24

My last 24 hours in Viña is about to begin.

Had a leaving party held for me on Friday which was absolutely incredible; I suppose the overwhelming emotionalness of it was actually a really good thing because I think it sucked it all out of me and now I feel sort of numb and more able to get on with the things I have to do to prepare myself.

I've said all my goodbyes, except the undoubtedly most emotional ones to Zelma and Marcela, and the Morrisons...

Tomorrow after lunch Laura and I head to Santiago, and then Wednesday take our flight to Calama for our few days in San Pedro.

Yeah, that's it for now I suppose... Feeling pretty out of it! Will be back on the adventure blogging pronto.

XO

one week

Phil's birthday weekend was an absolute corker. So Daisy and I arrived in Santiago late Thursday night, and the three of us spent Friday being rather productive and stocking up on useful things for travelling and having a steak lunch, and then spent the evening in watching Catfish (which is amazing by the way) and slobbing about.

Then on Saturday I told Phil that I was going to go and have lunch with one of Zelma's daughters in Las Condes while Isa, Daisy and he went to Fantasylandia (a theme park, lol), but I in fact crossed the road to his friend Zara's flat, which is right opposite Daisy's, and spent the afternoon prepping for a surprise do at hers that evening. Met up with the chaps later and took Phil on a supermarket run to distract him and then we showed up at the flat just after 8 to a dark room and 20 of his mates who all did the 'SURPRISE!' move on him very successfully!!

It was pretty awesome. There was TONS of food, and everyone was so lovely, it was a really lush evening. Sunday was rather lazy, unsurprisingly, but we did manage to get out and have lunch at the burger place Mr. Jack's. All in all a fab weekend!

I'm not back in Viña for one week of sorting myself out, packing up, and saying goodbyes... I spent all of yesterday on the internet after 2 weeks of being without my laptop, and now I think my body's gone into lockdown and I just feel suuuper tired, which is not helpful.

Going to go to DHL and find out just how expensive it would be to get them to ship some stuff home for me.. It's all rather real now I suppose. There's a leaving party being held at the church on Friday night and all.

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I'm feeling rather annoyed at myself for not having any photos to show you but Daisy and Phil have both put some of theirs up and you MUST check them out, they are pretty amazing.

Phil's blog - photos from Buenos Aires

Daisy's blog - photos from Lago Llanquihue and Chiloé

more tales from the south

Daisy just wrote a blog full of Monday and Tuesday's antics.

Check it out on her blog here.

We were going to try and do a blog a day but it turns out travelling is kind of an event in itself, so these two might be it for now. We're going home tomorrow evening, so you'll hear from me from Phil's birthday weekend in Santiago.

Hasta luego...

best day ever?

After arriving in Santiago at about 10pm on Friday night, where Daisy was holding a rather endearing sign saying "sexy bitch and boyfriend", I switched my bag around a bit and tried to sleep before our 7am wake up call to head back to the airport for our flight to Puerto Montt.

It had been a bit difficult to work out what we were going to do in the South before arriving, what with me being in Buenos Aires, Daisy in her last week of work, and Laura already doing her own thing travelling down from Temuco to meet us upon our arrival. Ary had arranged for Laura to stay with a family down here, and her and the dad of the fam came to meet me and Dais at the airport. We had a lovely lunch waiting for us (immediately felt so at home - this family are just so sweet), and then set to working out what our plan would be.

3 hours later, no success. Seriously. We were reading the Lonely Planet and getting all excited, and then trying to take action and finding no information, calling people's homes because the codes in the book were wrong, and standardly nothing in Chile is online... The family came home after an afternoon out to some rather fed up and downcast faces. But then withing 10 minutes they had arranged for their son Felipe to drive us around for that evening and the next day. Within 10 minutes after that decision was made, we set off with all our stuff! It was literally the fastest turnaround imaginable. I couldn't help laughing out of the sheer amazingness of their generosity.

So we drove to Puerto Varas, where we got our first taste of the real German influence in the South, found a hotel, went out for a coffee and settled in for the night. Today Felipe met us at 9 and our insane day began.

We started our drive along the river with the most amazing views of the lake, which is so gigantic, with mountains around it and volcanoes too, the most outstanding being the Osorno Volcano, topped with snow. First stop was the Saltos de Petrohue - a waterfall of emerald green waters. The rocks were all volcanic; black and smooth in texture but formed in chunky shapes and molded by the waters around it.

Next, we drove on to the Lago de Todos Los Santos, the waterfall's source. I suppose I should point out that these areas are seriously untouched, and especially in the low season there was hardly anyone around. The nature was so astonishing, almost overwhelming. So when I say we went to a lake surrounded by forest and foliage, I mean that in really quite an intense way.. It's difficult to explain!! Maybe photos later will help! Either way, the presence of the looming volcano certainly helped with the sheer awesomeness of it all.

We went out on a boat with a local and went past a house owned by the head of the El Mercurio group, who apparently has one house for himself there, and one next door on his plot which he uses for all the models he brings there - the Chilean equivalent of the Playboy Mansion.

Then, we tried to head up the volcano, but it turned out that there had been a fatal accident the previous night and the volcano was shut while the rescue team and forensics brought down the body. Very tragic.

So we went and saw a lagoon - the greenest I had ever seen before, and then went to go and eat lunch.

I'd just like to point out that the time was at this point 1pm, but we'd done so much it felt like we were eating dinner.

As we drove back to the volcano to see if it was open again (which we were expecting it not to be, knowing Chilean authorities), some emergency vehicles drove past us leaving the site - a good sign (for us) which turned out to be accurate. So up we headed.

The day was gradually getting foggier and foggier, and as we drove up the volcano we entered into the clouds themselves, it felt, to the point where we could see hardly anything in front of us. But then, suddenly, we broke through and ended up on top of the clouds, with no view of anything beneath us, only a blanket of fluffy white. I cannot explain to you how incredible the views were. That and the fact that we were on a volcano!?

We then headed back round the lake to end up in our next stop, Frutillar.

Tomorrow we'll be here for lunch and then making the journey to the island of Chiloe... It's certainly kicked off to a very good start - a possibly unbeatbable day, but we've still got 4 days in the South and 3 and a half weeks after this to top it!

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Daisy and I are going to alternate blogging about this trip, so she'll be writing at the end of tomorrow - I'll be linking you up as we go.

XOX

it ain't over 'til it's over

On Thursday we went with our new roommate to the botanical gardens which were absolutely stunning. So green and lush, like nothing I'd ever seen before, really. Then we went to the zoo, which was a bit of a mixture of emotions, as I suppose they often are, as quite a few of the animals looked far too skinny, and were prowling around like they were in need of a meal (possibly human shaped). But the animals they had there were just amazing - lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), an elephant, camels, loads of llamas, antelopes and deer, and hippos and rhinos... Seriously impressive. As always, photos and such will be on their way, either from Phil or from my film camera once back in London.

Went for a steak dinner again which was lovely, followed by a drink at a place we'd already been to, Caracas, but we discovered the very cool roof terrace (bit more of an indie, young and trendy crowd), and I tried a fernet and coke, which was rather interesting but I rather enjoyed once my tastebuds got used to the insanely-herby-verging-on-cough-medicine taste.

Today was relaxed, but thankfully the weather was a tad grim, making BA less hard to leave behind. I feel so sure about my return though that I actually didn't feel sad in the slightest.

As we were on the plane taking off, it started to rain and "Don't cry for me, Argentina..." just felt totally relevant.

A change of clothes and underwear in the bag and Daisy and I are off to Puerto Montt tomorrow morning!
More tales to come...

XOX

song and dance

On Tuesday night we went and did the standard Buenos Aires experience of going to a Tango show. It's a real nightmare deciding where to go, as obviously everywhere claims to have the best, most authentic show, but we ended up going to a low key and cheap place which both Time Out and Lonely Planet recommended called Los 36 Billares. The live musicians were actually brilliant, and the singer was very warbly and demonstrative which suited his dramatic love songs very well indeed. There were 4 dancers who danced in 2 pairs - one were the young, steamy, more passionate (and limber) duo, and the other were more elegant and, frankly, looked less like they were attracted to their partner and more like they were in love with Tango itself. The balance was really nice between them, I think - if there had only been one of the two pairs there I think it would have been a slightly more narrow view of the style of dance. Very enjoyable.

Yesterday we went to La Boca, which, to be honest, was the biggest waste of time ever. It's a huge tourist trap - the barrio itself is grim beyond grim, and then there are these 2 streets full of colourful houses and restaurants with waiters outside all ushering you inside, with (awful) Tango performances outside each one... I suppose some of the scenery makes good photo opportunities but that is literally it. We arrived in the cab at the football stadium there and had to navigate a bit to get to this road (Caminito), and it seemed like a back street of a possibly dodgy area (which supported the warnings we got from our taxi driver on the way there). And then once we were sick of the place (took about 3 minutes) we walked to the end of the road and were immediately out of picture perfect tourist land, and back to sketchy, grim, run down La Boca. Totally bizarre and weird. Not worth the $100 peoso there and back taxi fare in the slightest.

Luckily, Phil found a great restaurant for us to go to afterwards back in Palermo (which we are gradually discovering to be cooler every day), where we had some scrummy food before Isabelle had to head back to the hostel to get her suitcase and catch her flight back to Santiago. And then there were two...

Phil and I lazed about in the afternoon and then went to discover a bit more of Palermo, and then decided we needed to go out and do something in the evening. We checked out this website whatsupbuenosaires.com which this London girl we met told us about, and saw a gig was happening at a club Hannah TW raved about from when she was here a few years ago. I hadn't heard of Jamie Lidell before, a UK artist as well funnily enough, but we decided to go and check it out.

And it. was. amazing. Genuinely one of the best gigs I've ever been to. Perhaps not really having any expectations made it better, but he is just amazing. An incredible singer, and the music was fun and funky, and his loop-pedal skills were outstanding. I never knew it was possible to make a loop pedal sound so good. He could have done the entire gig like that it wouldn't have got old. I'll find a youtube vid to post up once I'm at a computer with speakers.

I think it's a pretty small world round this side of town though to be honest. Hannah TW told us about this club, Club Niceto, and the night that she loved there called Zizek. Then we met this London girl whose brother in law or something started this clothes shop called Boliva. Turns out they are friend with these people who run whatsupbuenosaires.com, and on the website there's an entire section for Zizek.

Anyhow, it's getting a bit ranty. We're about to go and grab some food and sit in the Botanical Gardens and maybe go to the zoo. We're leaving tomorrow, but we'll definitely be back.

it's all rather theatrical

Got 3 days left here and I already know it won't be enough. We are totally in love with BA. One thing I noticed today is that Argentinians are freakin legendary at queueing. They seriously know how it goes down. Maybe even more than Brits do - the personal space and orderly fashion is perhaps why I feel so comfortable here..... It makes a nice change to Chile at least!

Today we went to the El Ateneo bookshop on Avenida Santa Fe, which seems like a sort of Oxford Street equivalent - long and big and full of shops. The place is absolutely amazing. I'm not fussy about bookshops; as long as they are full of books I can spend hours sat on the floor poking my nose in things I wish I was intelligent and proactive enough to actually read. But this place was something else.
Not only was it full of books, the building used to be a theatre, so what used to be the seating area is now aisles and aisles of books, the ceiling is painted with a huge religious themed fresco, the private booths have comfy chairs where you can read, and the stage is now a cafe.
Each of the teirs is a different section of books with more chairs on each level to read. It was just amazing and surreal and wonderful. Phil took about a billion photos so that he can try and use them to make a panoramic shot through this Microsoft program, so hopefully that'll turn out well for him - couldn't think of a better place to do it!

Last night we went for pizza at a place owned by La Cabrera (where we had the steaks on our first night), and, true to form, we were served the most ludicrous amount of food... I had the Marcelina pizza (their signature - the restaurant is called Marcelina & Garcia), which had brie, mozzarella, and povola cheese on it with rocket and black olives. Super scrummy. The highlight, though, might have been this tiny palette cleansing drink we got in a shot glass after the pizza, which was a frozen fruity concoction. We loved it so much we got a second, although they wouldn't give it to us a drink in its own right. It had banana, orange, champagne, rum and some malbec in it. I will definitely be trying to recreate that in the future.

We're about to go out and see a tango show, so no doubt you'll hear about that tomorrow. It's Isabelle's last night, so hopefully it's a good one to send her off on!

retail therapy

Yesterday and today we went to two markets that were highly recommended to us here in Buenos Aires - yesterday we went to the Plaza Francia in Recoleta, and today to the antiques market in San Telmo, starting in Plaza Dorrego. The quality in both seemed to me to be really legit, and I ended up indulging in a bit of retail therapy, having so far bought 2 bracelets, a pair of earrings, a book about Chile (silly really), 3 rings, including one that is the Harley Davidson logo (awesome), a pair of trousers and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting things.

I didn't bring my digital camera with me (as it's a bit annoying to carry anda bit attention grabbing too), so I don't have any photos to show you yet which is a shame. Phil has been snapping away lots though so I'll be sure to link to his blog when he's written about it.

For dinner tonight we went to El Cuartito, an old pizza haunt in Recoleta, which was relaxed and busy and full of old people which, I took to be a good thing. The pizzas were immense - pretty thick and with good toppings, but leaving you feeling stodgy afterwards. Phil tried to tackle a large by himself, leaving out waiter chuffed with himself after his warning that it would be too much came true.

We've been trying to gather up as many recommendations as we can; the city is absolutely huge, and it's seriously difficult to know where to head. We've got a plan for the next two days which includes the cemetary and a very beautiful bookshop, as well as tango and more pizza.

Keep you posted...
XO

cheapsteaks

Isabelle, Phil and I just arrived in Buenos Aires today; Daisy had to abandon ship very tragically super last minute due to complications with her visa - the Chilean bureaucracy has some serious explaining to do. Nevertheless, we had an amazing day with her yesterday, involving much hanging out, a trip to the cinema and a sushi dinner.

After a 5am start and two flights stopping over in Uruguay, we touched down in warm and sunny BA, and dropped off our stuff at the hostel before heading out to have a coffee and a gander at some guide listings and maps. Some coffee, dulce de leche, alfajors and cheese later we sauntered back and then got ready for a dinner at La Cabrera. Daisy had booked this restaurant for us, having heard it does some of the best steak in BA. We showed up (a touch late thanks to my malfunctioning internal GPS), loved the vibe right away, and ordered, being restricted by our slightly socially awkward waiter who informed us that we would have far too much in front of us if we carried on as we were.

The steaks arrived, looking a touch overwhelming as they were, along with some green side salads. Then came 4 little side dishes, some scrummy mashed veg and pickled things, as standard with the steaks. And some creamed spinach and delicious mustard sauce. And then we were brought some small vegetable sides too (I chose some baby sweetcorn with a sunblushed tom, which was just delicious). Soon our table was absolutely crammed with lots of these little tasters. And THEN a man at the table next to us decided to give us 2 bottles of wine, one white one red, after having only one glass of each.. (We reckon he was showing off but who's going to turn down 2 free bottles!)

I think it was probably the best meal I've had in months (not counting the home cooked yummy-ness of Zelma's kitchen, but that's in a league of it's own), and found myself so pleasantly satisfied, but not stuffed, that I even managed a mascarpone pavlova with red berries afterwards.

My grand total for the evening was... 12 english pounds.

Plus a 2 quid cover charge each and 10% service on top... But that was nothing given the luxury of the most divine and exciting meal in ages for what was overall 15 quid!!

I'm genuinely in shock.

I think it's fair to say Day 1 has been a success.

.......But it's nowhere near the same without Daisy... :(

done and (almost) done

So I submitted my essays and translation exam to the online Blackboard system tonight (yay!), and about 15 minutes after I did so I thought, "Haha well for my first time using Blackboard I suppose that wasn't so bad. Would have been funny if I had taken all that easy clicking a bit too lightly and not checked my work out thoroughly before hitting 'submit'. Wouldn't it? Er, wait. I should probably check that."

And typically, I had left in an extra word in one of my translations, which may not sound like a big deal but it was my first answer and I KNOW that leaving multiple words is a HUGE no no (ie. not making up your mind and leaving options for the examiner to pick their favourite).

Having spent some hours whining in my head about having to write commentaries about why we translated the sentences as we did, I am now extremely grateful for it, because my commentary does refer to and point out the word I did want to use (even though my actual translation doesn't back it up).

Have already emailed out the emergency plea to the department just in case. God willing it gets understood as an error and not as me being an idiot...

Anyhow. That aside, the work is done!!

I went shopping this afternoon for some bits and bobs... Retail therapy definitely hit a spot in me today.

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On another note, I was awake last night when the news of Osama's death came out and I felt really weird about the whole thing. I couldn't put my finger on it until I spoke to Daisy about it today. She sums it up perfectly.

Read what she has to say about it on her blog - Oui, c'est un blog.



UPDATE: Got an email back from King's and have resent my exam, phew!
Also thanks Daisy for pointing out my Obama / Osama typo... Seriously, their names..... it's a joke right? Can't believe I typo'd that Obama was dead, but it's understandable!!

music to miss england to

Last night I had an insomniac moment and found myself unable to sleep until 5.30am. Had been feeling what I can only describe as numb and cloudy, which didn't really make a huge amount of sense until this morning when I went to church (arriving an hour late) and ended up hugely emotional and cried about 4 times. Think I've been storing up a lot of emotions this week as the end of my time here suddenly looms before me, and my list of things to do before I go gets longer and longer... And my sadness at leaving Viña rises to meet the longing I have to be back in London.

So here's some music to feel emotional to. Part one, missing England.

I love this Death Cab For Cutie track... I used to listen to it and pretend I had some American romance to whine about, and listen to the lyrics and play my own sort of cartoon-esque music video out in my head. But I realised last week that the tables have turned and I am now the one on the other side of the Atlantic. Pretty glad I didn't listen to this song in about January to be honest... This song used to make me feel emotional enough as it was, with my imaginary pining, let alone it being relevant.



This second one is a song I didn't previously know but I heard live with Phil and Samuel at Lollapalooza. The National are pretty rad, especially the latest album.

"You must be somewhere in London,
You must be loving your life in the rain..."

Brought me and Phil to a wet eyed trying not to actually cry state pretty much immediately.



Very excited to be home, but lots of adventures yet to come... Starting on Friday.

Will be back on the blog front from now on.