Check this out... 2 blogs in one month!

Hey!

The internet connection here is super quick so I figured I should update my blog while I can. I am in San Pedro de Atacama right now which is located in the northern part of Chile. It is apparently the driest dessert in the world although I dont know if I believe that because it rained last night. Tonight I am going to try sandboarding which should be equal parts ridiculous and fun. Saturday I am doing a 3 day tour into Bolivia where I will see flamingoes, geysers and lots of cool stuff. I just left La Serena a few days ago which is basically a little fishing town 20 hours south of here. it was very cool to hang out at the docks because I got to see seals and sea lions. I was kind of giddy about it. Anyway, its crazy to think that time is already winding down for this trip... Getting to Venezuela before April 22nd seems a bit optimistic but I will see what I can do. I figure I´ll spend a bit of time in Bolivia then Peru and hopefully Columbia before I leave. I guess this is kind of a boring blog because I don´t have much to write but I´m really looking forward to seeing everyone back home as sad as I will be to leave here. It is freaking hot here but hopefully I will finally get my tan!

Take care,
me

So I may be the biggest blog slacker... ever.

It has been way too long since I last wrote. Things have just been so busy and the internet connections here are always a little bit sketchy. The past month or so has been full of random adventures. I did drink lots of wine in Mendoza and I also went to a huge soccer game. It was only a pre-season friendly match but I have never experienced anything like it before. The fans were crazy... It was Boca Jr vs. River which are Argentina´s two most popular teams. Of course I supported Boca and pretended like I was a hardcore soccer fanatic, although I´d never really heard of them before. From Mendoza I went to Bariloche and ate the best chocolate I´ve ever had in my life. Probably one of my favourite places on this trip has been this little hippie town called El Bolson. I stayed in this hostel out in the country where we hung out in hammocks and basically did nothing for 10 days.

As of recently, I have been in Patagonia. It´s so beautiful... mountains, glacier lakes that are bright aqua and lots of trekking. The Puerto Merino glacier is one of the most amazing things I think I've ever seen. We went out on a boat that passed right by it and you realize just how huge it is. I bought some camping gear here (which is kind of ridiculous considering I work at a backpacking store and should own all of the stuff already!) and I´ve spent some time camping out. I wasnt sure whether I would like camping alone at first but so far its been really good... It´s kind of a nice change from staying in hostels all of the time. I just went with a friend who I met at a hostel and spent 5 nights in Torres Del Paine which is probably the most beautiful national park in South America. It was amazing. The wind in Patagonia is like nothing I have ever experienced before. We had to rent walking poles which I was not very excited about because they´re so geeky but I was definitely glad to have them because I´m sure I would have been knocked over on several occassions. It´s been pretty cold outside being this far south so I am looking forward to heading north to Santiago later today. Haha, who would have thought that my beach vacation would turn into trekking through Patagonia?? It´s a 4 hour flight and then I will still probably have another couple of days on a bus heading north from there.

For the rest of my trip I think I will head to Bolivia and Peru... It should provide a good contrast in cultures as its still quite indigenous. Argentina and Chile are amazing but neither of them really provide a lot of culture shock. I have met some really great people from all over the world. I am actually really looking forward to getting back home and spending time with family and friends but this experience has been amazing. Haha, besides its great to get to skip a Canadian winter!

I posted a few pics on facebook, I think I have about a million more on my camera but the internet is so S-L-O-W so it takes forever to put them up. Anyway, I will try to be a bit more consistent with this blogging thing.

Chels

Probably one of my most favourite days in SA...

Hey!
So lots has been going on since I wrote last... I left Salta and arrived in Cordoba on Monday. This is the second biggest city in Argentina. There are 7 universities here so its loaded with young people and good bars. Anyway, yesterday we were going to take a bus to a place called Jesus Maria which is a jesuit mission site from the 1600s with some people who I´m sharing a room with but we decided to rent a car. We ended up spending the whole day driving through the Sierra mountains which was beautiful. We randomly came across some monkey conservatory thing for monkeys that have been abused or taken in by people as pets where they are rehabilitated before being released into the wild. It was so cool.. probably 50 monkeys. I want a pet monkey. At around 11pm we ended up in Cosquin which has a crazy folk festival every year. We stayed until about 2am- its hilarious there are still tons of little kids running around at that time! It was funny because everytime someone would ask us where we were from we would have to answer ¨Italy, Canada, Denmark and Austrillia¨.

So next I am off to Mendoza to drink some vino!!! I think I will take a bus there tonight. One of the guys in my room who I hung out with yesterday is also going so I´ll have a travel partner for a couple of days which will be nice.

Anyway, I will write again when more interesting stuff happens!

January 22- Trip Update

Hey!!! So I haven´t been updating this too much because the internet connections at the hostels I´ve been staying at are pretty bad. I am having a great time!! I have now visited Buenos Aires, Puerto Iguazu and I am currently staying in Salta. I visited the Iguazu falls which were absolutely incredible... I have lots of great pictures but I still have to find somewhere to burn them onto a disc before I can upload them. I arrived in Salta which is in north west Argentina two days ago. It was another 25 hour bus ride... It was hilarious, for breakfast they served cookies and a chocolate cake. So much for getting in shape in south america!! It´s actually really interesting, you have to cross a whole bunch of borders to get from Puerto Iguazu to Salta because its so close to Colombia and countries with drug problems. The guards get on the bus and check your passport and ask you questions... well lucky me, I was the only one to get pulled off the bus to get questioned. Haha, apparently I look suspicious? Yet another incentive to start learning Spanish! Anyway, that night I went to an ¨asado¨ which is a South American bbq at my hostel. My stomach was kind of upset afterwards but I´m pretty much used to it being ïffy¨all the time now...

Yesterday was probably my favourite day of my trip so far. We went on a 15 hour bus tour out to the desserts and salt flats. We saw a the 7 colour mountain and the scenery was unbelievable. Anyway, I am going to go explore this town.. I really like it here. I initially only booked 3 nights at my hostel but I think I will probably stay longer. There are a lot of Argentinians on vacation here so its kind of a more authentic experience than in Buenos Aires.

Miss you all!!!
xoxo,
Chels

Hey from BA!!!

So I am in Argentina and so far my trip is going awesome. The city isn´t too drastically different from Toronto (except for the fact that no one speaks English) so I think it was a good decision to start out here. The hostel I´m staying at is actually really nice. There is even hot water!! I´ve done lots of wandering around the city and checked out different neighbourhoods (Barrios). Some of them have been super nice (San Telmo, Centro) while others are definitely a little more sketchy (Recoleta). The weather has been crazy hot which I am loving... particularly considering I´ve heard its crazy cold with lots of snow at home. I´ve met a group of about 6 english speaking people who are staying at the hostel with me... It´s funny how quickly you get to know people when no one else around you speaks the language. Last night I was in the middle of the city having a beer on an outside patio at 2am and the crazy part was that it was packed. They eat super late here and I swear they don´t sleep... Dinner starts around 9 to 930pm. Tonight there is a pub crawl that the hostel is organizing that I am considering goign to but it doesn´t even start until 1am!!!

So, whats next? I think I will either head to Mandoza (the wine producing capital of Argentina) or Patagonia. You can actually do a bus ride through the dessert where you drive through nothingness for a couple of days... It sounds torturous yet I sort of want to do it....

Anyway that´s all for now!
Chels

And reality sets in...

So I am all packed and ready to head back to Ottawa after the holidays. I had a great time at home with the family... it was great to spend some time relaxing with the people I care about. I moved all of my stuff back home and I am going back to Ottawa with my backpack for my trip and a few pairs of jeans to wear to work. Haha, I packed my bag today and really wish that I bought a 65L but I know that once I'm on the road I'll be glad that I stuck to a smaller bag. Pretty much everything is set to go... I got all of my shots, sublet my apartment, have my tickets and travel insurance, etc, etc. I still have a bit of shopping to do but I'm sure I'll fit it in before I go. The buses are still on strike in Ottawa which is a bit of a pain in the ass but what can you do?

This week coming up should be super busy with work, New Years festivities and saying goodbye to everyone. I know its a short trip but there are definitely a lot of great people in my life who I am going to miss. I know that a lot of people probably think I am crazy for doing this but really, you only live once right?

Heading to S.A.

Hey!

So this blog will be devoted to my travelling adventures of this winter. First of all, if you are reading this I'm impressed... this part is boring so you must like me a lot to be reading about it!! So I am leaving for South America on January 5th, 2009 and flying back home on April 22nd, 2009. I am landing in Santiago Chile and plan on visiting Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela.

It has been a lot of work preparing to go- making housing arrangements, getting vaccines, booking tickets, etc. I have recently realized that despite the fact that I work at a backpacking store I actually own zero equipment so I have had to do a lot of shopping.

I would love any travel advice or tips from people that have been. I plan on keeping this fairly up to date while I'm away so if you are interested check back.

Chels :)