyone uses woodfire chimnies to heat their homes so the streets are filled with the scent of burning wood. Like many coast towns, it is filled with steep hills, lots of stairs to get you up them. Many of the roads and infrastructure within the town were made of stone. This lent a feeling of Europe, as did the architecture of many of the houses.

It was a relaxing weekend, there was really nowhere to go out, Carolina cooked some fresh fish with pasta, we played cards and drank vodka. Saturday, we hiked to one of the large boulders along the coast. I figured out that I have only went to the ocean around 16 times in my life, about 6 of them being since I arrived to Chile. This makes being on the beach such an experience. It is something that I need to do more often, especially if I am invited to stay in a nice cabin.

The week before, I made it to Valpariaso for a couple of days. It is an amazing town. Narrow, steep streets wind all about, elevators, stair cases, pass ways, all meander through the cerros. I think that you could live in Valpo your whole life and still get lost. There is an interesting aestetic, as well. It was one of the richest ports, but has since lost its importance after the opening of the Panama Canal. There are countless mansions, amazing houses, all falling apart and in need of serious repair. Murals line the narrow streets, and the view of the sea is never far. There is a brisk feeling in the air, and a level of energy on the streets. We stayed in hostel that had an amzing view from the roof, it was an old building. For lunch, you can pay around 2 dollars and get a huge plate of fried fish with a salad at the central market. I left Valpo feeling refreshed and inspired, not too mention full. It is a unique place, and only a little over an hour away from my place.

Santiago isn't a bad place to live, there are alot of things to do, and see. However, it is a place that you have to leave. The choas, noise and fumes of the micros are reason enough. There is something about the pace of city life that can get you down at times. Sometimes, you just have to escape, or else the humm of the micro might have its way...

Just wishin...

Just wishing my English grammar were somehow better. I teach English right now and my understanding of English grammar is awful. I think I know more about Spanish grammar to be honest. I have this big grammar book which I read but I can never remember exactly what the rules are, I know what sounds right. I know when something is just plain wrong, but trying to explain it all is another matter completely. All these people that come to study English, I wonder what they would think if they knew their teacher was just studying the same lesson to figure out what the hell it means shortly before class. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't know anything period, if there was nothing that I was knowledgeable about. Then I wouldn't have this feeling that I enjoy teaching, but that English just isn't the subject where I should be the one trying to lead the class...

Getting some sun...

Really nice day today, the kind that makes you want to stay outside. I wish I could just enjoy it but I have to go to work a little later. We are doing all these workshops. Pretty much the same thing we did while I was in their ¨training¨session. I am looking forward to being able to teach, talking about teaching when I'm not doesn't seem to do a lot for me.

The last few days it has been raining a lot, at least once everyday. Santiago doesn't get too cold in the winter, by Iowa standards at least, but it does rain all the time. It should lead to a nice clear view of snow capped Andean peaks afterwards. I am so confused about the weather, doesn't feel like it is almost May. This will be my first winter in a year and a half! I think it will be a little different from an Iowa winter. Maybe if I can, I'll try to get up into the Andes for some skiing. Though I'm not sure if I'm up to it.

So it goes...

Can move a little more now...

Ever since I moved out of my last apartment here to Nuñoa, I lost access to a bicycle. At firs it didn´t seem like sucha big deal, there were other things I could do. I had new places to explore with new people and for the time being it was sufficient. Slowly though, I began to crave the feeling of moving on two wheels. I started to feel out of shape, had less energy, and felt bored with my surroundings. I realized that I needed to buy a bike last week, when it just became too much and the craving was on the forefront of my mind. I had found another job and was ready to focus on other aspects of life.

So I went this weekend to the neighborhood that has all the bikes. It is jam packed full of bike stores. There is also a market that has lots of bikes for dirt cheap, however most are stolen and I didn't feel right buying one. So I went looking through the stores, bargaining for the best price. Carolina came along with giving me more of an bargaining edge then had I went alone. Finally I decided on a Spitfire, some cheap bike with all kinds of flashy stickers that I immediately removed after buying. It has front shocks and is fun to ride. Yesterday I went up to San Cristobal, which is even more of a ride now that I am further south in Nuñoa. It was a good ride, but wore me out, which is something I have been longing to feel ever since I moved.

So it all moves a bit...

It wasn't too long ago that I was living next the daily chaos of Vicuña Mackenna, one of Santiago's arteries of communter traffic. My window overlooked the parallel road, General Bustamante, which from 7am until late resembles a NASCAR track. I was living in an apartment that was always changing, the other room that was available for rent usually went to a Spanish student at the Senora´s institute. So I had roommates from Austria, Germany, Brazil, and Japan. It was interesting of course, but didn´t make the place seem stable by any means. It is sometimes strange for me to talk to someone who is only in Chile for a short time weeks. Their minds are in a different place then mine.

It wasn´t the smoothest transition to the place in Nuñoa, I spent a week sleeping on the floor of a friend´s apartment. I had tried to extend my first place until I could move, but the month I had paid for ran out, and she wanted to charge me more then a week´s worth. So I just left.

I finally moved into my new place about two weeks ago, it was quite nice to have a closet, a bed, and a key to get in and out once again. It also made it possible for me to move my thoughts to other matters, such as my employment situation.

I wanted to leave Bridge, then I learned that my boss was quitting, so I had to leave Bridge. It is more of a business then a school anyways, I hardly had any classes, and I wanted to get a sense of other working environments here in Santiago. So I wait now, in a training session at a Chilean run school, hoping it will work out. This institute is called Tronwell, and it full of activity. Many students at all times of the day. The halls have a feeling of energy that Bridge lacked. I just hope that I get the job.

Maybe after I have that lined up I can focus on some of the other things in life. I can refocus my effort to learn Spanish. Start to make some books again, play some music, get a paycheck, some of the basics that I haven´t been able to enjoy since coming back to Santiago.

I´ll just have to wait and see...

Changes coming soon...

Got out of Santiago this weekend. Wandered with Carolina to the Canjun del Maipo, walked and walked until we reached the foot of Mt. Colorado, with the San Francisco Glacier lining it's towering peaks. I haven´t been out in the Andes enough, there is nothing quite like them. From what I've seen, now Santiago to the Ausengate, I can safely say that they are a force that can change the way you think about yourself and this awesome planet we inhabit. All sense of human scale is diminished in the face of these structures. The scrape the sky, are more rugged then one can imagine, and have a silence to them that will clear your mind of all the human jumble that lurks in our cities. My mind felt so peaceful when I was there, even though many questions were waiting for me when I got back to Santiago.

I think that I need a big change here in Santiago, I have some new options opening up, nothing for sure, but just enough to give me some hope that my work situation will change. I feel my time with Bridge slowly winding down, tomorrow I will know more. Today, I just think about those mountains and nothing can take me down for now...

day to day...

Just living it day by day for now. Still not too many classes, wondering whether we will ever get more. Feels like I might need to look elsewhere because all this inactivity isn't fun at all. Plus I would like to earn some money so I can eat, pay rent, travel a bit, nothing to grand. Chile's focus slowly has started to return to more daily activities after the death of the Pope. For awhile it was all that one could find on television.

My new apartment is nice, the only downfall is that there isn't a metro stop nearby, making the commute to those few classes I have quite ugly. I like the place though, so I will stay for now. A good living situation is worth the micro ride every mourning. There are also some good places to hangout nearby as well, not that I have gone out in a while, once I get some more work I'll be able to afford such luxuries. So for now I just try to practice my Spanish, read the newspaper, hang out with friends, and make the best of these times...

Everything is closed...

Tis Easter weekend here in Santiago, and everything is closed. Being such a Catholic country, it isn't surprising. Yesterday I rode my bike up Cerro San Cristobal, which has a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the city. It was full of people visiting the church at the top, even a few impersonating Jesus. I was some what impressed, it is a bit of a hike, a long ways to carry a cross, but I guess that's the point right? Chile seems to enjoy consumerism, as the Easter bunny isn't an unknown figure here. Not the same level as in the US, but there are those who pursue the Easter egg hunt. Sometimes it is odd for me, someone who wasn't raised with any Christian influence, to be around such a Christ crazy country.

cerveza

I wanted to dedicate a little bit of time to the beer that I drink the most, Escudo. When deceiding on a good beer, one has to consider many different factors.

1. How much is it? The price can't break my bank account, Escudo is relatively cheap, averaging around 650 chilean pesos for one liter.
2. How easy is it to get a hold of? Escudo is sold everywhere, usually cold, one only needs an empty bottle to exchange for a full one..(or you pay 200 pesos extra, Chile's version of a bottle deposit)
3. Does it taste good? Escudo is much better then some of the other Chilean beers such as Cristal, Baltica, Austral, while it can't even begin to compete with Kuntsmann, it is suffcient on a hot day.

One can find draft Escudo, but usually I have a beer at the house, where it is far cheaper and I can choose the music.


Now, sometimes I want something a little better quality. When this feeling hits, I turn to Kuntsmann.




Kuntsmann is brewed in Valdivia, which is in the south of Chile. It is an indicator of the influence of German culture here in Chile, good bear (guten bier?). It is a little more expensive, but reminds me of some of the microbrews availible in the US, (which I am always missing...)

got a few classes....

So the routine of being in one place for an extended amount of time can sometimes be a burden for me. So much easier when you can just get on a bus and head to the next town when things get dull, but there is plenty about being home bound that I enjoy. It is nice to have friends that you know, that you don't have to explain who you are, that you can just relax with. I don't have the same range I had in Santiago but I have a few which is good enough for now. On Friday I went out with a bunch of other English teachers, it was the first time I have gone out with other English speakers in over a month. So different to be able to just talk without any thought process, but not nearly as interesting. A lot of times when I am with Spanish speakers, I am so interested in what they have to say, but if I had the same conversation in English it would be so boring. Talking about clothes, or some stupid television show. I still have a long ways to go with my Spanish, but I can see that I have improved over the last few months. I could hardly finish a sentence when I arrived, now I can go on a short rant in Espanol!

Back to Santiago....

Returned to the bustle of the city. When I arrived the bus terminal was packed, everyone was returning from their vacations. Last Sunday the news reported around 200,000 people returned to the city! I took the metro home and found myself walking down Vicuña Mackenna, the roar of the micros and the bustle of the street was a bit overwhelming. It has been a while since I've been in a city.

Returning to Santiago was like coming home. I got in touch with some friends, met new people living in my apartment. Louisa, from Brazil, a strong willed 25 year old girl who goes out every single night of the week. She is a Brazilian so is full of energy and sass. Much different from the German, Jans, who was living their before I left. Also a guy named Mickey, from Japan. We have quite a blend of personalities in the house right now.

I am waiting on classes at my school, right now there is nothing. I think March will be very slow as everyone is still adjusting to regular life after the holiday season. It is very hot in Santiago right now, last week it hit around 37 C, who knows what that is in F, but it is incredibly hot. All the cement heats up and around 5 pm it is almost unbearable.

I am also looking for some other things to do with my time, maybe volunteer somewhere or something like that, but don't know as of yet. Photos of my trip soon to come...

Pushed on through to Chile...

In a bar called La Luna, I spent the night chatting with a Peruvian from Lima I met named Javier. A couple of girls from Buenos Aires were putting on some sort of theater, entertaining though I didn't really understand what was going on. I met some Italians there, an entertaining group of three, Max, Vincent, and Marco.

The next day I went by bus to Uyuni, a 11 hour or so passage on unpaved roads in a packed bus. I arrived around 5:30 am, found a hostel, took a long nap. When I woke I walked outside, and there sitting at a table in front of my hostel were the Italians. We talked for a while in a mix of Spanish, Italian, and English, had a beer, then went looking for a tour company for a passage through the salar de Uyuni. After checking out several, we decided on one recommended by another Italian couple we ran into. The driver was experienced, and a mechanic as well.

The next mourning we set out for the salt plains. Being the rainy season, the whole of the salt plain is covered in water. This allows for some amazing reflections, it feels like your in a plane or something, other moments it is like being in a boat. The Land Rover we rode in was well equipped for the rough ride. Also along with us was an Israeli couple from somewhere near Tel Aviv. They spoke no Spanish, so were always asking me to translate into English, which I enjoyed at first but soon grew slightly annoying!

I had heard a lot of people talk about the Salar, about how amazing it was, and so forth. I figured it was cool, but had no sense of what it was until I arrived. It was like being on another planet, rocks formed by wind that looked like sculptures, a scale that boggles the mind, mountains of many different colors due to the mineral content, turquoise lakes, salt crystals floating in water that form perfect pyramids, high desert with no life, lagoons with pink flamingos flying in formation. Geysers spewing steam into the air, bubbling volcanic sulfur pools at 15,000 feet, hot springs, rocks used by Salvador Dali in his paintings, it was a place that sparked the imagination, made you think about this world and how complex, diverse and amazing it is.

I came to the Chilean border, passed through without incident, and found myself back in San Pedro de Atacama. That night I made the 18 hour passage to La Serena, and just a day after wearing my warmest of clothes, I was sitting on the beach, staring out at the Pacific Ocean in a bathing suit.

On the bus I also met a guy named Alexandro, a Chilean who worked as a guide, played music, recreates ancient native musical instruments for museums throughout Chile. That night I met up with him and we traded CDs, copying several on his brother's computer. Him and his girlfriend took me on a little tour of La Serena, and we ate some fresh fish in a small food stand next to the beach. It feels strange to be back in Chile, it is so western, so different from the world that was Bolivia and Peru. You can walk on the beach and hear people listening to Sublime and AC DC (Ug!) plus the accent is so different, so much harder to understand from Bolivia.

Now I have a little time to reflect on the last month and a half, all those places that I found myself, from the Pacific to Lake Titikaka, Machu Picchu to the markets of La Paz, it has been a journey I will never forget....

Uyuni

So I left La Paz at around 10:30 am, got on a bus for Oruro, a three hour ride that took me to the train station. I had bought a train ticket in advance because I didn't want to have to endure the long, very bumpy ride to Uyuni in a packed bus. I arrived at the train station and found out that everything was shut down, that because of the rain, there wouldn't be another one for about a week.

So I got on a bus.

It was jam packed full of people, some sitting in the aisle on backs next to me, no bathroom for 10 hours. Plus the bus didn't leave until 8pm, and I arrived around 1:30 pm. So I had some time to kill in which I wandered about some of the streets by the bus station in Oruro. Oruro isn't much to see, I ate at a restaurant and met some Brazilians who were in the same situation. Finally after killing a lot of time, the bus left. It was one rocky, bumpy, unsettling ride that lasted until 6 am. Finally I arrived in Uyuni, and was swarmed by people working for different tour companies. I did what I could to get out of there, found a hostel, and dropped off into a deep sleep.

After I found a tour that will take me back to San Pedro de Atacama, thereby skipping the rest of Bolivia, and Argentina. It would be quite the ride, and I think I will be ready to sit on the beach for a while before returning to Santiago...

Don't want to leave La Paz

Somehow almost a week has gone by since I arrived in La Paz, time is just flying. I have never been to a city quite like this, it is so different from Santiago. Music is an important part of the Bolvian lifestyle, in Penas, different groups perform, from dancing to drums, to guitars, they are a fun place to be. I went to two the other night, the first one was for tourists, you could only sit and watch. The second however, was full of Bolvians and you could dance (though I don't know what I'm doing. I met a fun group of Bolvians, and danced with them until about 4:30am. We were quite a site, I didn't have an idea of what I was doing, and they were all too drunk to dance well, so we swayed about and had a good ole time.

climbed today

Well maybe you wouldn`t call it climbing. I took a bus to this research station today, then we hiked to the peak of this mountain near La Paz, it stands at around 16,000 feet. I`m sure the view would`ve been amazing had there not been so many clouds. It is raining right now, and I`m mulling doing a bike excursion tomarrow. The rain doesn`t make it to appealing, so maybe I`ll go out and hear some music instead. Aw, the dilema of traveling, sounds horrible doesn`t it!

front gate

front gate
Originally uploaded by deambular.

some photos I've been meaning to post, will have more from the rest of the trip when I get back to Chile...

from above

from above
Originally uploaded by deambular.

Climbed up the mountain next to the ruins for this amazing view...

inside

inside
Originally uploaded by deambular.

an amazing place to be...

arriving

arriving
Originally uploaded by deambular.

shortly after getting there...

2nd night of the Inca trail we camped here

2 night
Originally uploaded by deambular.

Sleepin on the bus ain't easy...

Got on the bus last night, a couple from BA from my hostel was also along for the ride to La Paz. It was a pretty empty ride, everyone had a couple seats to themselves, such change from my last bus experience. Still I found it hard to get more then a couple hours of sleep. We arrived at the Bolvian border around 7:50 am, got out and had to wait in a line in the rain to get our passports checked. The border was so weird, there were all these people just bringing all sorts of stuff across the border in carts, even though officially the border was closed. After getting my stamp I had to cross over, by climbing over a small gate, and then another on the Bolvian side. It was so so strange.

Arrived in La Paz a few hours later, it is one hell of a city. Every inch of where I am at is crawling with activity and life. Vendors peddling everything from toe nail clippers to llama fetuses, taxis cruising through crowds waiting to cross the street. Street lights that have a cop deceiding when the light changes on the spot. La Paz is a very interesting place. Tomarrow I am going to try to go to the witches market, they have everything there, everything and anything the imagination could possibly conjure...

Cusco...

I was only going to stay for a few days, maybe four or five. I didn't know if I was going to even do the Inca trail. So started my stay here, and now, two and a half weeks later I have finally bought a bus ticket for La Paz Bolivia. It doesn't surprise me now that I stayed longer then I intended. I think I could easily stay in Cusco for several months. There is just something about walking about here, meandering through narrow streets, past elaborate cathedrals in the plaza de armas. Maybe it was the night circuit, filled with all the people tickets for free drinks at various clubs. Each place playing the same strange mixture of disco, Latin, 80`s rock, techo, and hip hop. Songs like YMCA would come on and it would remind me of junior high.

Then there is the area around Cusco, all of it steep, and hard to get to. I got back from the Ausengate on Sunday. That required a 4 hour horse ride, followed by a short wait, then a bus at 10 am which didn't leave until 10:45. Got to another small town and had to wait two hours to get onto another bus. This one left 50 minutes after that. At around 6:45pm we arrived in Cusco. My nerves were worn thanks to the constant shifting of the bus, rocking back and forth and a narrow road which at points, seems too small for buses.

I was worn out but enthralled by the trip. The Inca trail was filled with tourists, but the Ausengate was officially closed, but our guide knew the right people. So myself, my friend Assaf, who I hiked with on the Inca trail, and our guide, Martin, set out.

The Ausengate is one very cold place to be. The wind chilled the bone, and when the sun would disappear, the temperature would drop around 15 degrees. It took a toll and I got sick after a couple of days. Assaf was sicker, couldn't even get out of bed on the day we went to the mountain. So I made the trek with just the guide and two horses. We rode out early, around seven am. I got my first look at the Ausengate at this point, it was a clear mourning without any clouds. We rode through swamps that filled the small valleys. The horses didn't like swamps, and would try their best to avoid them. We tied up the horses and hiked to one of the lower glaciers. I washed my face in some of the fresh, cold, glacier water.

After the day's hike was over we gathered Assaf, who looked a little better, then headed for Aguas Calientes, or hot springs. It rained for awhile, which ended up clearing the view up. I relaxed in the hot springs with a panoramic view of rocky crests covered with glaciers, the Andes.

When I finally made it back to Cusco, I was dead tired, and sick as well. So I lounged and enjoyed some of the cheap but good food Cusco has to offer. Tonight I will start my 13 hour bus ride into a new country,

La Paz here I come...

walking along....

gatheredrain
Originally uploaded by deambular.

I was in a group of 15 people. It was one of the cheapest deals, so it attracted an interesting and fun group of people. To hike on the Inka trail you have to have a registered guide, and usually porters go as well. These guys haul so much stuff, they wear sandals and just care everything using a blanket. The food was excellent, lots of soup, cocoa tea, popcorn, and high carb meals. A gregarious group of Argentines were part of the group, they played all these crazy but addictivly entertaining card games. An Israeli, a group from Colorado, people from California, Australia, Italy, and of course Iowa were also along.

After the end of the hike, the Argentines hiked from Machu Pichu, all the way back to where we started. Most people take the train to safe themselves from the 30km hike. However it is very expensive, around 40 dollars for a ticket. So they walked all the way, through train tunnels, past rivers, towns, mountains. I saw them the next day, they all looked so beat.

another world

another world
Originally uploaded by deambular.

Peru a place to behold. From the culture to the land, it is a place of incredible history and a place that will change you...

hiking at 3200 meters, in the clouds...

first pass

first pass
Originally uploaded by deambular.

The first pass was the worst, we started up early in the mourning on the second day. It was 10km straight up to 4200m. There were quite a few tourists on the trail, though it is really the off season. I made it to the pass after about 3 and half hours of hiking. By the end I was just thinking "left foot, right food." The combination of the altitude and the grade was tiring. I chewed on cocoa leaves to help with the altitude (works wonders!)and took a good rest at the top.

Inkatrail

Inkatrail
Originally uploaded by deambular.

The Inka trail is a small leftover slice of what once was a 30,000 km network of trade, culture, and life. I covered the last 33 km of the way to Machu Pichu.

One hell of a walk...

Four days on the Inca trail, meandering over stones, steps, stairs, and ruins. The mountains of Peru are unlike anything I have ever seen any where else. They rise straight out of the ground and touch the sky. Steep is an understatement. I could see how the Incas could consider them gods. I went with a group of 15 people, made up of travelers from Argentina, Colorado, California, Italy, and Israel. We all got along great, no one was complaining much. It rained everyday, but only for a few hours at a time. On the fourth and final day, we rose from the sack at 4 am to get a wonderful view of a cloud at sunrise. The classic Machu Pichu view from the sun gate was completely veiled by the clouds. So we walked to the ruins, and as the day progressed the clouds lifted, slowly unveiling the complex and the awesome views around it. By the afternoon there was blue sky and some of us hiked up to the temple of the moon, it is probably one of the highest places I have ever been. There I found a panoramic view of the ruins and the mountain on which they sit. I have no idea how they made this place, it seems to be cut out of the mountain. From above it looks like a lego set, so perfect, so different from the feel within. It was a view I will never forget....

Going walking....

I really enjoy wandering aimlessly through cities, it beats a tour anyday, or at least in my opinion. Tomarrow I will start the Inka trail, I can't wait. Said goodbye to Elisabeth this mourning, she is off to Lima, then back to Holland.

Cusco is a beautiful city, right in the mountains, at around 3200m or something like that. I'm aclimated to the altitude right now, but there is one part on the Inka trail that is over 4200m, I'll have to walk nice and slow. Afterwards I'm going to figure out what to do next, I´m thinking of heading to the south of Chile, but Bolivia feels like an option as well. Wandering around is quite a nice way to pass the time...

gotta love the road

So I find myself at an internet cafe, it has been an interesting few days, don't have a lot of time but basically it all went something like this:

Got in a taxi to go to Peru, came to an accident along the way and turned down a side street as a detour. Along the way the taxi driver stopped because another taxi driver was standing in the way. My taxi driver is Peruvian, the other, Chilean, words started to be exchanged, pretty soon the other taxi driver was kicking the car, so my driver went to get out and fight him, the other driver started slamming the door on his foot and throwing punches. My driver got out and ran away, leaving me, Elisabeth, Sandra, and two other Chileans sitting in the cab, blocking everything. Finally the guy came back with the police and after a short wait we were on our way to Peru.

Got to Peru, stopped in Arequippo, and then onward to Puno, where we tried to get a boat to some of the islands in Lake Titikaka, the highest lake in the world! There are some indigenous groups there that have made artificial islands out of dried reeds. It is really something to see, this floating islands. Then went to a natural island which is covered by stone terraces, doesn't have a single road or car. We lived in a house of a couple, no electricity, only a hole in the ground for a bathroom. The day after we arrived was a celebration and we climbed to the top of the island, which stands above 12,000 feet and offers outstanding views. Lots of offerings going on, and a shaman burning incents and other stuff. Colorful clothes, a few too many tourists, some of which are completely shameless when it comes to pointing cameras in people's faces. After the peak of the ceremony a rainbow formed around the sun, some kind of atmospheric phenomena, it was pretty amazing.

So then we tried to go the next day, and the boat that was supposed to go back wasn't there, so we were stranded, also the tour operator lied about paying entrance fees and we had to pay twice. Finally today we made it back to Puno, and should arrive in Cusco tonight!

Onward to Peru...

The excitement is setting in as we prepare to cross the border into Peru this afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing this country, it is a country with a profound history. Cusco, where I should be arriving is the old Inca capital, and and footsteps of Machu Pichu, I didn't envision my self going there when I set out for Chile, but now I can't picture not going. Last night I went to a party with Elisabeth and some of her Chilean friends who live here in Arica, good party, but having only slept an hour the night before I had to leave early, around 3:30 or so. Met some Chilean teenagers on the walk home drinking wine from a box on the beach and talked to them for a little while. We also picked up another solo traveler for the voyage north, a half French, half Italian girl named Sandra who lives in England. I look forward to the reunion with March Pietan, a lot has happened since we went our ways several months ago in Santiago. I also hope to meet up with a friend of my roommate, America, an Indian who is traveling all around the world (I think).

Swam in the ocean, slept on the beach after waking, ready, so ready to go to Peru!

Rained out in the desert...

Some how I managed to get rained out in one of the most arid regions of the world. In a place where it might get rain 3 day out of the year, I happened to pick those three days to go. I had to cancel two plans for tours because of flooding, something I really wasn't expecting. San Pedro was an interesting place, a tourist trap to say the least, but not a glitzy one. Lots of adobe and wood structures, expensive restaurants with bond fires, foreigners from all over. There is an indigenous population that lives all around the tourist areas, a Chilean transient population that works there over the summer, and then the tourists. Yesterday I finished everything off with a tour to the salt plains, which were not white since they had seen their first rain in three years. Also saw some lagoons with snow capped volcanoes looming over them, and a couple of the pueblos that surround San Pedro. After all that, I got on an all night bus ride from 8:30 pm to 7:15 am and arrived in Arica more then a little confused.

San Pedro...

Made it here, glad to get out of the city. This place has about 5000 inhabitants and 6000 tourists, but it is another world from anywhere else I've ever been, right in the midddle of a huge desert. A good place for some adventures I think. I met a Dutch girl named Elizabeth on the bus, she was working at an internship in Santiago and now is at the end of her five month stay in Chile, it is nice to have some company after two days of being alone. Yapped the whole ride away, pulled in to San Pedro around 4:30 pm. Now its time to do a little exploring.

Antofagasta

So I made the six and a half hour bus ride from Copiapo to Antofagasta, the second largest city in Chile. It is a much differen world then Santiago, or at least from what I`ve seen in my short stay. It owes its size to the mining industry, and is a working city. I am getting into a very interesting area politically, as it has lots of mineral deposits and has been in the hands of Chile, Bolivia, and is starting to be what was traditionally Inca territory. I spent most of the ride looking out at the vast Atacamba desert, so barren, with mountains so big. Haven`t seen a green spot for quite some time. The coast in this area is very rocky, with jagged boulders sticking out everywhere.

I found the Hotel Fronterra, which is a run down dive, but cheap and in a good location. The streets here are full of energy, plenty of buses and people scurrying all about. The street front, so different then the colonial style of La Serena or Copiapo, is a mesh of old materials, burned out fronts, wires of many sorts from barbed wire to electrical wire. Bars cover most windows, reminds me a lot more of some of the barrios I went to in New York then anything else. Except for the looming mountains that keep me oriented.

There are also lots of Shoperia, which I would attribute to the working class attitude of the city, work hard, play hard. I don`t know how long I will stay here, there are some places to see, but I`m feeling the urge to move on to San Pedro Antacama, in the middle of the desert, for some outdoors adventures. We`ll see though....

Copiapo

Just arrived in a new spot, Copiapo, which lies in the middle of the mountains. It is nice to be able to see them so clearly, none of the smog that plagues the view in Santiago. I found a really cool hostel, my other room was really small and felt like a cell, this one is much more plesant. Not that I really am spending much time in the room, but its nice to come back to something comfortable.

Last night I drank pisco sour (or a version there of, made by a Belgian girl, not a Chilean) and ate BBQ with an international crowd. France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain, England, Chile, and the US, all represented for a night of stories, drinking, and fun. It made it alot easier to sleep on the bus today.

One guy, the Italian, was riding his bike through Chile, he looked completely defeated. I felt bad for him, the terrain could really hurt you out here. The hills are high, the distances between towns long, and the sun so, so hot. He has had his share and is heading back to Italy on Wednesday. So it goes...

Out to the Isla Damas

So I´m just a bit singed by the sun, it is so strong here. Even with cloud cover, the UV rays still penetrate, so much stronger then in the northern hemisphere because the ozone layer is much thinner here this time of year. We started early today, and surprisingly the guide was 8 minutes early, something that rarely happens in Chile. I loaded in a car with Germans, Finns, English, and Chileans. It was about a two hour drive to the port where the boat was launched. The landscape reminded me a lot of Nevada, only bigger mountains. Lots of cacti, all different kinds, lots of goat herders too. I was tempted to try and buy some goat cheese but never got the opportunity.

We got to the boat port and loaded up in a boat about 12 feet long and six feet wide. It bounced all about in the choppy Pacific water, and toured around the islands. The islands all were very bare, rugged rocks stuck out and were populated by vultures, sea lions, humbolt penguins (much smaller, like 30cm) gulls, and some kind of otter. Dolphins would breach the surface near the boat but always dropped down deeper when we approached. After a passage around the islands we stopped on one where it is permitted to camp and I hiked around, looking at all the sea shells and bright blooming cacti. I also took a quick (very quick, very cold) swim in the turquoise water at the white sandy beach that is on the island.

Afterwards, we went back to land and stopped along the way to eat some fish for lunch. There everyone swapped stories, relaxed and ate. On the way back I talked to a German girl named Isable about all things travel, she is on here way north, likes to have off the wall experiences that come with hitchhiking, as well as a deep appreciation for hiking about in the mountains.

I think that my time in La Serena is coming to a close. Hearing Isable's stories about hiking around nature reserves has put me in the mood for some camping. Tomorrow, sometime before 11am I will head north, though I don't know where.

The beach....

It is quite something to be able to just pop over to the beach. The waves in La Serena are pretty mild compared to what I saw in Vina del Mar, but they still beat the lakes in Iowa (maybe a fast boat will send a "breaker" your way). I've met alot of cool people here, hung out yesterday and the previous night with Lars, a German living in Santiago. Also met Olli and Doug from Freiberg who work for a theater that is performing in Santiago in two weeks, and of course, I can't forget Claudia and Carmen, two sweet Chileanas from La Serena who took me dancing.

Today I want to rent a bike and go for a long ride. I also am going to go swimming and watch the sunset. Tomarrow I will get up early and go on a boat out to a group of Islands with a bunch of sea lions and penguins. Should be fun.....

On the road....

So I watched the city disappear from the window of a semi-cama turbus today, finally I'm out of Santiago on my way. It feels really good to be so free, where ever I want to go, no problem. I'm going to slowly make way to Cuzco, Peru, visit Mark Pietan and see Machu Pichu. Along the way, many sidetrips, gotta see this country. Already it feels so different then Santiago. One of the really cool things about traveling alone on a bus is that you end up sitting and talking to a lot of strangers. My Spanish is good enough that I can have a conversation, nothing too profound, but it has came along ways since I arrived. Tomorrow I will go to the beach, walk around La Serena, or maybe I'll go to this island, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

Chau....