Deserts, salt plains and higher altitudes

Having written the last blog post almost a month ago, I know I have a lot of catching up to do. I will continue from where I left off last and will just have to try my best to remember everything.

After my last blog post I chilled out in Santiago for some more days, visiting for example the Tupahue swimming pool on the mountain and some parks. Sometimes it is just good not to do anything for a couple of days, because sightseeing for days on end just gets boring. I also met an old friend from university times, which was great! She is working in Santiago at  the moment, and we ended up going to Valparaiso to meet some of her friends. So, I got one more night to see the nightlife in Valparaiso, which for sure I would not have done had I been there alone. The port city just turns a bit dodgy at night.

 

From Santiago I took a flight to the north of Chile, Calama, to visit this teeny tiny but VERY touristic town called San Pedro de Atacama. You would think that in the middle of the desert there is nothing, but there it was, this little buzzing town. Even some foreigners have been so infatuated by the place that they have stayed there to work. To give an example of how small the town is and what the atmosphere is like, I´ll tell you an incident that happened (and this wasn´t the only one!). On the first night I went to a restaurant which had a duo of guitar and percussion. Both guys, the other one Chilean and the other Spanish, were singing as well. The funny thing was that the next night I went to dine at another, much smaller place, and as the place was so full I asked to share a table with one guy sitting alone and it happened to be the Spanish percussionist! So, had a nice meal and a chat how he had ended up to play in San Pedro just a couple of months ago. 

The city centre of San Pedro.

Although incredibly expensive for a backpacker’s budget, San Pedro was wonderful in regards of both the people and the activities or tours you could do there. Already on the plane to San Pedro, I met a Chilean man around his forties, with a great sense of humor. We chatted for the whole way we travelled together which meant I had company for around the 5 hours of travelling from Santiago to San Pedro! At the hostel and the tours I also got to know absolutely amazing people. Guys, if you are reading this you know who and what I am talking about! And thanks to Sergio, Pedro and Patricia, I also improved on my Chilean accent, thanks guys! ;)

The salty Laguna Cejar in the middle of the desert.

Ok, about the sights then. In the city there is not so much to do, but you get full or half day tours to locations that are really close and definitely worth seeing. I think much nobody knows before going to San Pedro that there is actually a salt lagoon (Laguna Cejar) that has 30% more salt then the dead sea! That was definitely one of the highlights of San Pedro for me, as I have always wanted to go to swim in the dead sea. There are also small salt plains, geysirs (which unfortunately I did not visit due to my first traveller’s diarrhea), a so called moon valley and awesome look-out points to the desert. Also as there are no clubs in the town, people organize "desert parties" which means that there is a transfer to the valleys in the desert starting around midnight. I was really buggered as the one night we had planned to go there, the transfer did not work. So instead, we ended up going to the "beach" to have a party, which meant actually the river shore of a river that actually was dried up, hahahah... The last day I spent in San Pedro I went to relax at some thermals. Given that it is the Atacama desert, I was surprised how much water-related things there were to be seen…but nevertheless, and unforgettable experience, and I will definitely cherish San Pedro as one of my highlights from South America.

Sunset at Valle de la Muerte (death valley).

Higher altitudes and different shades of sickness

During the last past weeks I have also gotten my share of being sick, everything from stomach problems to altitude sickness. I experienced diarrhea already a couple of times in three weeks. Diarrhea itself I guess was to be expected at some point. After the second time only I started to get other symptoms too, so I went to see a doctor in Sucre (sorry to jump ahead in time - this was after already a week in Bolivia). Have to say that at least the hospital, even a public one, seemed to work amazingly well. Then again, I think everything in Sucre worked well in comparison to many other cities in Bolivia. Of course it has to be mentioned that it is very rare you will find a doctor who speaks english, but I was lucky enough to have walked in with my pocket dictionary, which came in handy in the waiting room. But yep, to the point. They found out I had caught a bacteria a bit similar to salmonella which spreads through dairy products. Actually this did not give me diarrhea but all the symptoms I thought I had due to diarrhea, even fever. So now I am on antibiotics, which I hate, but then again I am happy that this is being treated. Lesson learned: when in doubt, always see a doctor when travelling.

But this is not all. When I had a break from diarrhea, I got something else to keep me entertained, namely altitude sickness. From San Pedro I took a three-day tour to go to Bolivia and visit the Salar de Uyuni, world’s biggest salt plain. Before telling you the following, I want to say that the trip was absolutely amazing, the views were breathtaking and despite everything I highly recommend the tour to everyone! Just do not be as ignorant as me if you go.

So embarking on the trip to Bolivia, I thought I was prepared, having even bought coca leafs in San Pedro to relieve the symptoms you might get when rising to higher altitude. Turned out I was not. Personally, I blame the tourist agency for not warning us about what could and would actually happen – and I chose one of the most reliable ones! The thing was that during only one day, we rose up nearly 2000 meters, to over 4000 meters over sea level, on the very first day! Having looked up the recommendations later, to avoid symptoms you should not rise more than 500 meters a day. You do not get the symptoms immediately, so only by the sunset I started having a headache as did most of the other group too. For most people this is the only thing they get, but I was lucky enough to experience the nausea and vomiting too, which started in the night. At that point, I could have killed the tourist guide, whose only remark to my sickness was that “it’s just the altitude, you will feel better in a couple of hours once we go lower”. Lucky for him I did not even have the power to get out of the bed at that point. As for me, I was fortunate enough to be travelling with a wonderful group who helped me, felt for me and kept checking on me all the time. Thanks Nadia, Frank, Karin, Kevin, and Masako! Could not have wished for any better company to travel in! 

I do not know if it was the coca tea, the nausea tablet from Kevin or actually going to a bit lower altitude, but by lunch time I felt that much better that I could actually eat a little portion of rice. In the evening when we arrived to Uyuni I went straight to the farmacy to get medinice for the headache that still was bothering me. Uyuni was “only” 3600m high, so by the next day, with the help of the magic pills of the farmacist, I started feeling a bit more normal again. 

Laguna Blanca, one of the many lagoons...

Putting aside the one horrid night and the next day that took me to recover, the tour was spectacular. The feeling you have when driving through the desert and the mountains is just something you cannot explain. And you get a lot of lagoons. And I mean a lot. Telling the truth, I think after the third one the amazement factor was zero but I kept taking photos for the tour guide´s sake. I feel he was equally bored because every time when we arrived to a new spot, his words were "Chicos, llegamos aqui, pueden bajar y tomar fotos" (guys, here we are, you go and take fotos). But if you get a bit bored by the lagoons, the salt flat definitely blows your mind. Another thing that words nor photos can capture...

World´s biggest salt plain, as far as the eye can reach.

At the moment when I am writing this my trip to Bolivia is already over, but this country needs a whole different chapter. Will get on in soon though, I promise!

Chile and some reflections on the life of a backpacker

Entering a new country is always exciting. After Argentina I thought I had an idea of what to expect when coming to Chile. The thing is, you always have expectations, things that you read and the things that you´re told about the place. And after all, I had already lived three weeks in South America! But of course, the place will always have something else in store than what you´ve had in mind. And there is always that small culture shock you cannot avoid, no matter how much you prepare yourself.

Let´s start with the language (I personnally love comparing and listening to how people speak, it is such a deep part of the culture and even people´s personality). I had thought that I would have an easy time after finally gotten the hang of the argentinian accent. Oh how wrong I was. Chilean accent seems to be on a completely another scale of Spanish. Pronunciation is totally different, and of course people use a bit different phrases and even vocabulary. The good thing is that I at least have already gotten the hang of the everyday Spanish I need, so let´s say that it is only half as hard as I had it in Argentina. And it seems that learning to listen the new accent also gets easier all the time. Saying that, I still dread a bit what the language will be like once I get to Bolivia and Peru...

Also the atmosphere seems to be different here. It is hard to explain, but let´s say you can feel that you are in a different country. I was maybe expecting a bit more vibrant atmosphere than what it actually is (damn the stereotypes - of course not everyone dance samba on the streets :D). But then again, once you start to converge yourself in a conversation or you go and "compartir" (go out to eat and/or drink together), it is a totally different story. The people turn into this happy and sharing bunch. One thing that did NOT happen in Argentina but seems to be totally common thing in Chile, is that guys actually shout something to you on the streets. "Heyy, guapaa" or something alike is not unusual to hear. In Argentina you could maybe notice that the people did register you, but here they really let you know it. I think it was the first night that a car actually slowed down when I was walking on the street, and somebody rolled down the window and shouted me something, nearly giving me a heart attack. According to some Chilean girl I talked to at the hostel you should not feel scared, but of course you are not expected to answer either, just walk on (and maybe be proud of the attention). 

What else...I have to say I was a bit disillusioned by the plain architecture of Santiago (no offense, my chilean friends and Santiago fans!). I don´t know how I´d managed to imagine a completely different picture of the city. But it´s not that I do not like the city, it does have its highlights. Take the Bellavista area with awesome graffitis or the gourgeus Santa Lucia hill, for example. And I also went to dance salsa once already, an absolute blast! Over two hours without a break, you can imagine my feet were like jelly afterwards. Oh, and there I also got dragged into the first rueda of my life (salsa in a circle where you constantly change partners)! After the first shock it was incredibly fun.

I spent five days in Santiago before moving to stay at Viña del Mar, which is just next to the renowned port city Valparaíso on the coast. Awesome place, both cities. Valparaíso has an indescribable charm. The buildings, graffitis and hills are incredible. Viña del Mar, although only 15 minutes from Valpo, has a totally different feel. It is a clean and easy-going city, including lots of parks which have lead to the name "garden city". It also has a beach although the water is not warm enough to really swim in even in the summer. I was fairly lucky in my timing to visit the city, as there was some type of culture festival taking place. In Valparaíso there were a lot of art installations on the squares, and in Viña I got to see for example an dance of Rapanui, the people from the Easter Islands. Next I will still travel back to Santiago and from there on I hope to make my way up north.

Hostel life and other curiosities of the life of a backpacker

The hostels are of course an unseparable part of the backpacking life. Not surprisingly, the best side of hostels is the people. They are interesting, they have stories to tell and they are also interested in your story. The best is that you get great advice from the people on the road. That is also why I am not fixing my plans too early. Just looking at the map and picking a city can be fun too, but it is really nice to travel on recommendations from people who have actually seen the place and can tell you what it´s like. Of course, the people can turn into the worst side of the hostels too. Take for example a person who snores or just gets home at six am drunk and with no sense of how much noise s/he´s making. So far, I haven´t actually suffered that much from these things. Then again, I had an incident of one guy in the same room who started to flirt excessively. This really started to annoy me after a while, when he did not get my subtle hints that I was not interested. But in general people are really nice and polite in hostels, and extremely considerate! There seems to be these unwritten rules people follow which makes life much easier. And of course, you are allowed to open your mouth if something does not please you (although I have to say that I am fairly tolerant, as long as nobody messes with my stuff).

One funny thing about meeting people in hostels is the relationship you develop with them and how you get to know them. You basically know what nationality they are, where they are coming and where they are going, but it seems almost impossible to learn the names. When you speak with the people in your shared room, it is common to refer to the other people as for example "the girl from Argentina" or "the guy from Venezuela". The conversations you have with the people vary of course. You can get the normal chat about your travel itinerary, your life situation, the weather and even the economy of your country, and of course the differences of the place and your home country. The funny thing is, even these converstations can sometimes be incredibly interesting or hugely boring. Then there are the people with whom you just connect and end up talking for the whole evening, or what´s even better, end up doing stuff together. Of course you do not get these so often, but it happens. 

I noticed that around three weeks after starting my travel I had reached some routines and the things that had maybe seemed to be really annoying or time-taking were not so anymore. As one girl from one hostel said, I noticed I had finally turned on to "travel mode". There are a lot of signs for this. One is, for example, that you can sleep without anything bugging you. In Chile I noticed that even though I was in a room with four guys, having the window open and the traffic yelling all night, I still had a sound sleep. Another thing is that you get the hang of how to pack and unpack your bag. It is just like going to the toilet or having a breakfast. Of course the fact that I have a backpack of only 35 litres makes it a lot easier too. One more thing would be that asking for directions or "being lost" but still making your way through the city does not take you much effort. Orienting without a map has also gotten a lot easier. In about a day I can figure out more or less where is what, having my hostel as a base. And, I noticed I don´t worry about my passport or money all the time the way I did for the first week, although of course I still am being careful about them. At least these are some things that I noticed after a while.

In addition to meeting people at the hostel, you sometimes get into interesting encounters outside the hostel too. The most probable places are the cafes or restaurants, queues or even toilets. The funniest thing so far was my second night in Chile, when I went to eat at the famous Pio Nono street full of bars and mini restaurants or posadas, as they call them here. I had planned to dine alone, but happened to sit next to a table with four men who already had had a couple of beers and obviously were enjoying themselves. It didn´t take five minutes before they invited me to their table to have a drink, and I ended up dining with them. The guys were actually work mates - in a prison! So we had an interesting conversation about the criminals in Chile, some of the curiosities in Chile in general and of course about Finland. So, in conclusion I could sum up that when backpacking you never know who you are going to meet and what kind of day you are going to have when you get up in the morning!