My first two stops in Bolivia were not so impressive. We started in the town of Santa Cruz. Our hostel was average but the town was not what I was expecting. We moved on to Potosi and were even less impressed. My laptop was stolen and to top it off we were residing at over 13,000 feet of elevation so we weren’t feeling the best. Potosi is one of the highest cities in the entire world. The people were not as lively or happy looking as other places in S. America that we had met along the way. The highlight of Potosi was the supposed to be the silver tour. We geared up in suits and hard hats to see how locals make a living. The conditions of the mine were not so enticing. It’s hard to imagine venturing down them every day to make a decent living. All in all, I wasn’t a big fan of Santa Cruz or Potosi. In my opinion, skip these stops as there are far more scenic destinations in South America with much more exciting activities.

When we arrived in Uyuni, we booked a three- day salt flat excursion. It far exceeded any of my expectations and I still can’t believe how much we saw along the way.  Our diver, along with Marge, Susanne, two other backpackers, and I, took off down to the border of Chile and Argentina for a 550-mile adventure.

The pictures detail out incredible journey as the visuals are hard to put into words. The journey took us through mountains, flamingo dotted red lakes, and what looked like the surface of mars. Along the way, we stayed in multiple salt hotels where everything from the walls to the bed frames was created with salt. I would HIGHLY recommend the three-day tour. Be sure to book with a reputable company as we heard many horror stories of local drunk drivers that would guide tourists though the not so safe terrain.

Be sure to pack warm as the temperature drops very low at night. Prepare for some altitude as at certain points of the trip we were almost to 16,000 feet of elevation.

EAT: Well, you’re probs going to be eating rice and beans. The organized, three day tour is a great way to try some new foods as all of the meals were provided.

STAY: Stay in a Salt Hotel, very unique and chilly experience.

PLAY: Don’t just do the day trip to the salt flats. Definitely book the three day tour as you see a such varied terrain on the three day tour.

^ What weeks of rice and beans will do to one’s GI tract

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With only two days in Iguazu, we had to make them count. On our first day we decided to plan two activities, the Bird Park and Iguazu Falls.

The bird park was wonderful. It is comprised of birds from all over the world. Over fifty percent of the birds on display were rescued from animal trafficking, poor ownership, and other inappropriate scenarios. The other forty-three percent were hatched on site. Reproduction in captivity is a great sign of success, so this bird park must be doing things right!

As we wandered through the jungle trails we enjoyed the calls and colors of thousands of birds. The displays were mostly large flight cages that were immaculately maintained. Having a minor in captive wild animal management, I always have a judgmental eye for animal care and I was very impressed with this bird park.

There were several large flight cages that visitors were allowed to walk through. This was great because we were able to get up close and personal with toucans, macaws, and dozens of other species. The most impressive flight cage was the macaw flight cage. It contained around 20 species of large parrots that comprised nearly 100 individuals in the half football field sized cage.

At the end of the visit, we were even allowed to hold a macaw. Unlike most animal interactions that are at the animal’s expense or annoyance, this interaction had around 10 birds and each bird received a break after being held by only two visitors.

Following the bird park, we hopped across the street to the most famous attraction in Iguazu- IGUAZU FALLS!

Iguazu Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and is comprised of 275 smaller cascades spanning twice as wide as Niagara Falls. Sitting on the border of Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu Falls has many awe inspiring viewpoints from both countries. We only were able to view the falls from the Brazilian side due to the reciprocity fee we would be forced to pay upon entering Argentina.

As we hiked along the trial closer to the devils throat, the views became even more jaw dropping. We walked out on the elevated pathway at the end of the foot path as a cool mist danced on our skin and white haze consumed the valley below the falls. As if one rainbow wasn’t impressive enough, we were lucky enough to see two in the misty confluence of several colossal cascades.

On our way out of the park, there was a food court overrun by coatimundis! After seeing an elderly couple become swarmed by them over a bag of chips, I had to get a bag of cookies to see how many I could get to follow me. Within a minute I had over a dozen following me like I was a mother duck.

During our second and last day in Iguazu Falls, Marge and I visited the Itaipu Dam. Itaipu is a hydroelectric dam that is the second largest in terms of electrical output in the world. The impressive structure supplies nearby Paraguay with 75% of the country’s electrical needs and 17% of Brazils.

The sheer magnitude of the 20 billion dollar dam was hard to fathom. It took 19 years to construct and still provides thousands of jobs for the surrounding towns.

Our time in Brazil was short, but it’s time to catch yet another flight…to BOLIVIA!

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We arrived late at night and caught a bus to Copacabana. On our bus ride, we met a Brazilian named Marcela (Ma). She was as friendly as could be giving us tips about the city with the biggest smile. We chatted for nearly half an hour and exchanged info before parting ways.

The following morning, we decided it was time for a beach day. We headed straight to one of the most famous beaches in the world, Copacabana Beach. Copacabana is home to some immense waves. So large, that beach goers are not even allowed to enter the water. The only people that can be found in the several meter tall waves are the surfers. We watched in amazement as some of the surfers boarded along the small mountains of water and cringed when others misjudged a wave and got pummeled. After strolling down Copacabana beach, we visited the equally famous, Ipanema Beach. We threw down a blanked, bought a couple beers, and relaxed in awe at the waves crashing in front of us and the bustling city behind us tucked in the mountainous topography. It was a worthy way of kick starting our week in Rio.

The following morning, Maggie headed to the pro surf competition, and I caught a bird’s eye view of the city of Rio while hang gliding. My adventure started out at the top of Pedra Bonita Mountain. After a very quick rigging up of the hang glider, my piolet gave me a quick talk on how to run off the edge of the mountain and harnessed me up. It was our turn to take off and I thought he would ask if I was ready or maybe count us down. To my surprise, mid-sentence I heard him say “run” and with that we began running 20 feet towards the edge as fast as we could in unison. The ground ended and we started plummeting downward until the wind caught us and we began gliding over the jungle below. In total, we had about 10 minutes in the air. When it was time to land, my piolet began a sharp downward spiral towards Pepino Beach below and easily landed the glider on the soft warm sand. Hang gliding was an insane way to view Rio De Janeiro with a view that only the birds would normally get.

The following day it was time to pick up our friend, Susanne! We originally met Susanne in Singapore just before Christmas. Susanne is from Germany and was also going to be traveling South America for a bit and decided to join us for the next six weeks. Marge and I made the executive decision that we needed to have an initiation for all of our friends as we pick them up along the way. We decided that the first day a new friend joins us, they must 1: Wear a temporary tattoo on their forehead for the remainder of the day 2: Go down on one knee and chug a Smirnoff Ice. We definitely got a laugh out of Susanne’s initiation into our travel gang and she took it like a trooper.

That afternoon we decided to go for a long walk around Lake Lagoa. Logoa is an oasis in the middle of the city. It is surrounded by buildings and noises of the bustling city, but it is home to many species of fauna and flora. As we walked along the lake’s edge, we spotted many different types of birds and even stumbled across four juvenile capybaras, the largest rodent in the world!

The next morning we met up with our friend Marcela (Ma) and headed to the main tourist attraction in Rio, Christ the Redeemer. Situated on the top of Corcovado hill, Christ overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro with arm’s spread. The view from beneath his immense wingspan is hard to top as you can see many details of Rio. Flavelas (slums of Brazil) dot the mountainous edges of the city, sugarloaf protrudes from the eastern point of town, and Copacabana and Ipanema beach border the edge of city against the Atlantic Ocean.

As one would guess, the Christ statue is a huge tourist trap. You can barely push your way through the crowds to take a picture. Luckily for us, a rain cloud engulfed the mountain while we were atop, clearing all the other tourists out. We waited out the rain for about 10 minutes before the sky drew back its cloudy curtains leaving just us and a hand full of other tourists nearly alone with the statue to take pictures.

One of the hottest places to visit in Rio is Lapa. Lapa is lively night area full of bars, street venders, and people partying along every sidewalk. We visited the party area with about 10 people from our hostel. We spend the evening drinking street beers, snacking on food, and people watching as we wandered around the area before heading home at nearly 4am.

The following day, with the remnants of Lapa’s street drinks still lingering in us, the second Harry Potter movie came on the TV in our hostel…in ENGLISH. We relaxed and watched it and then the 2^nd, followed by the 3rd, 5th, and 7^th. It was an unplanned Harry Potter marathon that skipped several movies, but it was a great relax day in our cozy hostel with friends.

On our second to last day in Rio, we realized we needed to get Susanne a Yellow Fever shot to enter Bolivia! After a bit of a wild goose chase, we found a medical facility that gave one to her for no charge. After the needle prick, we headed to the beach to round out the day.

The last day in Rio we decided to try our luck on a hiking trail, Dos Primates. We read that we would come across several large waterfalls and monkeys. The waterfalls were a bit of a disappointment, but as we were hiking, the trees seemed to come alive as we staggered across two different troops of monkeys. The first was some small type of tamarin and the second was a larger species unfamiliar to me. They curiously watched us from the canopy as we tried to get a better view and quickly continued on their way. The hike was a great way to appreciate a bit of Rio’s wildlife and catch a few stellar views of the city.

Our next stop: Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina!

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We arrived in Porto Alegre early in the morning after our overnight bus from Uruguay. We checked into our hostel and made a trip to the grocery store to do some good ole home cooking. Getting your own groceries on the road is a great way to save some money, eat healthy, and it’s always nice to spend some time in a kitchen. I really miss cooking every day back home.

The next morning we decided to try our luck at a free walking tour. Cities around the world offer free walking tours. There is no charge for the guide that takes you around the city, but it is common curtesy to tip a few dollars to help support the tour and guides. The group that took us around Porto Alegre was a group of friends who have a passion for their city and simply want to share its history with others. Porto Alegre has a ton of history and the tour helped to cover the basics that the average tourist may not discover on their own wandering around the town.

The following day we decided to go to our first Brazilian soccer match. We caught the metro with a few friends to the impressive stadium that was the home field of the Gremios and wore our blue to support the local team. It was great to visit a sporting event in another country, especially a football match since football is taken so seriously here. The Gremios were in the lead until the end when the opposing team had an unbelievable comeback and scored with two seconds on the clock ending the game in a tie.

That evening, our plan was to catch a bus to Florianopolis, a beach town 11 hours north up the coast. Unfortunately, all the buses were booked for the day. We crashed one more night at our hostel and jumped on the first bus headed north the following morning. When we finally arrived in Florianopolis, we realized the weather wasn’t the best for beaches and surfing for the next few days. While using the bathroom of the bus terminal, I read on a website that we could fly farther north out of the crappy weather for $50 dollars! We got a hotel for the night before catching our flight to Rio the following evening.

Sometimes things just don’t work the way you hope when you are on the road. Fortunate for us, we have extra time when mishaps happen. Even though we bused 11 hours north to then sleep and catch a flight even farther up the coast, it still worked out AND was cheaper for us in the long run.

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Long story short, Argentina can’t FORCE someone to pay $160 and enter a country against their will. After some arguing, they reopened the security checkpoint for in-transit passengers and assigned me my very own security guard to sit with me in the empty airport all night. My guard’s name was Francisco and he was great to hang out with, even though we had to communicate through google translate. We spend the whole night attempting to talk to each other and his friend also joined us for a bit. It was a very unusual travel night and I won’t soon be forgetting the night I spend in a closed airport alone with my own personal security guard.

It was time to reunite with the ole travel buddy, MARGE! We chose to meet up in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. Montevideo is a large city, but not as vibrant and lively as some that we have visited. This gave us the perfect opportunity catch up on some to-dos that we have been meaning to tackle. A lot of people don’t realize how much planning and work goes into this trip. Yes, we are having the time of our lives, but we still have to put a lot of time into our trip planning so our trip runs smoothly. The relaxed atmosphere of our hostel in the slow town of Montevideo provided the perfect atmosphere to get our Brazil Visas, book flights, plan Machu Picchu, general travel routes, and some budgeting.

The main thing we needed to start planning around was our friends that are coming to visit, all TEN of them. I cannot express how excited I am for the group of friends we are about to pick up throughout South America. The remainder of our trip will be Marge and I as mother ducks with our wings spread out as far as possible sprinting through South and Central America. Along our journey, we will be swopping up our friends under our wings and dropping them off at their final destination. Below are the friends that already have their tickets booked and the cities we are picking them up.

Rio- Susanne

La Paz, Bolivia- Buddy

Cusco, Peru- Katie, Katie, and Grace

Quito, Ecuador- Ben and Roze

Bogota, Colombia- Jack and Luke

Panama City, Panama- Garrett

After some planning and relaxing, it was time to have some fun. Our hostel had an incredible atmosphere and it was very easy to meet people. Before we knew it, we had friends from all over the world ready to hit the small bar street and learn salsa dances at our hostel. It was a great couple nights of meeting other travelers and swapping stories over a few beers.

After dropping our passports off at the Brazilian Consulate to obtain our visas we had several days to kill before they were ready. We packed our bags and headed to the small town of Colonia. There isn’t much to do in Colonia but to walk around and relax, so that’s what we did. Colonia is a historical town full of charm and character sitting on the end of a peninsula on the Rio de la Plata River. We spend our time eating burgers and ice cream and then rounding out our days wandering the streets or relaxing by the water’s edge. Eating burgers and ice cream sounds like the most American thing we could do, but they are SO good in South America. Rather than focusing on the largest hunk of meat like in America, these unique bovine delicacies focused on the toppings. There were around 10ish toppings to choose from at each burger stand. Every time they would ask which toppings I wanted, I would just gesture to every colorful bowl and say “todo” or “all” in Spanish. I would then be handed a perfectly hand-crafted burger mounded with everything from pickled peppers to a basil mayo sauce.

After our side trip to Colonia, it was time to head back to Montevideo to pick up our Passports with our new Brazilian Visas! We had one more night in our homey hostel that we had previously stayed at and then jumped on a 12 hour bus ride to Brazil.

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MarketWatch

KSDK NEWS

Logan and  I spent two weeks working our way down to the most southern towns of the continent before returning to the town of Puerto Montt for one last evening. After having a picnic by the bay we started to head back towards our hostel to relax before our full day of travel the following morning. As we were walking, I noticed several people with their phones out snapping pictures of something. I ran out in the street so the neighboring building could no longer obstruct my view to see a plume of ash and smoke heading skyward. I yelled back to Logan, “Logan, the volcano is erupting!” We sprinted to the end of the street and watched in awe for over an hour.

As the sun sank closer to the horizon, the ominous plume was illuminated with an orange-red glow as lightning danced along the edges of the eruption. After dark, a constant flickering of lightning was visible as the orange glow of the plume was no longer from the sunset, but now coming from within the conical volcano itself.

Coming from the Midwest, I have never been exposed to a volcano drill. We questioned if we were in immediate danger or not, and decided to just follow the locals. They didn’t seem to be too concerned, so we tried not to be either. It was a strange feeling as the mushroom top of the plume spread directly over us. The following morning, the town of Puerto Montt seemed to be running as usual with a few exceptions. Schools were canceled for the day as well as flights from the airport, including mine. As the winds blew through town today, clouds of smog and ash smothered parts of the city, but most people could be seen going about their daily routines.

After two incredible weeks in Chile, I knew we would go out with a bang, I just never expected that bang to be the 6,500 foot tall Calbuco Volcano awaking for the first time since 1972. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed and I feel so lucky to have observed such an immense natural event first hand.

Following the mess of canceled flights out of Puerto Montt for two days, I was finally able to get a flight to Urugauy. Just as my plane breached the cloud cover, I could see Calbuco still smoldering in the distance casting it’s rain of ash across the horizon. Growing up, you learn about volcanos in class. It was quite a treat to finally see one in person, and incredibly lucky to see one at its most impressive moments. I will never forger that day in Puerto Montt when I witnessed the power an ferocity of a volcano first hand.

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Last minute change of plans have always been part of my trip, and the excursion we wanted to do in Torres Del Paine National Park was no different. After looking at some pictures of the famous park, decided we HAD to go trekking there. After flying into Punta Arenas we did some last minute warm clothes shopping before a 3 hour bus to Puerto Natalas. We got in after 11pm and luckily found a hostel that would rent us the remainder of the gear we needed for the 3.5 day hike we had planned (and by planned I mean we still didn’t have a trail route determined). We booked a night at a nearby hostel and early the next morning we were on a bus to Torres Del Paine National Park.

There are two ways to do Torres Del Paine. 1) Expensively: Trek the park with little gear and stay in the warm refugios (cabins) and have all your food supplied which costs around $150 a day 2) Cheaply: Rent gear, carry a heavy pack, camp in the elements, and give up showering for days which would cost you about $20 a day. There wasn’t much of a choice to be made. Before I knew it, my rented backpack was loaded with food, a sleeping bag, toiletries and a pair of waterproof pants to cover my skinny jeans if it rained or got cold. Yes, I was that guy that did a 25 mile hike in skinny jeans. It was all I had, so I made do with it.

As we started the trek, the weather was complete overcast as clouds had engulfed the entire area leaving nearly no distance views from the mountain we were hiking on. We started with some steep terrain with shrubbery vegetation before entering the most enchanting forest I have ever seen. The trees were at their peak fall color and as we climbed higher in altitude they turned from green to yellow to orange to deep red near the top. After miles of hiking uphill we reached our base camp. Tucked under the fiery color of birch trees we set up our tent within feet of a stream of fresh drinking water. Once we got our gear settled and our tent up, we continued trekking up the mountain. We finally arrived at the rocky top of the mountain to a bright green/blue glacial lake and more clouds. As if we were waiting for the red curtains of a theater performance to draw back for a show, the cloud covering drifted away revealing the famous Torres Peaks. It was absolutely stunning and seemed like a dream.

After admiring the views we decided to hike back to base camp for some dinner and sleep before the next day’s long trek. We knew going into this that we were very ill prepared compared to most other trekkers. The first night was a bit rough. We battled mice trying to eat our food, and poor Logan got the shits. We awoke (as if we even slept) to snow covering our tent. At this point I was a little concerned for how I was going to survive the rest of the trek. I had one pair of warm socks and my shoes were built for breathability and running. They were not for what you wanted for snow, nor were they waterproof. Did I mention I was trying to hike in skinny jeans? To top it all off, Logan’s stomach was getting worse. We decided that it would be best to catch the bus back after hiking down the mountain. The only problem was, our bus company only made one trip back to Punta Natalas a day and we didn’t have time to make it down the mountain in time. We were only allowed to stay in our campsite one night and we wanted to get down in elevation to avoid more snow. Even though Logan didn’t feel well, we had to continue the original hike onward to the next free campsite.

It was a long 11 miles, but we couldn’t get over the scenery. Snow capped peaks of mountains towered over us as we hiked alongside and glacial fed lakes were visible in all directions. We battled winds stronger than I have ever seen, even taking me to my knees at one point. Whenever we needed to hydrate, we simply filled our bottles straight from the dozens of streams coming down the mountainsides.

The sun set and we found ourselves hiking by headlamp in the complete darkness. We thought we were getting close to our campsite when and finally we found a sign. Instead it was a low blow stating that we had one more mile of hiking to the campsite. I felt terrible for Logan. It was a hard enough hike for someone who was well, but it was even more exhausting for him with an upset stomach. Eventually, we made our way to the campsite and settled in for the night.

Once a day, a boat makes a trip across one of the large lakes to the other side of the park. It drops passengers off and picks passengers up taking them back to the buses. The last morning, we began our remaining 5 mile hike to the dock so we could make it back to the bus. The views were insane, I can’t even put them into words. As we climbed over our last hill, rain drops pelted our faces as we gazed upon a full rainbow.

On the right leg of the rainbow was the boat dock to take us back to civilization. It seemed like the end of a corny movie but it was true. The path through the valley took us straight to the end of a rainbow and onto a boat that not only took us back to civilization but overlooked the stunning majority of Torres Del Paine National Park. It was an unbelievable way to round out 2 nights and 2½ days of the most beautiful trekking imaginable. Though it wasn’t the easiest hike, I would do it over and over again. The scenery in Torres Del Paine National Park is like entering a whole new world that one could never comprehend unless scene first hand.

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After a day bus and spending the night in Puerto Montt, we caught a local bus to the nearby town of Puerto Varas. Puerto Varas is a larger town than Pucon and is also tucked away in the mountains with an immense volcano towering nearby. We stayed in one of the coziest hostels of the whole trip. Located at the top of the hill overlooking the town, our hostel had wood everything giving it a warm cabin ambiance. As if the wood theme wasn’t enough to make us feel like we were in a mountainous cabin, there was a sitting area wrapped around a wood burning furnace to keep everyone nice and toasty.

One of the highlights of the hostel was the movie nook. A comfy couch in front of a large flat screen TV preloaded with hundreds of new movies to choose. After our sprint through the first week of the trip, a few home cooked meals and movie time was a great way to relax in our down time in Puerto Varas.

Ever since my canyoning trip in Vietnam, I have wanted to do it again. I told Logan we had to do it before he went home. We tried booking it for day two in PV, but it unfortunately got canceled at the last minute. Luckily for us, we were able to go on our last day in Puerto Varas. With full body wet suites, we plunged into the ice cold mountainous waters and began to work our way down the valley. We slid down waterfalls, jumped off cliffs, and ended the excursion with a 115 foot abseil alongside a waterfall. I have to say, this trip definitely topped the canyoning excursion we did in Vietnam.

The following morning we caught a flight to the tip of the world, Punta Arenas so we could visit the famous Torres Del Paine National Park!

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Even though we were tired from the overnight bus, we caught a second wind with the amount of extreme activities Pucon had to offer. We decided to jump right into some fun and rented a kayak to take out on the lake. Heading out on the lake, we had a strong wind at our backs pushing us alongside the peninsula to our right with ease. We couldn’t get over the view to our left, a slightly active volcano puffing away as we paddled further into the lake. After we rounded the tip of the peninsula, we did a bit of cliff jumping before heading back. As soon jumped back in the kayak to head back, the wind switched directions and was again at our backs. It motored us all the way into and across the cove where our hostel was located.

After kayaks, we booked our first activity called hydropeed. Hydrospeed is basically white water rafting, except for one major component, the boat. Instead of riding in a large raft with other people, you ride solo, headfirst down the rapids with your chest atop a miniature inflatable raft and flippers on feet to propel you. It was an absolute riot to say the least. Rapid after rapid we floated down the river laughing the entire time and admiring the incredible views of the valley. There are only a few places in the world that offer hydrospeed, but I hope to get the chance to do it again someday.

The following day we planned a big hike with another friend we met from our hostel, Sabrina. We had a wonderful time getting to know Sabrina during our full day hike to the top of San Sebastion. The hike itself was fairly intense as I haven’t been doing a ton of cardio lately. It was nearly nine miles round trip and we climbed 3/4ths of a mile in vertical height. The payoff was incredible with a 360 degree view of mountains and volcanos in all directions. I never even realized you could be looking at so many volcanos from one lookout. We saw about 10 surrounding us that we could point out and were told that there were over 22 in the surrounding area. After a much deserved lunch, it was time for the long way back down the mountain.

A few more hours and we made it with a little extra time before our bus departed back to Pucon. We decided to go for a dip in the pristine lake at the base of San Sebastion to chill our muscles. It was one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever swam and a great way to top off our incredibly scenic hike.

The next day didn’t have the greatest weather forecast so we decided to forgo paying for an activity and weather dependent, venture out to find the Salto el Claro waterfall or as locals call it the “Hidden Waterfall”. The rain passed and we headed out of town on foot following a handmade map from the hostel. It seemed like a treasure hunt as we followed the ink path of the map. After a two hour hike out of town and up a steep road we were met with a field of grazing cows. It seemed like a living mural as clouds rolled through the fall color of the trees as we ventured down the pathway through the cattle. We jumped a fence and continued to follow the path down a very steep grade of what seemed like natural steps. Roots jutted out and were filled with soil creating a natural staircase down to the valley below. Instead of there being a treasure chest at the end of the map, we were met with a natural treasure. A cylindrical valley with moss and fern coated walls wrapped 180 degrees around a 250 foot tall waterfall.

After exploring around the bottom of the waterfall we hiked back up to visit the point of where the waterfall plummeted over the edge. Like I’ve said before, not many things scare me, except for heights. I think the adrenaline rush heights give me is what draws me to them so much. As I creeped out as far as I could over the ledge, I could tell I was making Logan a bit nervous as he tried to get a small rope out of his bag to tie to me. I got my adrenaline rush, some cool pictures, and it was time for us to head back to town.

On the way back, we decided to try our luck hitchhiking for the first time. We threw our thumbs up at the first car that passed us on the long dirt road and sure enough, they stopped. It was a Russian man who was building a house up on the hillside. He took us about half way back to town and we parted ways when he reached the Home Depot like store on the side of the road. He saved us a good 30-40 minutes of walking which ended up saving us some hassle. We were on a time schedule to catch a bus that was apparently full causing us to have to book an earlier bus. Luckily for the hitchhiking, we got back just in time to catch the earlier bus.

Time to head 180 Degrees South and head to PATAGONIA!!!!

P.S. Watch the documentary 180 Degrees South, it’s stunning and gives you a wonderful insight to the beauty of Chile.

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Logan and I arrived in Santiago early in the morning. We caught a cab downtown to our friend Elizabeth’s house. Elizabeth was a college roommate of our good friend Roze, and she graciously let us stay in her apartment. The apartment view was unreal looking out over a large section of downtown Santiago from the 21^st floor. I could have stayed and watched the city line all day but Logan and had to do some planning.

Our original plan for Chile was to head north towards the dessert since we were crunched for time. We decided that the south was calling our names. We did a some southern city research before heading out on foot to a lookout point above the city and before meeting up with Elizabeth and some of her friends for dinner party on the other side of town.

When we got to the dinner party, we were again greeted by an incredible view of Santiago from a high rise balcony. It was a very international gathering hosting people from England, America, and Chile. We spent the evening drinking wine and piscola. Pisco is a local liquor made from grapes and it is commonly served as a piscola (with coke) or even more popular pisco sour. Along with the drinks we were served several types of meats right off the grill. I couldn’t get over the view as the party continued and we even watched the moon rise. Just like a sunrise at dawn, the moon jetted up from the backside of the nearby mountain that towers over Santiago and illuminated the night’s sky. As the night continued, we made new friends and even made plans to head to Valparaiso with a local named Carlita the following morning. It was a night that I will not soon forget and one hell of a way to kick start the first night in Chile.

The next morning, we met up with Carlita and jumped on a bus to Valparaiso. Carlita can speak English, but not fluently. Logan speaks Spanish, but not fluently. As for me, my Spanish is comparable to a cave man making grunting noises. There was quite the language barrier between all of us, which was wonderful. Carlita was able to practice her English and Logan and I were able to practice our Spanish!

When we arrived in Valparaiso, we realized the city was much larger than we had thought. After a long walk up a steep incline heading away from the beach, we found our hostel. It was nothing too special, but was tucked away up on the hill in a very artsy area. After settling in for a bit we headed back down the hill to explore the coastal city. We got some road beers and meandered to the rocky shore to watch the sunset. With a beer in our hands, we practiced our foreign languages with one another. We then watched a group of seals fight over sleeping space on a concrete island right offshore just as the sun was lost over the horizon. When the fiery glow of the sun faded away, the city lights came to life behind us illuminating the ring of development around the bay.

The next morning we decided to head to a small town just outside Valparaiso, called Vina Del Mar. First thing we did was head to the beach but we had all of our luggage with us. We relaxed, got some sun, and tried to play Frisbee until all the stray dogs caught on and wanted in on the fun. Chile is FULL of stray dogs. They seem to be some type of communal pet. As you walk around town, one, or two, or five will join you on your journey and stick right by your side. On the beach we had three hanging out with us. After some beach time we decided to find some ice cream and relax in a park before we had to split ways with Carlita. Our time with Carlita was short, but it was wonderful to meet a local and visit another city together. Logan and I then grabbed some dinner and jumped on a night bus headed south to the city of Pucon.

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