Cuzco must be the most expensive place i´ve visited, or at least up there with 1st world prices. Street touts abound and there´s no way virtually of conversing with someone without it being a business transactions. Understandably we´ve got tourist money entering the developing world and who would blame any of the locals in wanting to make a buck, but it doesn´t suit me if all i do is book overpriced bus rides to ruins after ruins without having a good ol chat with whoever has the time and inclination to want to share some words with me, dunno...
But i made it the Cuzco, the ancient centre of the Inca Empire, and to Machu Picchu, another one of its wonders. Learned a bit about what they were about but since the Spaniards began destroying everything they lay eyes on, little knowledge of what they were all about remains, most of it being speculation.
By the way, being in the southern hemisphere Peru is in summer except this region which is in one of its 2 seasons, the rainy season, so it´s raining loads. In the mountains and visiting Machu Picchu, i spend most of the time in the clouds and wait patiently for them to lift and then magically i´m in the junggle... And how hard did i laugh when i found out the it´s snowing in melbourne for Christmas!!!
Don´t really know where next, although Colombia is calling my heart.
jueves, diciembre 28, 2006
viernes, diciembre 22, 2006
The road never ends, but my savings will
So I get to the valley and sweet little ol town of Cafayate and its dozens of vineyards to visit and wine taste. Standing on the edge of this massive dry valley with pockets of green and with a backdrop of the Andes, needless to say spectacular. Got up in the morning, bought some wine, slab of meat, salt and some tomatoes we took a short drive to where some told up we could climb and reach a river to take a swim. I don´t like bragging about going where no tourists goes, cos what the hell am i anyway, but we were the only ones, with Julian the local tourist who carried his barbeque grill and meat up a mountain in true argentinian style, made a fire and we ate the most tender beef you can find on the planet. Meanwhile some local kid were swimming in the canal and barely watching us go by.
A young mountain man comes by (what did he do really but live and wonder the mountain i don´t quite know) but kindly told us to take our rubbish with us - US! the only ones with containers to collect our ciggarret buts in, let alone other rubbish, and let me remind you that the keep australia clean campain never made a south american version. Anyway, he sat and shared with us and we quickly became friends. Next things you know he´s taking us to up the river where we find a mini waterfall with freaky cold water but with no other option other than to go right in it... little things make you happy to be alive. But alas, the day ended, we saw him off and ended up at a Bodega (winery) to dry the spectacular whites, a specialty of the region.
And then there´s the drive to Salta. We went through these mountain ranges that look nothing like mountain ranges, Las Quebrada de las Conchas (or de Cafayate). How they were formed over millions of years i won´t get into, but suffice to say i saw shapes that that don´t make sense, colours of pink, purple, yellows, blues and greens all on these rocks that look like a napolitana ice-cream scoop. Getting to towns and cities now is a let down, like arriving in stinking hot Salta and getting stuck there cos we couldn´t get our connecting but across the boarder to Chile, although it was quaint.
Seeing we now had 3 days to kill we decided to go to a smoky little village a couple of hours north, although with our bus going at 20km/hr at times, it took us 3. There again was spendour. Cool and unassuming Tilcara happened to be quoted in the guide books and was still coping with its newly found fame, yet not spoilt yet. Sometimes when your on the road a lot and sharing one too many bathrooms it´s such a treat to find a nice peaceful place, so missing our bus and getting stuck in Tilcara was a godsent. It was truely sad to leave that place but we had a date to meet.
Drove through the Andes again, passing layers of mountains and several salt lakes, we arrive to dusty San Pedro de Atacama, Chile once again. It took a whole day but we were forced to get on the bus again within hours to get to Arica, bordering Peru, because there wouldn´t be another bus with seats for days, so we made the gruelling overnight bus ride. Arica didn´t say much to me and it was only recovery time there although we did get heavily wasted on our last night there. A bit of a mistake cos we had to get to the bus station in the morning to get our dodgy tickets to Cuzco. 9 uneccessary hours of waiting in our first Peruvian terminal and then the overnight ride from hell, many swartzerneger films, and 30 hours later we are here in very cold Cuzco, and guess who´s not well dressed for the cold.
It´s christmas eve an i´ll be happy to finish my coca tea, get some warm tucker in me, have a shower and and go to bed.
Merry Christmas!
A young mountain man comes by (what did he do really but live and wonder the mountain i don´t quite know) but kindly told us to take our rubbish with us - US! the only ones with containers to collect our ciggarret buts in, let alone other rubbish, and let me remind you that the keep australia clean campain never made a south american version. Anyway, he sat and shared with us and we quickly became friends. Next things you know he´s taking us to up the river where we find a mini waterfall with freaky cold water but with no other option other than to go right in it... little things make you happy to be alive. But alas, the day ended, we saw him off and ended up at a Bodega (winery) to dry the spectacular whites, a specialty of the region.
And then there´s the drive to Salta. We went through these mountain ranges that look nothing like mountain ranges, Las Quebrada de las Conchas (or de Cafayate). How they were formed over millions of years i won´t get into, but suffice to say i saw shapes that that don´t make sense, colours of pink, purple, yellows, blues and greens all on these rocks that look like a napolitana ice-cream scoop. Getting to towns and cities now is a let down, like arriving in stinking hot Salta and getting stuck there cos we couldn´t get our connecting but across the boarder to Chile, although it was quaint.
Seeing we now had 3 days to kill we decided to go to a smoky little village a couple of hours north, although with our bus going at 20km/hr at times, it took us 3. There again was spendour. Cool and unassuming Tilcara happened to be quoted in the guide books and was still coping with its newly found fame, yet not spoilt yet. Sometimes when your on the road a lot and sharing one too many bathrooms it´s such a treat to find a nice peaceful place, so missing our bus and getting stuck in Tilcara was a godsent. It was truely sad to leave that place but we had a date to meet.
Drove through the Andes again, passing layers of mountains and several salt lakes, we arrive to dusty San Pedro de Atacama, Chile once again. It took a whole day but we were forced to get on the bus again within hours to get to Arica, bordering Peru, because there wouldn´t be another bus with seats for days, so we made the gruelling overnight bus ride. Arica didn´t say much to me and it was only recovery time there although we did get heavily wasted on our last night there. A bit of a mistake cos we had to get to the bus station in the morning to get our dodgy tickets to Cuzco. 9 uneccessary hours of waiting in our first Peruvian terminal and then the overnight ride from hell, many swartzerneger films, and 30 hours later we are here in very cold Cuzco, and guess who´s not well dressed for the cold.
It´s christmas eve an i´ll be happy to finish my coca tea, get some warm tucker in me, have a shower and and go to bed.
Merry Christmas!
sábado, diciembre 16, 2006
Long busrides and sore bums
Made it to Iguazu, and indeed it is the most spectacular waterfall in the world. Stayed at the rock-star hotel, cold beer on the side of the pool and all. But had to move on. Even poped over to Brazil for the day and overdosed on juice, can´t get enough of their mixes.
Theresa and i headed northwest to some of the most varied and spectacular landscape imaginable. Ditched the big city of Tucuman and went straight to little valley called Tafí del Valle, 28 hours later on a bus, hense the sore bottom. (On the bus we played bingo and after the 1st 3 winners couldn´t claim their prize because they couldn´t come out with an obligatory joke, i was 3rd runner up and even though i couldn´t come up with one either, i gave them a run down of my life - another joke and won the prize - a bottle of wine with the bus company´s name on it..)
In Tafí is where my holidays really started. Small town, no noise, no fumes, no rude people, just blue skies fondled by big cottonwool clouds which kept creeping over the mountains that surrounded the valley. We even ditched the 2 hostels available there and opted for the one of the locals, Julián, who had a quaint little place in his backyard, accommodation that would fit max of 3. oh boy did i relax, but i was still suffering from sitting-in-bus-too-long syndrome so we walked up a little hill and waited 20 minutes from when we saw the clouds come over the mountains till the came and washed over us literally - so we were in the clouds!! (no photos, camera´s broken) We loved it, but seeing we were on a tight schedule to get to Cusco by the 24th, and go through the province and then Chile, we had only 3 days there. The time we have won´t do the zone one ounce of justice so we restricted ourselves and selected 2 more places to see.
So when we were about to leave Tafí Julián convinced us to stay another night and accompany us for 3 days up to Salta, it seems he had nothing better to do. He began by taking us around the town and to his friends´ houses up the mountain where they had etched a simple existence, producing their own food often, making arts and crafts (artesanias) and basically living where they could wake up everyday and kiss the sky, wet their feet in the river and contemplate the sound of the wind. Well, i´m no hippy fan, but these were the real Macoy and i liked them. Doors were open everywhere we went and you know country folks, they´re so fucking friendly and generous it just spins you out sometimes. So we crashed that night at his mate´s place seeing the cottage we had was taken after roast chicken and vegies and some of the locally produced wine.
Then the road trip starts. We left lucious water-abundant cool Tafí and over the mountain 50 kms or so later we´re in desert country, arid and more cacti than you can poke a prick with. Keep in mind we´re in the outback, folks are Country and life is quite cruel, but people don´t look at us funny even though we got superduper hiking boots on, a backpack and sitting in the town square, under a tree at least, when everyone else is having a siesta inside. This is Amaichá del Valle, a hidden village, to wonder down and bump into one of the most incredible museums or indigenous exhibitions i have ever encountered - yes, in the middle of nowhere i tells ya! The most impressive part was it´s construction with coloured rocks forming patterns on the grounds, walls, and the sculptures over a huge area.. can´t do it justice, you´ll have to see photos.
Julián picks up his stash and we head to Quilmes, the abandoned site of the tribes-peoples, called Quilmes, who maintained their fort in this monstorous valley amoungst other nations. They resisted and managed to fight off the Inkas and also the Spanish invadors for about 150 years, until they were overpowered and then they were taken to Buenos Aires on foot (a 30hour+ bus ride so imagine walking it in chains). The irony is that although they were annihilated eventually, the place where they they were brought is now their name´s sake, and it is also the site of the biggest brewery in Argentina (i think), making it the most drunk beer: Quilmes. Funny how once your dead you´re ants-pants, people will pay to see where you lived, although before they would´ve promoted a policy of destroying you and your evil ways; and once your people have been masacared they´ll take your name, cos it seems trendy enough and name a beer after you (i suppose some would take that as a compliment huh?), so cheers!
Stay tuned for next installment, Cafayate to come...
Theresa and i headed northwest to some of the most varied and spectacular landscape imaginable. Ditched the big city of Tucuman and went straight to little valley called Tafí del Valle, 28 hours later on a bus, hense the sore bottom. (On the bus we played bingo and after the 1st 3 winners couldn´t claim their prize because they couldn´t come out with an obligatory joke, i was 3rd runner up and even though i couldn´t come up with one either, i gave them a run down of my life - another joke and won the prize - a bottle of wine with the bus company´s name on it..)
In Tafí is where my holidays really started. Small town, no noise, no fumes, no rude people, just blue skies fondled by big cottonwool clouds which kept creeping over the mountains that surrounded the valley. We even ditched the 2 hostels available there and opted for the one of the locals, Julián, who had a quaint little place in his backyard, accommodation that would fit max of 3. oh boy did i relax, but i was still suffering from sitting-in-bus-too-long syndrome so we walked up a little hill and waited 20 minutes from when we saw the clouds come over the mountains till the came and washed over us literally - so we were in the clouds!! (no photos, camera´s broken) We loved it, but seeing we were on a tight schedule to get to Cusco by the 24th, and go through the province and then Chile, we had only 3 days there. The time we have won´t do the zone one ounce of justice so we restricted ourselves and selected 2 more places to see.
So when we were about to leave Tafí Julián convinced us to stay another night and accompany us for 3 days up to Salta, it seems he had nothing better to do. He began by taking us around the town and to his friends´ houses up the mountain where they had etched a simple existence, producing their own food often, making arts and crafts (artesanias) and basically living where they could wake up everyday and kiss the sky, wet their feet in the river and contemplate the sound of the wind. Well, i´m no hippy fan, but these were the real Macoy and i liked them. Doors were open everywhere we went and you know country folks, they´re so fucking friendly and generous it just spins you out sometimes. So we crashed that night at his mate´s place seeing the cottage we had was taken after roast chicken and vegies and some of the locally produced wine.
Then the road trip starts. We left lucious water-abundant cool Tafí and over the mountain 50 kms or so later we´re in desert country, arid and more cacti than you can poke a prick with. Keep in mind we´re in the outback, folks are Country and life is quite cruel, but people don´t look at us funny even though we got superduper hiking boots on, a backpack and sitting in the town square, under a tree at least, when everyone else is having a siesta inside. This is Amaichá del Valle, a hidden village, to wonder down and bump into one of the most incredible museums or indigenous exhibitions i have ever encountered - yes, in the middle of nowhere i tells ya! The most impressive part was it´s construction with coloured rocks forming patterns on the grounds, walls, and the sculptures over a huge area.. can´t do it justice, you´ll have to see photos.
Julián picks up his stash and we head to Quilmes, the abandoned site of the tribes-peoples, called Quilmes, who maintained their fort in this monstorous valley amoungst other nations. They resisted and managed to fight off the Inkas and also the Spanish invadors for about 150 years, until they were overpowered and then they were taken to Buenos Aires on foot (a 30hour+ bus ride so imagine walking it in chains). The irony is that although they were annihilated eventually, the place where they they were brought is now their name´s sake, and it is also the site of the biggest brewery in Argentina (i think), making it the most drunk beer: Quilmes. Funny how once your dead you´re ants-pants, people will pay to see where you lived, although before they would´ve promoted a policy of destroying you and your evil ways; and once your people have been masacared they´ll take your name, cos it seems trendy enough and name a beer after you (i suppose some would take that as a compliment huh?), so cheers!
Stay tuned for next installment, Cafayate to come...
martes, diciembre 05, 2006
I´m outta here
Did i mention i quit my job last week and in a frantic rush to pack all my things away and head for the road?
It´s home time, and i never thought i´d feel the urge but after 7 years of being on the road, on and off (cos even in melbourne i was transient, owned a bed and that was all)i´m looking forward to being in my slow, peaceful and boring hometown. It´s gotta be done. It seems that in the last year all the things that excited me about this life of mine have taken a back seat, aren´t tantalising me, aren´t filling me with purpose and new insights. And all those other things, that were always there but they just weren´t important to me, have come to the foreground, like dirty lonely roads, incomprehensible behaviour, unatainable goals, terrible beds, and the endless stream of housemates..
i´m coming home to roost, is all.
But before that, with a mate, I´m going to one of the most fabulous waterfalls in the world, Iguazu, then hop around the north of Argentina, cross into the desert of Chile - yes again, but very briefly - to then enter Peru, skip into a couple of places in Bolivia, hense my frantic race to get vaccinated today, visit a mate, then back into Peru, to Lima, visit a friend and then perhaps hooking up with another couple of mates from here and make it to Colombia, where i can find lots of mates i hope, and then if i find i´m really blessed, Rio de Janeiro. Then again, i may get pooped after the first leg and just come home.
I´m off in 3 days, here it goes!
It´s home time, and i never thought i´d feel the urge but after 7 years of being on the road, on and off (cos even in melbourne i was transient, owned a bed and that was all)i´m looking forward to being in my slow, peaceful and boring hometown. It´s gotta be done. It seems that in the last year all the things that excited me about this life of mine have taken a back seat, aren´t tantalising me, aren´t filling me with purpose and new insights. And all those other things, that were always there but they just weren´t important to me, have come to the foreground, like dirty lonely roads, incomprehensible behaviour, unatainable goals, terrible beds, and the endless stream of housemates..
i´m coming home to roost, is all.
But before that, with a mate, I´m going to one of the most fabulous waterfalls in the world, Iguazu, then hop around the north of Argentina, cross into the desert of Chile - yes again, but very briefly - to then enter Peru, skip into a couple of places in Bolivia, hense my frantic race to get vaccinated today, visit a mate, then back into Peru, to Lima, visit a friend and then perhaps hooking up with another couple of mates from here and make it to Colombia, where i can find lots of mates i hope, and then if i find i´m really blessed, Rio de Janeiro. Then again, i may get pooped after the first leg and just come home.
I´m off in 3 days, here it goes!
lunes, noviembre 13, 2006
I´m not a racista but...
In those odd conversations i have with shopkeeppers, cabies, acquaintances, whoever, i always get asked, naturally, "so what do think of Buenos Aires, do you like it?!". Well, i kinda do, i have had the usual ups and downs, and i´ve tended to say, yes it´s really nice here.. till one day i heard this one line one time too many - "Well at least there´s not much discrimination here.."!
JUA JUA, or ha!
My chauffeur, the last straw, seemed to follow this line, only to proceed into the conversation by telling me that yes, imigrants are welcomed, so long as they behave, because so often they just cause problems. How does the race discource do a twirle and before you know it, the non-racist is justifying his lucky country on the arguement that if there is a problem, if infact someone experiences discrimination, it´s their own fault and they should just adapt, conform, otherwise they´re just trouble makers and should go back where they came from... sound familiar?
I saw a short documentary recently posing the question, is argentina racist? One young white argentian man and one young swarthy/black argentinian man were given a set of identical tasks to complete. 1. stand on the same street and try to get a cab, cabs drive straight pass swarthy boy and offering white boy a lift everytime, swarthy boy couldn´t get anywhere at all. 2. ask for some spare change on the street, swarthy boy couldn´t get even recognition, let alone 5 cents, where white boy get´s asked, now is that enough for your bus ticket dear? Two and a half pesos. 3. They go for the same job, waiter, swarthy boy turns up for his interview gets told no one´s there to see him but they´ll keep his cv on file. It goes on..
There´s no end to this folks, for one reason or another, one reason worse than the other, fear and intolerance of difference breeds passion and identity in people in every single place i´ve been to.
I think i´ve got a long way to go before i can say i´m not a racist.
JUA JUA, or ha!
My chauffeur, the last straw, seemed to follow this line, only to proceed into the conversation by telling me that yes, imigrants are welcomed, so long as they behave, because so often they just cause problems. How does the race discource do a twirle and before you know it, the non-racist is justifying his lucky country on the arguement that if there is a problem, if infact someone experiences discrimination, it´s their own fault and they should just adapt, conform, otherwise they´re just trouble makers and should go back where they came from... sound familiar?
I saw a short documentary recently posing the question, is argentina racist? One young white argentian man and one young swarthy/black argentinian man were given a set of identical tasks to complete. 1. stand on the same street and try to get a cab, cabs drive straight pass swarthy boy and offering white boy a lift everytime, swarthy boy couldn´t get anywhere at all. 2. ask for some spare change on the street, swarthy boy couldn´t get even recognition, let alone 5 cents, where white boy get´s asked, now is that enough for your bus ticket dear? Two and a half pesos. 3. They go for the same job, waiter, swarthy boy turns up for his interview gets told no one´s there to see him but they´ll keep his cv on file. It goes on..
There´s no end to this folks, for one reason or another, one reason worse than the other, fear and intolerance of difference breeds passion and identity in people in every single place i´ve been to.
I think i´ve got a long way to go before i can say i´m not a racist.
miércoles, septiembre 13, 2006
Loads to tell of but the best thing i can do at the moment is treat myself to a little quiet-time. The routine of life has truely set in, finally, and in this here lies the torment of questions unaswered, of events not quite understood, of people and their intricacies, ways and weaknesses. This isn´t a day in the life of a whirl-wind traveler, this is anyday, anywhere, anyone.
Yes, a little contemplative lately. Feeling a bit weird cos i tuned into Triple R FM(melbourne radio) this week and i´m hearing about all the gigs on this weekend and it sounds like they´re just around the corner.. hearing about the weather - and if you think melbourne has temperamental weather, try going from 26 degrees to 12! or listening to talk-back programs, talking about how australia is going down the toilet.. can´t i be lost on a warm beach, under the shade, under the water where nor I nor anything matters... oooof.
That´s enough, i knew i shouldn´t be writing, hence the delay in much needed email replies.
luv
Kitean, as i´m called in vietnamese.
Yes, a little contemplative lately. Feeling a bit weird cos i tuned into Triple R FM(melbourne radio) this week and i´m hearing about all the gigs on this weekend and it sounds like they´re just around the corner.. hearing about the weather - and if you think melbourne has temperamental weather, try going from 26 degrees to 12! or listening to talk-back programs, talking about how australia is going down the toilet.. can´t i be lost on a warm beach, under the shade, under the water where nor I nor anything matters... oooof.
That´s enough, i knew i shouldn´t be writing, hence the delay in much needed email replies.
luv
Kitean, as i´m called in vietnamese.
miércoles, agosto 02, 2006
I´m settling in, i think
That´ll teach me to send massive group mail. I´ve been inundated and it´s going to take me ages to get back to youz. Besides, it´s test time here and i´m snowed under with bleeding corrections, aargh. Not to mention buenas aires just got a cold spell, finally i´ll feel like it´s winter.
So i found a place to stay, 4 months on. the fellas putting me up so far decided i was such a great houseguest they decided to let me stay for good. Manu doesn´t mind sleeping in the lounge room and i´m getting used to the moulding walls in his room. wait til they find out what kind of a nazi i am in the kitchen and tidying up and all.. oh Clinton, we were so neat and gay together.
Anyway, i´m stoked cos i do lovem to pieces. Manu is flabbergasted at the amount of people seeing psychs, even though he´s dating one, and repeatedly urges me not to go see any - well with him as a mate, i won´t need to. Yes, we do talk about how it is a symptom of an alienated consumer-bent society, stripped of communal and familial support leaving no other outlet to the middle-classes but to seek insatiable solace in the therapist.. cos the folks in the rubbish-scavanging industry don´t really sit there tired of hating what´s become of their life nor hate themselves... they´re too busy looking for scraps and recyclable goods to take back to their own.
geeez, i feel overworked, underpaid and out of time, feels like russia all over again. But (brokenheart aside - or perhaps not) who the hell am i to complain.
So i found a place to stay, 4 months on. the fellas putting me up so far decided i was such a great houseguest they decided to let me stay for good. Manu doesn´t mind sleeping in the lounge room and i´m getting used to the moulding walls in his room. wait til they find out what kind of a nazi i am in the kitchen and tidying up and all.. oh Clinton, we were so neat and gay together.
Anyway, i´m stoked cos i do lovem to pieces. Manu is flabbergasted at the amount of people seeing psychs, even though he´s dating one, and repeatedly urges me not to go see any - well with him as a mate, i won´t need to. Yes, we do talk about how it is a symptom of an alienated consumer-bent society, stripped of communal and familial support leaving no other outlet to the middle-classes but to seek insatiable solace in the therapist.. cos the folks in the rubbish-scavanging industry don´t really sit there tired of hating what´s become of their life nor hate themselves... they´re too busy looking for scraps and recyclable goods to take back to their own.
geeez, i feel overworked, underpaid and out of time, feels like russia all over again. But (brokenheart aside - or perhaps not) who the hell am i to complain.
sábado, julio 22, 2006
TO NOT LOVE?
I`m told, in the Mapuche language, the indigenous peoples of Chile, do not have the negation of the word LOVE. In other words, you can not actually tell someone that you don`t love them...!
Something to ponder.
love
chris
Something to ponder.
love
chris
viernes, julio 21, 2006
miércoles, junio 21, 2006
A poem out of focus
About a week ago, a cold homebound saturday night, my housemate Alejandro and i decided to scavange a few pesos together and invest in some whisky. Did i mention how great it is to live in a house of critical thinkers and philosophers? truth and reality, their definitions and distinctiveness is an ongoing debate between Ale and i. To boot, both he and Manuel, who i also live with, are both doing theses on critical pedagogy... right up my ally.
Anyways, back to whisky which seemed to be the impetus needed to unleash our synchronised creative genius in the form of one poem this one particular night. Here tis, make what you will out of it.
Poema difuso – A Poem out of focus
A veces quisiera sudar lágrimas en otras almohadas
Pillows, schpillows, there’s no resting now
Descansar a veces es lo mismo que actuar
Pues actuar es una forma de olvidar
Forget me forget me. And then being the same.
Porque no puedo dejar de ser yo todos mis actos.
No hay escapatoria. Ir es lo mismo que volver.
Leaving one door but entering another, Always,
Otherwise, where’s the evolution?
Craving for cynicism again
Diablos, ¿no puedo ir más allá de mi mismo?
¿Por más que busque, no voy a encontrar nada sino mis anhelos?
Like I know those, ha-ha-ha,
¿Cómo abandonarme sin dejarme? Si en la práctica eso no ocurre,
¿Por qué mierda me lo pregunto?
I’m my own testimony, if anyone. And still aching to mold me,
Transform me,
Mutate me,
Manipulate me
Distil me
Refine me
Pollute me
Sick me
And still nothing me,
¿Debo buscar cambiar o permanecer? ¿Qué es lo inevitable?
Changing what will always leave remnants of me
Permanence is deadly, but I …
Bueno, yo no la maté.
Alejandro Herrera, Christine Athanasakos
Anyways, back to whisky which seemed to be the impetus needed to unleash our synchronised creative genius in the form of one poem this one particular night. Here tis, make what you will out of it.
Poema difuso – A Poem out of focus
A veces quisiera sudar lágrimas en otras almohadas
Pillows, schpillows, there’s no resting now
Descansar a veces es lo mismo que actuar
Pues actuar es una forma de olvidar
Forget me forget me. And then being the same.
Porque no puedo dejar de ser yo todos mis actos.
No hay escapatoria. Ir es lo mismo que volver.
Leaving one door but entering another, Always,
Otherwise, where’s the evolution?
Craving for cynicism again
Diablos, ¿no puedo ir más allá de mi mismo?
¿Por más que busque, no voy a encontrar nada sino mis anhelos?
Like I know those, ha-ha-ha,
¿Cómo abandonarme sin dejarme? Si en la práctica eso no ocurre,
¿Por qué mierda me lo pregunto?
I’m my own testimony, if anyone. And still aching to mold me,
Transform me,
Mutate me,
Manipulate me
Distil me
Refine me
Pollute me
Sick me
And still nothing me,
¿Debo buscar cambiar o permanecer? ¿Qué es lo inevitable?
Changing what will always leave remnants of me
Permanence is deadly, but I …
Bueno, yo no la maté.
Alejandro Herrera, Christine Athanasakos
viernes, junio 16, 2006
Football Nuff turns into Nut
10 am and the streets of Buenos Aires are virtually empty, except for the crowds hovering around every TV screen looking out onto the street.
Argentina is playing and every office is empty. EVERYONE at work is in front of a TV screen. An oil company i go to do classes has installed a large screen tv in the basement and for the next 2 hours, nothing else exists.
I´m there too. All i want to do is watch football... oooo, i just heard the screams of the 3rd goal.
Australia Vs Brazil this friday and I`ll be going to a sports bar to drink beer, naturally and barrack for ... the team i mean to or for the team whose T-shirt i can sport..?
yours
The Nuff-Nut
Argentina is playing and every office is empty. EVERYONE at work is in front of a TV screen. An oil company i go to do classes has installed a large screen tv in the basement and for the next 2 hours, nothing else exists.
I´m there too. All i want to do is watch football... oooo, i just heard the screams of the 3rd goal.
Australia Vs Brazil this friday and I`ll be going to a sports bar to drink beer, naturally and barrack for ... the team i mean to or for the team whose T-shirt i can sport..?
yours
The Nuff-Nut
lunes, junio 12, 2006
Australia WINS 3 - 1 !!!
..and argentines don´t bat an eyelid.
This morning, walking to a class, i walk by a bakery and i hear the sound of the radio "goooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllll"
Wow i thought, and seconds later in the next corner store i walk into, i see on TV, yes it´s our own green and gold. I had a smile from ear to ear and said ´"australia´s winning, how good is that!!" and i just got an indifferent but friendly smile back...
Well, it´s not like australia isn´t self-centered.
This morning, walking to a class, i walk by a bakery and i hear the sound of the radio "goooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllll"
Wow i thought, and seconds later in the next corner store i walk into, i see on TV, yes it´s our own green and gold. I had a smile from ear to ear and said ´"australia´s winning, how good is that!!" and i just got an indifferent but friendly smile back...
Well, it´s not like australia isn´t self-centered.
domingo, junio 11, 2006
and Argentina wins 2 -1
against Cote d´Ivoire yesterday afternoon, when the city of Buenos Aires seemed to have stopped breathing. I, being SO not a football nuff, originally thought it would be a good time to go and take a quiet walk, take some photos which i still haven´t done here yet , cos 20 minutes before the game everything seemed like it had shut down and no there was no traffic. But no, i got sucked in, watched the whole match and actually enjoyed it - ha (and i can´t remember the last time i saw a whole game of anything), and i delighted in serving mate throughout the game. The country´s favourite won, thank goddess, and there was singing and honking for a good while. Today my neighbour confessed to being too nervous to watch the game that she spent the whole time in the supermarket, but even there she said she would hear it in the background. When i went out on the street after the game people were, needless to say, jovial and smily, there were cars moving on the road again,
..and it´s only Argentina´s first game.
..and it´s only Argentina´s first game.
viernes, mayo 26, 2006
Hair and other catastrophies
In the land of beautiful hairzz, I goes and gets the worse hairdo since 1984!!! That perm back then was hard to grow out but tonight after my ill-fated disaster, after losing the hair that reached below my sholderblades, I decided to take those damn scissors in my own undependable hands and go for it. Cos I decided no matter how bad I do it, I´ll be going short again. And now that i think of it, everyone with good hair I´ve asked had cut it themselves! I better go and sweep up the mess in the bathroom now, before my hosts start asking embarrassing questions.
No photos, thanks , I´m way too vain.
And today, while i was rushing around town looking for an Austrian airlines agency to postpone my ticket (which expires mid June anyway), i found out that not only is there no office in Argentina, cos of course my flight is from Brazil, but it was scheduled on May 12, in which case i missed it. Well, i was set on staying, but i was trying to keep my options open til the very end, the indicisive nerd that i am.. I guess the decision´s made now.
No photos, thanks , I´m way too vain.
And today, while i was rushing around town looking for an Austrian airlines agency to postpone my ticket (which expires mid June anyway), i found out that not only is there no office in Argentina, cos of course my flight is from Brazil, but it was scheduled on May 12, in which case i missed it. Well, i was set on staying, but i was trying to keep my options open til the very end, the indicisive nerd that i am.. I guess the decision´s made now.
miércoles, mayo 10, 2006
Me gusta el Mate dulce
I like the sweet mate ... and that´s pronounced máhteh /ma:te/ (that one´s for the phonemic readers except i could find all the symbols).
It´s tea-like herb cultivated and drunk to 
eccess in Argentina and Uruguay, a kind of stimulant like coffee. Kept me awake enough to finish a bottle of wine or two during this night...
sábado, abril 29, 2006
home sweet home
Last few weeks have been demanding. I had become truely tired of travelling and living out of a suitcase, tired of 30 hour bus rides, tired of not having a home to come home to, missing work and dreading starting from scratch again. I thought buggerit, even if i miss out on an opportunity of a life time i just needed to go home and rest, if not roost. But again I needed to be patient. Argentinians revealed themselves to be a good sort. And so on one rainy day here, sitting in and trying to consolidate my decision to go home (and any of you that know me well know how i torture myself with my own indeciveness), i started visualising life home and life abroad. The thought of going back to Glen Waverley (not that there anything intrinsically wrong with that) in the dead of winter, jobless and solitary, made me think that hanging out in Buenos Aires till the end of the year, the town that doesn´t sleep and lacks the usual xenophobia one encounters, is probably a brilliant idea. So here i´ll stay. having made a decision finally makes any outcome a good outcome.
This week i went back to Brazil in a mad rush to pick up my luggage and get my life started. Only 2 days there, but bloody interesting. When I get back to the hostel i had been staying, i hear that 68 sydney woman i met last time was still there. But when i went to the tv room to see her, i found her collapsed on the floor with folks around her trying to make sure she didn´t die. She came round finally and i accompanied her to the emergency ward of a state hospital... and remember she only speaks Arabic and english, but she was out of it anyway, and i thought i had to get by with my spanish. Well the doctor who eventually saw her, couldn´t bare listening to me anymore and so reluctantly agreed to speak english. There were loads of folks everywhere, drips hanging off everyone nearly, growns, vomit, emancipated bodies, and medical staff who just get there when they get there. Three hours later, after good ol Fatima gets her morphine hit, we´re back. Turns out she´s been getting robbed a lot, is stressed with high blood pressure and so smokes 3 packets a day. There´s also something fishy going on that she just can´t talk about and something that prohibits her from leaving the country for the next 2 years. Staying in a tiny cheap room with no windows makes her feel like she´s already in her coffin - this looks like a Mike Munroe story. Apart from that, i did manage to have an extremely enlighting and interesting conversation for an hour with a Brazilian - me talking spanish and he portugese!
Oh and i´ll be putting up photos soon, seeing i got myself a camera. Probably not the wisest thing to do 9.30 in the morning, hungry sort of ,and after only an hours sleep, to impulsively stop at the camera shopwindow in the airport ...oh well, now you can see how i´ve grown...as soon as i figure out how to use it.
This week i went back to Brazil in a mad rush to pick up my luggage and get my life started. Only 2 days there, but bloody interesting. When I get back to the hostel i had been staying, i hear that 68 sydney woman i met last time was still there. But when i went to the tv room to see her, i found her collapsed on the floor with folks around her trying to make sure she didn´t die. She came round finally and i accompanied her to the emergency ward of a state hospital... and remember she only speaks Arabic and english, but she was out of it anyway, and i thought i had to get by with my spanish. Well the doctor who eventually saw her, couldn´t bare listening to me anymore and so reluctantly agreed to speak english. There were loads of folks everywhere, drips hanging off everyone nearly, growns, vomit, emancipated bodies, and medical staff who just get there when they get there. Three hours later, after good ol Fatima gets her morphine hit, we´re back. Turns out she´s been getting robbed a lot, is stressed with high blood pressure and so smokes 3 packets a day. There´s also something fishy going on that she just can´t talk about and something that prohibits her from leaving the country for the next 2 years. Staying in a tiny cheap room with no windows makes her feel like she´s already in her coffin - this looks like a Mike Munroe story. Apart from that, i did manage to have an extremely enlighting and interesting conversation for an hour with a Brazilian - me talking spanish and he portugese!
Oh and i´ll be putting up photos soon, seeing i got myself a camera. Probably not the wisest thing to do 9.30 in the morning, hungry sort of ,and after only an hours sleep, to impulsively stop at the camera shopwindow in the airport ...oh well, now you can see how i´ve grown...as soon as i figure out how to use it.
jueves, abril 20, 2006
Dogshit...
..is everywhere.
Dentures are displayed on dentists´ shopfront windows. Care to try?
Grilled beef is tender and yummy, and there´s fresh pasta galore.
Police cars have their flashing lights always on, especially when crusing, and are decked with bulletproof vests.
Dentures are displayed on dentists´ shopfront windows. Care to try?
Grilled beef is tender and yummy, and there´s fresh pasta galore.
Police cars have their flashing lights always on, especially when crusing, and are decked with bulletproof vests.
Boys are damn pretty
and girls are even prettier.
Only nerds go out before 1am.
Tango is inescapable.
Only nerds go out before 1am.
Tango is inescapable.
Folks queue up at the bus stop before it even arrives.
City traffic and noise pollution are the worst i´ve ever encountered.
No one has forgotten the dictatorship and they want the Maldives back.
There´s a demonstration and march just about every week
Football rules, and Maradona not only has his face on bottles of wine but he holds such a devine status that I think a church has been started on his behalf.
Folks are loud and kind of hysterical (move their hands a lot when they speak), but very friendly.
A few of my observations, and no, i still haven´t managed to work out my camera.
lunes, abril 10, 2006
jueves, abril 06, 2006
First day in Buenos Aires i spent it in all the wrong places. My walk about in the centre was down the streets where walls had no doors, or otherwise there were huge high rises and loads of suits... not so novel for what i later found out was the financial district. Apart from that i also spent a good 3 hours making my eyeballs bleed over the internet looking for work. After my compulsive procrastination tendencies i decided before i got off the bus in BA that i´d get on to important stuff, like getting a job, pronto! However it ended up being a fruitless attempt, abnd even though i told myself it was only the beginning, impatience got the better of me making me feel disappointed and yukki.
But, the last 2 days were much more interesting and inpiring. I bumped into a mate i met in El Bolson and he took me to a very hip place in town, Palermo, where i started to feel giddy and hopeful once again. Today i also realised i was just a few streets off on my 1st day from where all the action and sights were. Ahora si! Also went to enrol in a language course, and then decided that for now it´s cheaper - and definitely much more interesting - to make friends and practice my language skills.
And another blunder. Going through passport control onthe way here, 2 south Africans on my bus were green with envy when i started showing off my multiple passports. Stupidly, i didn´t realise that my greek passport expires in a few weeks, and i descovered today the greek embassy won´t renew it for me here..long story. So i´ll have to do me a quick boat trip to Uruguay very soon, as well as pay for entry to Brazil later... poo.
Not too bad for the first 3 days oh, and i had a snitzel today the size of my forearm. And if i like it here, i mean a lot, i could even think of getting myself a top apartment in an interesting and nice part of town for about AU$50,000 and screw the outrageous melbourne prices!
But, the last 2 days were much more interesting and inpiring. I bumped into a mate i met in El Bolson and he took me to a very hip place in town, Palermo, where i started to feel giddy and hopeful once again. Today i also realised i was just a few streets off on my 1st day from where all the action and sights were. Ahora si! Also went to enrol in a language course, and then decided that for now it´s cheaper - and definitely much more interesting - to make friends and practice my language skills.
And another blunder. Going through passport control onthe way here, 2 south Africans on my bus were green with envy when i started showing off my multiple passports. Stupidly, i didn´t realise that my greek passport expires in a few weeks, and i descovered today the greek embassy won´t renew it for me here..long story. So i´ll have to do me a quick boat trip to Uruguay very soon, as well as pay for entry to Brazil later... poo.
Not too bad for the first 3 days oh, and i had a snitzel today the size of my forearm. And if i like it here, i mean a lot, i could even think of getting myself a top apartment in an interesting and nice part of town for about AU$50,000 and screw the outrageous melbourne prices!
martes, abril 04, 2006
and hola Buenos Aires!
So I`m in Florianopolis and I`ve had it with being blankita. Even reducing to 15 sunblock doesn`t help. So I goes out there on that beautiful beach with no protection and get burnt again!! I`ve been really slow and lazy here, but no one else is in a rush either, not even in the big towns. No one walks up or down the metro escalator - NO ONE! why would you when there`s a machine that does it for you.
And did I mention how friendly people are here. I learnt the rudimentary and I speak my broken spanish to get by, and they generally get the gist with no arrogant expectation that I should talk Portuguese or otherwise be ignored. After you ask for directions they then say bon viage, when I don´t understand they slow down or apologize for not speaking spanish, everyone who arrives to the bus stop greets each other and strangers warn me of places not to go.
The ride to florianopolis was at night, so the view from my buswindow was a huge endless cloudy night sky which glittered constantly with lightning for hours. Today I arrived in Buenos Aires after a long 27 hour bus ride with boarder check at 3am and the most stinky loo you could imagine (and that was only hours after takeoff. By night time i was almost dry-reaching and i had a good seat up the front!). But on a more interesting note, the landscape till the south of brazil was lush and tropical-looking, full of furn trees of different kinds. The road was a main highway but then in the middle of nowhere they`d be a huge factory or warehouse, or 20 to 30 shacks made with plastic or corrigated iron, and similar under bridges, always with loads of rubbish lieing around. Just before i got in to the bus terminal, i passed a girls´ school i think, suprisingly with only peruvian-looking girls. A few feet down on the dirt footpath was another shack/home where the occupiers seemed to be entertaining a couple of friends over a cup of coffee. You need to maintain your humanity if not control of the universe.
Tomorrow I´m job-hunting, and today - dunno.
Oh and tahnks for the comments everyone ...but will everybody stop being ANONYMUS!
xxx
And did I mention how friendly people are here. I learnt the rudimentary and I speak my broken spanish to get by, and they generally get the gist with no arrogant expectation that I should talk Portuguese or otherwise be ignored. After you ask for directions they then say bon viage, when I don´t understand they slow down or apologize for not speaking spanish, everyone who arrives to the bus stop greets each other and strangers warn me of places not to go.
The ride to florianopolis was at night, so the view from my buswindow was a huge endless cloudy night sky which glittered constantly with lightning for hours. Today I arrived in Buenos Aires after a long 27 hour bus ride with boarder check at 3am and the most stinky loo you could imagine (and that was only hours after takeoff. By night time i was almost dry-reaching and i had a good seat up the front!). But on a more interesting note, the landscape till the south of brazil was lush and tropical-looking, full of furn trees of different kinds. The road was a main highway but then in the middle of nowhere they`d be a huge factory or warehouse, or 20 to 30 shacks made with plastic or corrigated iron, and similar under bridges, always with loads of rubbish lieing around. Just before i got in to the bus terminal, i passed a girls´ school i think, suprisingly with only peruvian-looking girls. A few feet down on the dirt footpath was another shack/home where the occupiers seemed to be entertaining a couple of friends over a cup of coffee. You need to maintain your humanity if not control of the universe.
Tomorrow I´m job-hunting, and today - dunno.
Oh and tahnks for the comments everyone ...but will everybody stop being ANONYMUS!
xxx
jueves, marzo 30, 2006
unorgeenized
Ta Jean, you just blew my cover.
Forgot to mention, who turns up at the check-in at the airport and gets asked, "can I see your visa to enter Brazil"? what visa?? "the visa that all australian passport holders need to obtain from the Brazilian consulate in town..." Doooh. So will my EU passport work... woohoo! pasa senorita. Reminds me of all the shots and malaria pills I have ignored to take so far. Anyways.
The T-shirt says, "Sao Paulo ruined my life", apparently there´s too big a party scene here. There´s shopping here till you drop, anI i have, and there´s more fresh juice here than you can take - 2 jugs a day is aIl i can manage, consideriIg i´m on the streets and sooner than later it has to come out. The place is close to dirt cheap in terms of good food and drink. But the grog took its toll Ind i´m a bit snotty now. Also met a shimmering exploding free-spirited Israeli woman who can bargain the pants off even my dad.. he´d be guttered if he knew. She also tried to suggest that i´m looking for love in all the wrong places... cliché sure, but made me think of coming back home afterall. I spent most of my time here with her and the 68 year-old Lebanese woman from sydney - the 3 of us just about cried when we split. We went to the Japanese precinct - yummy food, the Arab precinct - yummy food too, and i also went to the museum when it was closed.
So i end up at the bus station and ask for a ticket that arrives somewhere south of here the next morning. Hense i´m on the little island of Florianopolis now. But it´s autumn, not that cold of course, but cloudy and everything´s closed cos the summer season´s over and the streets are empty. At least i shacked up with the NorwegiaI and Sweed i met at the bus terminal and i´ve been teaching them Janif (card game) and we´ve been playing Weed (another card game)too.
Think i´ll be on my way to Uruguay soon. I´ll be back to enjoy Brazil more on my way back to SP. And Tas, I´m on the wrong continent to buy a digital camera... why didn´t i listen!
Forgot to mention, who turns up at the check-in at the airport and gets asked, "can I see your visa to enter Brazil"? what visa?? "the visa that all australian passport holders need to obtain from the Brazilian consulate in town..." Doooh. So will my EU passport work... woohoo! pasa senorita. Reminds me of all the shots and malaria pills I have ignored to take so far. Anyways.
The T-shirt says, "Sao Paulo ruined my life", apparently there´s too big a party scene here. There´s shopping here till you drop, anI i have, and there´s more fresh juice here than you can take - 2 jugs a day is aIl i can manage, consideriIg i´m on the streets and sooner than later it has to come out. The place is close to dirt cheap in terms of good food and drink. But the grog took its toll Ind i´m a bit snotty now. Also met a shimmering exploding free-spirited Israeli woman who can bargain the pants off even my dad.. he´d be guttered if he knew. She also tried to suggest that i´m looking for love in all the wrong places... cliché sure, but made me think of coming back home afterall. I spent most of my time here with her and the 68 year-old Lebanese woman from sydney - the 3 of us just about cried when we split. We went to the Japanese precinct - yummy food, the Arab precinct - yummy food too, and i also went to the museum when it was closed.
So i end up at the bus station and ask for a ticket that arrives somewhere south of here the next morning. Hense i´m on the little island of Florianopolis now. But it´s autumn, not that cold of course, but cloudy and everything´s closed cos the summer season´s over and the streets are empty. At least i shacked up with the NorwegiaI and Sweed i met at the bus terminal and i´ve been teaching them Janif (card game) and we´ve been playing Weed (another card game)too.
Think i´ll be on my way to Uruguay soon. I´ll be back to enjoy Brazil more on my way back to SP. And Tas, I´m on the wrong continent to buy a digital camera... why didn´t i listen!
sábado, marzo 25, 2006
Welcome to Brazil..
Land of the most beautiful bums in the world - no matter the size.
Suprisingly, leaving Chile was not only a last minute dash to pack my stuff, but a bit painful. As i got onto my minibus and started off to the airport, the last sight of Santiago city, which i finally familiarised myself with, got me all choked up and i burst into tears, continuing uncontrolably in front of the poor ol passenger in front of me for the rest of the ride. Goodbye Santiago...
and here comes bloody huge Sao Paulo! despite that, there´s no need to rush - everyone´s going at my slow holidaying pace. I´m eating well and just now getting orientated around the centre here. Not that unsafe when using a bit of sense, and after speaking to a few people who´ve been up the coast or have moved here, i could stay here much longer than i´d anticipated.
By the way, drunks are the same the world over. They laugh a lot, talk incomprehensively, raise their voice if they jerry that you´re ignoring them and pout when they inevitably try to kiss you... am i right?
Suprisingly, leaving Chile was not only a last minute dash to pack my stuff, but a bit painful. As i got onto my minibus and started off to the airport, the last sight of Santiago city, which i finally familiarised myself with, got me all choked up and i burst into tears, continuing uncontrolably in front of the poor ol passenger in front of me for the rest of the ride. Goodbye Santiago...
and here comes bloody huge Sao Paulo! despite that, there´s no need to rush - everyone´s going at my slow holidaying pace. I´m eating well and just now getting orientated around the centre here. Not that unsafe when using a bit of sense, and after speaking to a few people who´ve been up the coast or have moved here, i could stay here much longer than i´d anticipated.
By the way, drunks are the same the world over. They laugh a lot, talk incomprehensively, raise their voice if they jerry that you´re ignoring them and pout when they inevitably try to kiss you... am i right?
lunes, marzo 20, 2006
on my way.
So i goes into the office of Varig brazilian airlines, since there was absolutely no one answering the their phones, and my authorised travel consultant tells me there´s heaps of flights out of Santiago. So i watches her type furiously for a good half hour on the hi-tech computer-booking system to move my flight. Done.
Haven´t packed my bags but anyway, 22 march - in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Then i think i´ll take another holiday.
Oh, and thanks wife for the sex-ed tip.
Haven´t packed my bags but anyway, 22 march - in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Then i think i´ll take another holiday.
Oh, and thanks wife for the sex-ed tip.
domingo, marzo 12, 2006
Here I go again..
Hi all,
Since I´m no good at regular email, here´s my account of most of what´s happening. Of course after I left home and 35 hrs later on transporting, I made it to Canada for 3 weeks and then to the northeast of the states before I got to Chile.
In brief, taught here in Santiago for the semester, more or less stopped working mid Jan and went off for 5 weeks to see some of the south of Chile, shot off to this side of Argentina and then again to Chile before coming back to Santiago. I´ve been bumming around here for 10 days just cos I´m too slack to plan the rest of my holidays...
The south was really pretty, I climbed a volcano, saw a bit of spitting lava before I chocked from the fumes, went to bubbling hot springs under a starry sky at 2 in the morning, walked in the forests - but all this when I had friends. Once your on your own and off the gringo-trail in a place like this you might as well start knitting. So I streched 2 weeks in bloody-expensive-Chile and then tried to get the first bus to Bariloche, Argentina. Course I had to wait 5 days for a bus, cos I´m a last minute gal and everything was booked out. So I inadvertently had to hang around Puerto Varas for the next bus, a lake side town with a view of 2 active volcanoes from its banks. Pretty and pricy again so I hung out with the street jewellery vendors, some of who were Mapuche (southern indigenous folk, who were actually the last peoples to be subjugated to Spanish Imperial rule in south America) and generally from other parts of Chile. With them I practiced my Spanish, told me I had "buena onda", that I was cool basically, and we sat on the banks of the lake at night, playing a little guitar, smoking and drinking the cheapest red wine you could find from the only 2 plastic cups available. As eager as I was to get outta Chile, things were just starting to make sense. These were the people I needed to be with all along.
Bariloche had the vibe I was hungry for so spent 10 days on the piss, oh but I did hike up Cerro López - 4 hours to get up there to see endless mountain ranges, lakes, snow and to be above the clouds, and then spent maybe 1 hours stumbling down on my city-chic sports shoes. Once people in the hostel I was staying thought I worked there, I decided I knew too much about where to get the best chocolate and ice-cream and it was time to think of somewhere else to go. I kind of dragged myself away cos I did meet some very interesting people, but I was just being a slackass.
So I went to El Bolson, hippy capital of Argentina probably, where the mountains and earth there have very high levels of spiritual energy.. Well there I found out that the superduper hiking shoes I just bought were painfully too small and walking to my hostel 4 kms out of town got a bit tiring. That´s when I decided to visit my santiagian mate who was across the boarder, but of course it would take me 4 days to get there, booking a bus and all. On the way I had to stay in San Martin de Los Andes which I fell in love with. The ride there on a minibus was supposed to take 4 hrs, but it took 7, but I wasn´t so disappointed. Those last 3 hours we started on an unsealed road with virtually no traffic, rain and no suspension on our mini. But as it happened I was going through one of Argentina´s biggest attractions - the seven lake region, sprinkled with hills, mountains, cliffs, cascading flora, and lucky for the rain it kept the road dust down on the ground and the clouds once again below me.
Now I have to make some hard decisions - where to blow the rest of my savings. But I´m also keen on checking out the job market in Buenos Aires, sounds like a saucy place.
So here goes nothing...
Since I´m no good at regular email, here´s my account of most of what´s happening. Of course after I left home and 35 hrs later on transporting, I made it to Canada for 3 weeks and then to the northeast of the states before I got to Chile.
In brief, taught here in Santiago for the semester, more or less stopped working mid Jan and went off for 5 weeks to see some of the south of Chile, shot off to this side of Argentina and then again to Chile before coming back to Santiago. I´ve been bumming around here for 10 days just cos I´m too slack to plan the rest of my holidays...
The south was really pretty, I climbed a volcano, saw a bit of spitting lava before I chocked from the fumes, went to bubbling hot springs under a starry sky at 2 in the morning, walked in the forests - but all this when I had friends. Once your on your own and off the gringo-trail in a place like this you might as well start knitting. So I streched 2 weeks in bloody-expensive-Chile and then tried to get the first bus to Bariloche, Argentina. Course I had to wait 5 days for a bus, cos I´m a last minute gal and everything was booked out. So I inadvertently had to hang around Puerto Varas for the next bus, a lake side town with a view of 2 active volcanoes from its banks. Pretty and pricy again so I hung out with the street jewellery vendors, some of who were Mapuche (southern indigenous folk, who were actually the last peoples to be subjugated to Spanish Imperial rule in south America) and generally from other parts of Chile. With them I practiced my Spanish, told me I had "buena onda", that I was cool basically, and we sat on the banks of the lake at night, playing a little guitar, smoking and drinking the cheapest red wine you could find from the only 2 plastic cups available. As eager as I was to get outta Chile, things were just starting to make sense. These were the people I needed to be with all along.
Bariloche had the vibe I was hungry for so spent 10 days on the piss, oh but I did hike up Cerro López - 4 hours to get up there to see endless mountain ranges, lakes, snow and to be above the clouds, and then spent maybe 1 hours stumbling down on my city-chic sports shoes. Once people in the hostel I was staying thought I worked there, I decided I knew too much about where to get the best chocolate and ice-cream and it was time to think of somewhere else to go. I kind of dragged myself away cos I did meet some very interesting people, but I was just being a slackass.
So I went to El Bolson, hippy capital of Argentina probably, where the mountains and earth there have very high levels of spiritual energy.. Well there I found out that the superduper hiking shoes I just bought were painfully too small and walking to my hostel 4 kms out of town got a bit tiring. That´s when I decided to visit my santiagian mate who was across the boarder, but of course it would take me 4 days to get there, booking a bus and all. On the way I had to stay in San Martin de Los Andes which I fell in love with. The ride there on a minibus was supposed to take 4 hrs, but it took 7, but I wasn´t so disappointed. Those last 3 hours we started on an unsealed road with virtually no traffic, rain and no suspension on our mini. But as it happened I was going through one of Argentina´s biggest attractions - the seven lake region, sprinkled with hills, mountains, cliffs, cascading flora, and lucky for the rain it kept the road dust down on the ground and the clouds once again below me.
Now I have to make some hard decisions - where to blow the rest of my savings. But I´m also keen on checking out the job market in Buenos Aires, sounds like a saucy place.
So here goes nothing...
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