The Wanderer

Sorry my dears, I know I haven´t posted anything recently. It isn´t that I haven´t had the opportunity or, indeed, things to write about just that I haven´t had the motivation. The last week has seen me travel from Mendoza (wine country) to San Juan (more wine country) and back to BsAs. I´ve hit the six week wall and I need to take stock a little.

However, things are fine with me apart from some odd red spots on my left arm and both knees (possibly flea bites as you never know what you're going to pick up in a hostel) and a slightly dodgy right foot (all that exercise, I should know better!). I´ve been in BsAs less than a day and already I´ve done all my washing (thanks to A&P who I´m staying with), seen the dentist (she´s very pleased) and had my hair cut (so stop fretting mum). I´ve also reserved my tickets to Lima and Cusco which are my next two stops - Machu Picchu, here I come. Tomorrow I´ll confirm everything and, hopefully, catch up with L.

Watch out for posts on hostels, dogs and travellers.

Ciao darlings

On Travelling Alone

I've been considering the pros and cons of travelling alone and, stealing an idea from Diamond Geezer, here are my thoughts:

Cons

1. there's no-one to push you to try new things


2. you have to share a room with strangers or pay a higher price


3. no-one to talk to while you're travelling


4. no-one to help you pass that awful waiting time in between buses


5. no-one to watch your bags while you go to the loo at the bus station


6. no-one to spend time with at the hostel


7. you have to buy more food than you need (and risk it being nicked) or eat out a lot


8. you have to eat in restaurants on your own


9. you can't share the cost of things


10. you don't have anyone to share the experience with

Pros

1. you don't have to compromise on where to go or when


2. it's easier to get accommodation at short notice


3. you don't have to talk while travelling


4. you are forced to explore places you normally wouldn't set foot in (Hello, Comodoro Rivadavia Railway Museum)


5. you become very good at managing several large bags


6. you have to start talking to strangers in the hostel (that's how new friends are made)


7. you can eat whatever food you want, whenever you want


8. you don't have to worry about how to split the bill in restaurants (I didn't have desert [but you did drink all the wine])


9. many things have fixed costs regardless of number of people (and you don´t have to persuade the other person that it's worth it)


10. you don't have to share the experience with anyone

Going Underground

Some reflections on the city of Santiago de Chile (because there is more than one Santiago).

Santiago is a big city. Perhaps not the biggest in the world or even in South America but big all the same, and I´m sure, like all cities, it has it´s good areas and bad areas. Having been here only a short time, I´ve only seen a small part of the city but that small part has been consistently clean and spacious. I´m sure there is graffiti but I haven´t noticed any and there is very little litter or (BsAs favourite) dog debris on the pavements.

Unfortunately, like a lot of South American Cities, Santiago doesn´t have a lot for the tourist to do. The museums are well-intentioned but tend to be sparse, the historical buildings tend to be closed to the public or have been knocked down in the drive to modernise and the public spaces are small (more on that later). Shopping is the number one activity and I have been shopping today, buying presents for a selected few people whose name begins with Shiralee (so don´t get your hopes up).

Coming back to the public spaces, today I went to Parque O'Higgins (Bernardo O'Higgins is one of the heroes/creators of South America as we know it today - go here for more information - with the hope of seeing some reconstructed colonial buildings and a museum about the cowboys (vaqueros) of South America. Well I found the buildings and almost all of them had expensive tacky fried food restaurants in the ground floor (very disappointing) and no-one knew where the museum was (although they could direct me to the insect museum and the stuffed bird museum. The park itself looks quite big on the map but isn´t in real life. There is grass and trees and benches but, in contrast to yesterday´s park, it´s completely flat and featureless. There is an amusement park at one end but when you´ve done a 4x4 trek and are about to go over the Andes, amusement parks aren´t that appealing. I´ve just realised I haven´t told you about yesterday´s park - Parque Santa Lucia. Built on a rocky outcrop in the middle of Santiago, this is a park on the vertical, an excellent use of space and where I took the pictures of the fountain from. But getting up there in the heat - it almost drove me mad.

Anyway, all this (BsAs and Chile) has made me appreciate just how well we do parks in the UK. The main one in Ramsgate (Ellington Park) is a gem, with up bits and down bits, shady bits and sunny bits, bits with flowers and bits with trees. It has a bandstand and a play area for the kids (which I remember with great fondness). This was the park where my brother Sean broke his arm falling out of a tree (oops, was that a secret?) And the London Parks. Green Park with it´s flowerbeds and waterways, Hyde Park with the Serpentine and concerts, Regents Park with the rolling green lawns and the zoo and my all-time favourite Greenwich Park where we celebrated my 35th birthday with a picnic to remember. Greenwich Park has Roman ruins (now carefully reburied for the future), a herb garden, a rose garden, a deer enclosure, the Royal Observatory, views of The Thames, incredibly ancient trees and so much more. No matter how much you may hate the UK at times (and everybody does), we know how to do parks.

However, Santiago does do one thing oh so much better than the UK and that one thing is it´s underground system. Light and spacious, the trains themselves are more than adequate for the passengers being carried (admittedly I´ve only travelled outside of rush hour so that could be a different story). As the carriages are square (well, oblong, but you know what I mean), it is possible to stand upright anywhere inside. There is advertising but it isn´t intrusive. The underground maps are large and easy to read (ie not overwhelmed by the adverts alongside). The stations are high-ceilinged with well-lit, wide platforms and plenty of room to move around. The signs and directions at the stations are clear and easy to follow but should you be confused there are plenty of people in yellow metro polo-shirts eager to help you out. Interchanges are clearly signed, not only on the walls but on the floor as well. Nobody runs for a train, not because of the heat but because there will be another one along in a minute (and that´s out of rush hour) and when it gets too hot, the fans mist water onto the platforms to lower the temperature. My only quibble? There aren´t enough escalators - but then again that may have been a deliberate decision in order to save resources. I realise that the Santiago metro is new and London Underground is old but there are some simple lessons that could be learned here (or maybe they have, I haven´t been in the UK for two years). Mainly, the underground system here makes it a pleasure to explore the city and that has to be a bonus for any tourist industry.

Taps

So, what´s the absolute worse thing you can do when I´m using the computer and you are waiting...


tap your foot


It annoys me and makes me stubborn, as the young lady who´s been sitting not more than three feet away from me has found out over the last thirty minutes. If she´d been silent I would have finished a long time ago but, hey, looking at flickr photos is so much more fun when you´re winding someone up at the same time.

Feeling hot, hot, hot

I went for a walk around the centre of Santiago today. Busy, busy, busy. Santiago is a big city and I´ve seen about ten blocks of it. As well as busy, it´s incredibly hot here. I found myself going into department stores just to cool down. Admittedly the humidity isn´t as bad here as on Easter Island but I´m just not built for hot climates - and my hair, oh my poor hair. I'm seriously thinking of shaving it all off and starting again from scratch! I tried to buy a hat today (the one I bought in Temuco misteriously disappeared at Santiago bus station when I first arrived) but I couldn´t find anything that a) I liked and b) actually fit me. I know you all think I have a big head but when it comes to hats, not so much. My head is actually pear-shaped which is why a broad brim suits me but is also why most hats are too big.

Then, after a siesta (so vital in this heat) I went to an internet cafe and uploaded about half of my EI pictures. Go have a look. Eventually they will have descriptions and titles and everything you need to make sense of them. There might even be one of me with the Moai in there if you look carefully enough.

Tomorrow I buy my ticket to Mendoza and probably have another siesta. I love big cities but not when it´s hot!

On Sleeping with Strangers

As part of my "stretch the money as far as possible" campaign I've been sleeping with strangers. Stop panicking mum, I haven't turned to prostitution, just sharing a bedroom. The cheapest places to stay are in hostel dormitories ranging from two to twelve beds. The largest I've had to deal with on this trip has been a seven-bed all female dorm. I prefer all female dorms not because I'm shy but because men tend to drink more and, as a consequence, fart more - men smell!

Anyway, here's a round up of the common stereotypes I've been sharing with:

1) Early to bed, early to rise. This person is in bed by 11pm (I know that's late for some of you but this is South America where the night was made for partying) with all the lights turned off. This person sighs ostentatiously when you enter the room and covers their face with the pillow, sheet or arm (sometimes all three) but never think to buy an eyemask. The same person will be up at 7am, crashing around the room, turning on lights (but only long enough to wake you see what they are doing) before disappearing for the day on some exotic exploration.

2) Party animal. The exact opposite of number one. This person stumbles into the room any time between two and five in the morning, not necessarily drunk but giddy with the excitement of their evening. Unfortunately this same giddiness makes them as blind as a bat and gives them the skin of a rhinocerus, meaning they are impervious to the sighs, dirty looks and shouts of "Turn the f*****g light out". They fall into bed and sleep like a baby (until woken by number one).

3) What do you mean, all this space isn't mine? It is important when moving into a shared room to stake your claim to an area sufficient for your stuff. Generally a locker and bedside table is enough. Not for this one. Is that a spare milimetre of clear floorspace I see before me? Not when she's around. Rooms shared with this person could be used by the SAS as obstacle training courses.

4) Born in a barn, were you? This person does not understand the concept of closing a door behind them. When they stroll in late at night they leave the room door open, allowing the bright light from the hallway to illuminate the otherwise darkened room. When they go to the toilet in the middle of the night they leave the door open and then wonder why everyone has woken up and in the morning they leave the door open while their roommates sleep, exposing all those semi-naked bodies for the world to see. Unfortunately, most of these people seem to be French or Argentine.

5) The snorer. In my experience the snorer is the smallest person in the room. We fat people know we can snore and try not to (not always successfully, I conceed). However, the snorer denies any possibility and none of us are honest enough to raise the subject. In her defense, the female snorer has nothing on the male - you know who you are.

6) The friends. Now get your minds out of the gutter, by friends I mean friends, nothing more (there are private rooms for those who want them). They have shared the day's experiences and planned tomorrow's. Unfortunately, they will continue whispering about the self same experiences/plans long after the lights have been turned off. Nothing is more annoying that not being able to eavesdrop easily.

7. Me. I am working on cultivating all the worst characteristics of the above six in the hope that other people will refuse to share with me and I can have a room to myself without paying extra. Somehow, what with the rapid turnover, I don't think I'll be that successful but watch out when I get back to Europe.

Leaving on a jet plane

So, what are my abiding memories of Rapa Nui? I could be predictable and talk about the Moai and the petroglyphs - both of which are so fascinating that I bought a book. Or I could try to be a little unconventional and talk about the white sandy beach, hot sunshine, crashing waves and clear pure water (best swim I've had in ages). Or I could talk about the people, they truly are friendly and uncynical, I can see why tourists want to stay there (even though their options are limited). Or I could talk about the humidity which had me lying in a puddle most nights actually wishing I had air-conditioning (the work of the devil).

But really, my abiding memories of Rapa Nui will be the animals. The horses who roam freely in herds, stallion, mares, fillies, and colts (who have tails like foxes brushes). The chickens, with the fighting roosters (who start crowing at 3am and go on all day, the hens who have perfected the art of blending in and their chicks - how often nowadays do you see hens with their chicks? And the cows who look like real cows, bony hips and horns (and that's the females).

I don't want to detract from the human history but I think the current way of life has a lot to commend it.

Photo glitch

Arrgh, flickr is "having a massage" so no photos today - maybe Monday!

Tom´s Diner

Easter Island, Isla de Pascua, Rapa Nui, call it what you will, it is magical. When you say Easter Island everyone thinks ´heads´ but there is so much more to it and so much that is just not known.

I´ve been on two half-day and a full day tour and I think I´ve heard every possible theory plus some complete nonsense. Why would the Moai (heads) be moved face down when that makes them more vulnerable to facial damage? Who came up with this idea of stone hen-houses to store the chickens at night? and why, if they have no natural predators? That´s the problem with archeologists, if they don´t know they theorise (what you and I call "making it up"). However, the restoration is impressive.

Like most of you, I know nothing about Easter Island before coming here apart from "didn´t they use up all the tree so they died out when they had nothing left to burn" which, of course, is nonsense. It´s true the island was deforested but the local inhabitants were decimated first by internal wars when the island became overpopulated, then by Peruvian "traders" looking for slaves and finally by smallpox.

If you want to know more go here.

Genetic testing has shown that the Rapa Nui are decendants of the Polynesians and, probably, originally Asian. In one small victory for the native people, no-one who does not have Rapa Nui blood can own property on the island. That´s one of the reasons there are no five star resorts or huge tourist centres - I hope it always remains like this (obviously Chilean companies find a local partner but I think that the partner has to be the majority shareholder).

The people are laid back and friendly - I was sitting in a sandwich bar stuffing my face and this old guy came in (actually onto the terrace) to join his friend (who was either mad or buzzed), saw me and insisted on coming over to greet me with a kiss. It sounds weird but it was innocent. Then the owner of the sandwich bar told me his grandfather was English. He´d come here in 1947, knocked up one of the local women and disappeared - typical! One problem is how expensive everything is - we´re talking British prices (almost) three pounds for a sandwich, one pound fifty for a bottle of water. Ok, everything has to be imported but how the hell do the locals manage to live?

If you´re ever in this part of the world you should visit, just bring lots of money and plenty of digicamera memory.

Needles and pins

Oh, hello there. What day is it? I´m a little confused and I´ve lost track of the date. Oh well...

I´m on Easter Island (or Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui depending which language you use). I arrived yesterday and I´ve already seen my first Maoi. This afternoon I´m doing a tour and I´ll be doing another one tomorrow - as my good friend G once said "Why do it yourself? You´re on holiday and you´re paying for your leisure" I like not having to worry about driving, reading maps, remembering where I am or where I´m going. I like leaving that to the professionals. Ok, it can get a little crowded at times but as long as I get time to take photos and absorb some of the atmosphere, I don´t mind. After all, I am on holiday, why should I get stressed and why shouldn´t I contribute to the local economy?

Anyway, my photos of Valparaiso are up on flickr.com and I did get to ride the funiculars as well as walk the hills for several hours. The naval museum was interesting and had some beautiful stained glass windows. The hostel was pants but clean and quiet so I´m not really complaining. I had my first Pisco Sour (which, I think, is Peru´s national drink). Very interesting. At first you think "Nice, refreshing, not too sweet" then you notice your tongue and lips are tingling and five minutes later they are numb and you are feeling tipsy. Still, as fast as it comes on, it disappears. Lovely - must try that again.

On my last full day, I set out to find the old prison but first I went to the "Monumento A Los Heroes" which commemorates the war between Chile and Peru in the 1800´s. Very impressive and I even managed to get a photo without any tourists but with a couple of sailors. I don´t know if they were supposed to be guarding the monument, providing information or just photo opportunities but I did notice how much they enjoyed having their photo taken with the tourists. From there I went up a funicular but I kind of chose the wrong one (oops). So, making the most of it, I decided to walk from one hill to another. On the map it looked easy... well you know me and maps. I did walk for about three and a half hours. I didn´t find the old prison but I did follow the signs to La Sebestiana. This is one of the former homes of Neruda (Chile´s Nobel Prize winning poet). The signs indicated it was just around the corner. It wasn´t. Two hours later I finally roll up at the gates to find that it´s shut on Mondays (so that must have been on Monday). I took a couple of photos through the gates just to prove I´d been there and then started the long weary walk home. I had noticed buses and collectivo taxis along the way but they all seemed to be going in the wrong direction. Anyway, eventually I found myself on the corner of a street I recognised just as a trolley bus appeared, so I hopped on (only for a couple of stops). I can now say I´ve ridden a trolley bus - yeah me!

Remember, the photographic evidence is on flickr!

Driving dirty

You may remember that back on 21/11/07 I made some observations about BsAs drivers. (I would link but I can't get my head around the code so you'll just have to look for yourselves) anyway, since I've been in Chile I have been consistently impressed by not only the standard of driving but also the care and courtesy shown by drivers to pedestrians.

First, let's talk about the standard of driving. How can you not be impressed by a bus driver who casually reverses (yes, reverses) his bus onto a RORO ferry, guided by little more than a few hand gestures and a couple of planks of wood. Ok, he does this several times a day but no bumps, no swerves, no scrapes and room for passengers to get off while the boat is moving.

Secondly, long distance bus drivers who aren't allowed to drive for more than five hours straight or at more than 100kph (and stick to the rules) and, despite hold-ups due to traffic accidents, still manage to get you to your destination on time.

Thirdly, traffic lights which tell pedestrians how long they have to wait for the green man - and drivers who don't think the amber is a signal to speed up.

Fourthly, local bus drivers who not only look at your map but point out where they are going and drop you off between stops in the right place.

And finally, (and I'd forgotten about this until I looked through my photos) 4x4 drivers who put the car into drive and then get out and walk along side as it takes itself for a little drive (OK that was in Argentina but...)

Two wheels or four madam?

I spent this afternoon wandering around Valparaiso looking at but not being able to ride the funiculars. For some reason, every one I found was shut. I don´t know if that´s because it was Saturday afternoon and siesta time or something else but, no doubt, things will become clearer over the next couple of days.

After a great lunch of eel soup (sounds weird I know but Chile does some great seafood dishes) I ended up in a plaza, catching my breath and watching the world go by. And the world seems to like all things wheeled. In the plaza there were all types of bicycles for hire, mainly for the children but some adults were up for it. Two, three and four-wheeled bikes mostly with horns, being driven by children from aged three upwards. In fact one young girl (probably about four years old) had her own Disney battery-powered scooter. I took some photos of the bikes but not the children (just to be on the safe side).

I walked home but took the easy route - no way am I climbing that hill again!

On long distance bus travel in Chile

A few tips for those of you contemplating a long distance (by which I mean over four hours) journey by bus.

1. Pay more for the most comfortable seat possible, the longer the journey the more you´ll appreciate it.

2. Choose a window seat, if nothing else you´ll have something to look at. Otherwise your neighbour will close the curtain because he/she has seen it all before, doesn´t like the sun and wants to sleep.

3. Sit as far away from the toilet as possible. The foot traffic up and down the aisle is quite remarkable, I sometimes think bus passengers are only allowed to travel if they can prove they have bladders the size of peas. The toilets are small and will start to smell after a couple of hours.

4. Get off the bus at every opportunity. The bus will stop at fairly regular intervals to let off and take on passengers. If this happens at a terminal take advantage of the fact and stretch your legs. The driver may well put a clockface in the front window telling you when the bus is setting off again, so you have a chance to go to the loo (much nicer in the terminal), buy some food or sweets or just generally shake the cramps away. Do not worry about the bus leaving you behind. The conductor does a headcount shortly after the bus departs and will notice your absence (not that I´d recommend trying this).

5. Take food with you. Yes, I know I said you could buy food at the terminal but do you really want to? The choice will be limited and expensive, and you don´t know just how long that cheese sandwich has been sitting there.

6. Take water with you. Sounds obvious doesn´t it? You´d be surprised at how many people take fizzy drinks and then wonder why they are so thirsty all the time.

7. Music is a must. My limited experience has suggested that Chilean bus drivers don´t play music and nothing helps to pass the time like listening to your favourite tunes - just don´t sing along.

8. If you can, read a book. I find the best type of book for these journeys is the one you´ve been meaning to read but have put off because it´s a bit daunting (thick, serious, etc.) If it´s the only thing you´ve got then you´ll read it and probably enjoy it.

9. Do Not use the time to think about life issues. You will just become frustrated and depressed (or maybe that´s just me).

10. Do not travel at night unless you can afford the best seats. Unlike Argentine semi-cama buses, Chilean have four seats across the bus and when the passenger in front reclines his seat, his head will be in your lap. If he has done this before you board, you won´t be able to use the leg rest and won´t be able to stretch your legs.

Penguins

Penguins together forever
Originally uploaded by Shiralee Matthews

I´ve been looking through my photos so far, and yes they are raw and unedited - in fact some of them are difficult for viewers to identify (no time to add titles and explanations). However, here is my favourite from Peninsula Valdes. What do you think they´re saying?

The wheels on the bus go round and round

So I made it to Temuco which is not much of a town, more of a transport hub on the PanAmerican Highway. Now when you hear PanAmerican Highway you think wide, straight, long and busy. Well, it´s one of those. Here in Temuco it´s more like the local high street, lined with shops and with traffic lights every block which was very good for me because it meant the bus could drop me off at the end of the road my hostel is in - no going all the way to the terminal to come back again. Also I can now say I´ve travelled on the PAH.

Now my plan was to bus it to Temuco then catch a train to Santiago, this being one of the few long distance train journeys you can do in South America. That was the plan. Until I discovered that the train only runs once a week, on Sundays and doesn´t start again until Sunday 20th January. 17 days from now. Bang goes that plan.

So tomorrow night I'm catching another bus this time to Santiago from where I hope to go immediately to Valparaiso for a couple of days. I intend to potter around and rest up as my cold has come back again - that´s the trouble with long distance travel, you keep rebreathing the same air - especially bad if your neighbours have onion sweat, stinky feet or a cold!

Update

All my photos are now on flickr and I´m off to Temuco today (ten hours on an old-fashioned bus, wish me luck)

Seafood - eat food

Well, after spending a quiet day at the hostel yesterday (with a short walk in the morning and another in the evening) I was up and out early(ish) today. Along with someone staying at the hostel I caught a bus to the small island of Quinchao where we wandered around the town of Achao. After looking at the wood-shingle church (and hurrying out as a funeral started) we went to the seafront and chilled out. We also had lunch there - a beautiful seafood soup, chock full of salmon, hake, mussels and other bits and pieces, not greasy or salty and just perfect.

From there we took the bus back to the main island of Chiloe and stopped at Dalcahue to look at their church, again wood shingles but different in design and execution. Dalcahue is busier than Achao but that´s not saying much, mostly its pedestrian traffic and buses. However, we kept bumping into people who are staying in this hostel - great minds think alike, I guess.

I haven´t been able to upload my photos recently but I´ll try today or tomorrow so watch that flickr.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my family, friends, people I once knew, those I know now, those I´ll know in the future and even those I´ll never know.

I wish and hope nothing but the best for all of you.