Waterfalls, Frustrations
Last night Kristin and I got back from our 4 day trip to Southern Chile. It was quite an experience. The trip had some very high highs and some very low lows, which makes it hard to come up with any overall response to it, other than I'm very glad I went, but I was also very glad to get home last night, take some deep breaths, and relax! This trip confirmed my belief that a) Chilean cities (other than Valpo) are boring, b) the Chilean outdoors is absolutely fantastic and c) getting from the cities to the outdoors is really difficult. I have some pictures proving just how unattractive and boring the cities we went to were, but I'll spare you and just show the pretty outdoorsy pictures.
Salto de Laja! The Laja river drops over 50 meters here, making a beautiful waterfall that is supposed to look like a miniature Iguazú Falls.
Here I am hiking along the Río Laja to get closer to the falls.
After a beautiful morning exploring the waterfalls, Kristin and I went back to Chillán to have lunch in a vegetarian restaurant called "El arcoiris." It was one of the best meals I've had in Chile. Sadly, after this lunch, our food situation went down hill, and we ate avocados and bread every meal for the next two days!
We went with a small group of Germans and a really cool guide (nicknamed El pato, "the duck") to Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas. The Siete Tazas are seven huge bowls of water connected by small waterfalls. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture. This is Salto Velo de Novia, or Bride's Train Falls.
A very happy Julia. I loved this place--sooo beautiful!
Beautiful, clear mountain water.
Scrambling over rocks. Li, Nadia, and El pato.
Lunch break!
La cordillera de los Andes. The Andes.
Two tires blow out on the way back to Talca. We sat along side the road for 6 hours while El pato tried to find a phone, a rancher with a spare tire, anything. As it got dark, we decided we should hitchike back, since our only other option would be to try to find a rancher with a spare room, and this seemed unlikely. But since no cars passed going our direction for hours upon hours, we were pretty much stranded. We finally got home at 1 in the morning, absolutely exhausted.
Since we got home so late Sunday night, we weren't able to go to Lircay early Monday morning as planned. Tired and sick of eating avocado and bread sandwiches, we decided to head home. Here is a view of rural southern Chile from the bus window. You can see the Andes in the background and political grafiti (the presidential elections are coming up) in the foreground.
Salto de Laja! The Laja river drops over 50 meters here, making a beautiful waterfall that is supposed to look like a miniature Iguazú Falls.
Here I am hiking along the Río Laja to get closer to the falls.
After a beautiful morning exploring the waterfalls, Kristin and I went back to Chillán to have lunch in a vegetarian restaurant called "El arcoiris." It was one of the best meals I've had in Chile. Sadly, after this lunch, our food situation went down hill, and we ate avocados and bread every meal for the next two days!
We went with a small group of Germans and a really cool guide (nicknamed El pato, "the duck") to Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas. The Siete Tazas are seven huge bowls of water connected by small waterfalls. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture. This is Salto Velo de Novia, or Bride's Train Falls.
A very happy Julia. I loved this place--sooo beautiful!
Beautiful, clear mountain water.
Scrambling over rocks. Li, Nadia, and El pato.
Lunch break!
La cordillera de los Andes. The Andes.
Two tires blow out on the way back to Talca. We sat along side the road for 6 hours while El pato tried to find a phone, a rancher with a spare tire, anything. As it got dark, we decided we should hitchike back, since our only other option would be to try to find a rancher with a spare room, and this seemed unlikely. But since no cars passed going our direction for hours upon hours, we were pretty much stranded. We finally got home at 1 in the morning, absolutely exhausted.
Since we got home so late Sunday night, we weren't able to go to Lircay early Monday morning as planned. Tired and sick of eating avocado and bread sandwiches, we decided to head home. Here is a view of rural southern Chile from the bus window. You can see the Andes in the background and political grafiti (the presidential elections are coming up) in the foreground.
posted by Julia | 4:01 AM
3 Comments:
I love the water! The Reno Gazette Journal had an interesting article on the woman presidential candidate there. Of course I can't remember her name. Does it seem like she is quite popular? The article made one believe she could win the election.
To a.margie and Julia: I mailed that article on to you, Julia, but I only managed to get it off this Monday just past. So it's been sitting around at everyone's house, Margie! :) Spy Girl
Hey. The woman's name is Michelle Bachelet, and it really does seem like she will win. My host family supports Piñera, the center-right candidate, but nearly everyone else I've talked to is planning on voting for Bachelet. A socialist woman president in conservative, catholic Chile is quite a big deal and its an exciting time to be here. Here's an article I found about Bachelet online:
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Despite a subdued performance in a major televised debate, Socialist Michelle Bachelet stayed well ahead in the presidential race, polls and analysts said.
Bachelet, a former health minister and defense minister, is polling at about 47 percent ahead of December 11 elections. If she wins, Bachelet would be Chile's first woman president and the fourth consecutive leader from the center-left coalition that has run Chile since Augusto Pinochet's 17-year dictatorship ended in 1990.
Much of her popularity is due to her charisma and ability to connect with people from all walks of life, qualities that did not shine through during the debate.
The one-hour debate on local television and Spanish-language CNN on Wednesday night, centered on crime, reforming Chile's expensive private pension system, and Chile's relations with neighbors.
"(Bachelet) wasn't perfect ... her smile was reserved, she was firm on one or two basic points. Nothing more. It was just enough -- right at the edge -- so as not to break the spell," said Carlos Pena, dean of the Diego Portales University law school in an opinion column.
If Bachelet, of Chile's ruling center-left coalition, does not win more than 50 percent of the vote in December she goes to a runoff, most likely with opposition conservative Joaquin Lavin, who has been slipping in polls recently, or another right-wing candidate, businessman Sebastian Pinera.
Lavin and Pinera are tied at approximately 20 percent while far-left candidate Thomas Hirsch is polling at less than 5 percent.
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