Welcome Home

Transitioning home
  I've been back in the States for two weeks now.  And it still feels a little weird. Thoughts that run through my head:

• No longer having to think about how to say something in Spanish before I say it. Yes, sometimes when I had extra time before having a conversation I would 'practice' what I was going to say in my head.
• It's easy to fall back into things, like knowing how most things work, where & how to order in a restaurant
• Walk that far? Nuh- uh. I've already lost my comfort with walking long distances. I had to walk to the business center in my apartment complex and I thought, do I really have to walk all that way.  Evidently that 5 minute walk is a killer. 
• My nephews are as energetic as ever...and they seem to play better now (until one of them hits the other, that is)
• Being back in Chapel Hill feels weird. I've even forgotten how to get some places that I'm was very familiar with and had to us the GPS on my phone. SMH.
• Learned that a car should be run/driven for 15 minutes 2-3 times a week to keep the battery charged and everything working as it should be. Yeah, didn't plan on that at all. Epic fail on my part (and yes I am writing this from the waiting room at a service shop as they install a new battery in my car).
• Sitting on the couch having a late night chat with my roomies felt like old times. I really enjoyed catching up with them and I hope to squeeze in many more late night chats before graduation
• We graduate in almost 9 weeks. That's craziness.
• It's good to be home. 
• I feel like I left part of my heart- love for the culture and the people- in South America. Maybe if I'm lucky someday I can go back and get it.

Bus Travels in South America

Our bus from El Calafate to Bariloche

We have logged over 90 hours on buses in the last 6 weeks here in South America. Before I left the US, you couldn't have paid me to be on a bus for that long but this is actually rather normal in many countries here due in part to airline costs, limited airline routes, weather and the terrain. Surprisingly, I have found the majority of the buses to be quite comfortable. On our two trips that lasted over 20 hours we were even served food and drinks and had large, comfy seats that reclined almost all the way back (known as camas). The buses were relatively inexpensive in most cases ranging from $40 - $170 depending on the route and whether or not we opted for camas or semi-camas (full recline vs. partial recline). We used these long rides to catch up on movies downloaded on iTunes, read books and sleep (sometimes with the aid of benedryl or wine). On most of the rides, there wasn't much to see outside and at times I would wake up after nodding off only to look out the window and see miles and miles of flat land with mountains in the horizon and your occasional wild horse or sheep. We often spent time on unpaved roads for several hours but most of us were able to sleep through that.

Below are some examples of our bus trips:
- Cartagena, Colombia to Medellin, Colombia -13 hours
- Santiago, Chile to Pucon, Chile - 20 hours roundtrip
- Santiago, Chile to Vina del Mar, Chile  - 6 hours roundtrip 

- Punta Arenas, Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina - 12 hours
- El Calafate, Argentina to Bariloche, Argentina - 29 hours
- Bariloche, Argentina to Buenos Aires, Argentina - 21 hours

- Colonia, Uruguay to  Montevideo, Uruguay - 5 hours roundtrip 

24 hour "layover" in Uruguay

After a little over 2 weeks in Argentina, we are on route to our 5th country in South America. Interestingly enough, our original travel plans did not include Uruguay but as I've learned over the past 5 months, you have to be flexible and resourceful while traveling. When searching for our flight from Argentina to Peru (our originally planned final destination) we discovered that flights from Argentina to Peru were considerably more expensive than flights from Montevideo, Uruguay to Peru. To avoid this extra cost, we left Argentina this morning and took a 1 hour ferry to Colonia, Uruguay and a 3 hour bus ride from Colonia to Montevideo. Our flight out of Montevideo will leave tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm so we have about 24 hours in the country but plan to make the best of it!

Bariloche, Argentina

Tonight is our last night in Bariloche. Right now, we're all sitting on our beds (2 twins and a queen, yes they have different bed arrangements here), focusing our attention on our iPads or phones. Bariloche was a nice change from our last two towns because we actually stayed here for a while and had a chance to slow our pace a little bit and truly get a feel for the town. We spent a lazy Sunday afternoon walking through the city and visited an Ice Bar that night. Monday was our first outdoor adventure as we went white water rafting. It was Tiffany and Megan's first time rafting and they handled it like pros. No one fell in and no one got hurt, staying true to our 'no dying' rule. Tuesday we split up- Tiffany and Lula went on Canopy (zip lining) and Megan and I went kayaking. We all enjoyed these activities and Megan and I got some really cool pics. The lake we kayaked on was large and surrounded by mountains. It was a perfect day for our first time kayaking.

Ushuaia - A Day at the End of the World

After a small debacle in Punta Arenas which delayed our arrival into Argentina by 24 hours (see previous post), we set out for our first stop in Argentinian Patagonia. What better place to start than at the end of the world? Although our bus trip was about 13 hours, it seemed a lot shorter because we had to hop off and on several times. At our first stop, we took a ferry (bus and all) for about 15 minutes across a small body of water. 45 minutes later we stopped at Chilean customs to stamp our passports and finally after another 30 minutes we stopped again at the border of Argentina. Lesson learned during this process: although the bus rides are super long, going through customs is SO much easier when crossing borders between Chile and Argentina on a bus. We simply handed over our passports to get stamped, presented proof of payment for our entry fee and were on our way.
Ushuaia is arguably the world's southernmost city. I say arguably because this has been disputed by Chile which claims that a smaller town in Chile, Puerto Williams, is the southernmost city. Our day in Ushuaia included a tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park. We drove through the park and visited several beautiful lakes, camping grounds, hiking trails and even the southernmost post office. The park also has an "End of the World" train which carries tourists part of the way through the park. Our review of the online feedback about the train was that is is super touristy so we opted out.
After our tour, we packed up and went straight to the airport for a flight to our next city, El Calafate (aka home of one of the most amazing glaciers in the world, Perito Moreno). The takeoff from Ushuaia and landing into El Calafate were absolutely amazing! I was surprised to see such beautiful cities in what seems to me like the middle of nowhere. 

The Beauty of Calafate

The Perito Moreno Glacier in Calafate

The glacier up close

This place was so beautiful I thought pictures would be much better than words, so here you go.

Inset: me and Tiffany; Lula and Megan

Chile Won't Let Us Leave

   After our last day in Santiago, Chile we flew south to Punta Arenas and then planned to take a bus to Ushuaia,  Argentina, which is known as the end of the world (el fin del mundo). Unfortunately though, we got stuck in Punta Arenas for an extra day after the bus company lost our tickets and sold our spots. I had paid via Paypal for the tickets two weeks ahead of time but the bus company said that PayPal never sent them confirmation of the payment, so they never issued us tickets. All the other buses were sold out. We were beyond shocked at this development, as now our plans for Ushuaia, Argentina were all screwed up. We would miss a really cool tour we had booked there, off-roading in a 4X4 Jeep through lakes and the open land, followed by an asado (barbecue). We were all really excited for it but we had to cancel.

Stuck in the Atacama desert

It was the noise that woke me up. It sounded like a pop, short and distinctive. The driver of our shuttle bus looked a little worried then not so worried as he looked in the passenger side mirror. There was silence for about 40 seconds and I thought everything was ok. Then another noise started and this one I knew well- it was the sound of a newly flat tire. Great I thought. I have a flight to catch soon. The driver pulls over, gets out and sees the damage. Then he grabs his phone and quickly exits the vehicle. He says something to the lady in the front row, but he says it so softly that barely anyone can hear it. He calls the bus company and I assume they are sending another bus for us.  The driver doesn't make any announcements or say anything to us. This is such a culturally different way of handling things.
 

Flying solo to the Atacama desert

Today I flew alone to Calama and then bused to San Pedro Atacama, the famous desert in Chile. I almost didn't come because I had a wave of fear.  What would happen, traveling alone, what if I get lost? But everything I want is on the other side of fear so I booked the trip. I'm so glad to God that I did. Getting here was a long process and the town seemed much more rugged than I thought it would be, but now I like it. I'm super glad to see something that I've read about in person.  And since I missed visiting the Valle de la Luna in Argentina,  I'm glad to visit it here (by the way Chilean and Argentinian Valle de Lunas are two different valleys and have very different looking scenery).

Valparaiso, Vina del Mar & Chilean writers

Valparaiso, Vina de Mar & Chilean Writers

Yesterday we took a day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. At first I wanted to spend more than a day in Valpo, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to see there. I kept hearing how cool it was but not getting any details, so I agreed with the rest of the group just to make it a day trip.
I was excited to go because I had heard Valpo was a cool spot and also one of my favorite writers, Isabel Allende, is Chilean and set a few of her novels there. I wanted to see in person the town that she's so vividly written about (by the way, I recommend her book Daughter of Fortune, which is partly set in Valpo. It's a very good read.) After walking in streets of Valpo I could see how her descriptions of the city shaped the characters and the overall stories in her books. It was kinda cool to see in person what I had imagined in my head.  

Athena - Chile - Ice cream, Art & Hiking

My favorite things- ice cream, art and hiking

Today was supposed to be the day that we took a tour of the largest winery in Chile, Concha y Toro. But because we couldn't get a hold of them to secure a reservation we decided to hold off and go tomorrow. With the late change in plans we weren't quite clear what to do with our day. In the end, we split up to explore different areas of the city. Tiffany and Lula went to the largest mall in the city, while Megan and I decided to checkout a museum and then go hiking. I think these choices pretty much represent our likes. Meg & I are much more the outdoorsy types and Lula and Tiffany are the resident fashionistas. There's nothing wrong with either approach and I'm glad that as a group we're cool splitting up and doing different things at times. Some people who travel together never like to split up. We've taken a more relaxed approach of just doing what you like.

Flying dogs in the lobby

Megan in the Frozen Dogs exhibit

Tiffany - Chile - Great Times in Pucon!

Santiago Sunrise



Getting some instruction before our first jump

It took us a total of 20 hours to travel to and from Pucon, Chile (10 hours each way by bus) but it was definitely worth the ride. We had such a good time! Although the weather prevented us from climbing the volcano on this trip, we did have the opportunity to go horseback riding, canyoning,
hyrdospeeding and to visit the thermal springs. I think the pics speak for themselves. :)



Weekend trip to Pucon, Chile - Athena

The town of Pucon

A 10 hour bus ride led us to a beautiful place in Chile- the city of Pucon, which is south of Santiago. When we stepped off of the bus we were in awe of the mountains surrounding us. Then I turned around and saw the famous snow capped volcano in the distance I knew I would love this place. It's funny how you can know immediately that a town is your kind of place.

Our hostel is right on the lake. This place reminds a bit of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and met travels there last year for the wedding of my good friend Katie. That weekend was a good time for me, filled with the joy & excitement of being happy for a friend and quiet time for reflection. I hope to have a similar experience here.

Will write more later. Lots of fun to come!

Chillin in Chile - Athena

 

Tiffany and I outside of our school in our Vanna
White poses, lol

So it's now we've been in Santiago for five days. We're back in school and spending a lot of time in class. On Wednesday we had 4 hours of class; 9 hours on each Thursday and Friday and 9 more hours tomorrow. It's been a rude awakening to go from 'vacation' thinking to 'school' thinking so suddenly. One really cool thing is that our classes aren't just exchange students, about half of our class is Chilean. I've really enjoyed chatting with the Chilean students during our breaks and lunches. It feels like I'm getting to know the real Chile. During class I sit apart from the other UNC students so I can get more chances to interact with the Chilean students. I don't mean to be anti-social with my travel mates; I just want to take advantage of this chance to meet new people.
   Tomorrow after class we're heading north to the town of Pucon, which is a popular destination. There's hiking, kayaking and lots of other activities. I'll be sure to post on the blog while we're there.
 

Athena - Catching up in Santiago, Chile

So it's been over a week since I last posted. So sorry about that folks! A lot has happened and I even skipped a whole country (Colombia). But I promise to update you about our 3 stop tour of Colombia in another post. Right now we are in Santiago, Chile, having just arrived yesterday morning. Our classes start tomorrow - yes, we actually do have to attend classes as part of this trip. So soon it will be back to reality, back to reading case studies and participating in class. I'm hoping we don't have any long papers to write, but I guess we'll have to see how the professors are here.

Our school in Chile! Classes start 1/15!

The view from our apartment. Beautiful!

  It feels wonderful to finally stay in one place for a while. We'll be here for three weeks. As much as I liked seeing all of the different cities we saw in Brazil and Colombia, packing and unpacking,

Safe Travels - and Sometimes Not - Athena- Colombia

A lot of people have wished me safe travels or traveling mercies on this trip. And I'm very grateful for the warm thoughts and timely prayers. It seems like sometimes it's just automatic to say this to someone without giving it deep thought. And it's also automatic for us to just think things will be safe...until they're not. While we were in Colombia, in the Cartagena bus station waiting for our bus to Medellin, Megan's backpack was stolen. We didn't notice when it happened, but we have a good idea who took it. None of us realized it was gone until Megan rejoined the group and said "Hey guys, where's my backpack". I immediately thought this wasn't going to end well. It was just a feeling. The next half hour, well it was crazy. We all worried, stressed, and felt violated and frustrated. How could this happen? Megan cried- I would too if I lost my laptop, ipad, some money and other things that I needed.
 

Tiffany- Colombia - Snorkeling in Cartagena

Playa Blanca

Today was a great day! We wanted to take a boat trip to one of the nearby islands and after some deliberation, we decided on Playa Blanca. After about 35 minutes on a very bumpy speed boat, we made it to Isla del Rosario where we were given the option of touring a local aquarium or going snorkeling in the clear blue water. We opted for snorkeling and it was definitely one of the best snorkeling spots that I have been to.

Our next stop was Playa Blanca. Playa Blanca is a very busy, very beautiful beach. We were served lunch which consisted of fish, rice, salad and plantains. We then spent an hour soaking up the sun while being approached constantly by vendors selling everything from fruits and sandwiches to massages and necklaces. The people on the island were extremely nice and I appreciated the fact that most of the vendors (with the exception of the women offering massage services) were not too persistent.

View from our boat right before we jumped in

Lunch at Playa Blanca

Tiffany - Colombia - Intro to Colombia

Picture taken on my morning run in Bocagrande

After 3 weeks in Brazil we have moved on to our 2^nd country in South America. This is also my 9^th country visited in the past 3 months and I am still super excited to explore. We left Rio at around 6am, stopped for a layover in Lima, Peru, then another layover in Bogota and after almost 18 hours of traveling, we arrived at our apartment in Cartagena.
My first few observations of Cartagena included:

• The airport appears to be in the middle of a neighborhood. Literally, you can exit the parking lot and people are walking around, shopping at corner markets or sitting on their porches.
• The taxis here are SUPER tiny. Our driver took out a cord to strap two of the suitcases to the back of the car for our short drive to the apartment. I’m pretty sure we all held our breath for the entire 15 minute drive praying that we wouldn’t turn around to see our clothes scattered across the road 
• People here are very nice. I went on a run on the morning of our second day in Cartagena through one of the wealthier neighborhoods (Bocagrande)  and was surprised to be greeted every few minutes with an occasional “Buenos Dias” or “hola”. This wasn’t something that I experienced much during the past week in Rio so it totally took me by surprise.

Excited to be in our apartment!

Cab driver trying to figure out our luggage issue

Athena- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - New Year's Eve

Happy New Year! Lula, Tiffany, Me & Megan

Beyonce's new CD played as we got dressed to go out for New Year's Eve (NYE). Celebrating NYE in Rio was a big reason why we came to Brazil and the time had finally come. We now danced to Beyonce as we fixed our hair and make up. Tiffany made drinks. We put on our white and sort of white dresses. Here in Brazil it's a tradition to wear white on New Year's Eve; it symbolizes a peaceful upcoming year. People also wear other colors: yellow means money, green good health, red to attract love and passion. But most everyone wears white and maybe a splash of the other colors.


Megan and I enjoying some boiled corn

Athena - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Going to Church & Getting Lost in the Hood

The inside of the Rio Cathedral

Before the festivities of of New Years Eve started, we ventured out into the city to see a few famous cites, the Rio Cathedral and the Escadaria Selarón, stairs.  We first headed to the Escadaria Selarón, but got lost and ended up going to the Cathedral first instead. The Cathedral is well known, but has a very unusual shape - it's like a big upside down cone. Inside, it's almost like a theater in the round, with pews in a 300 degree shape. I'd never seen a such a set up in a church. The coolest thing about the church was the stain glass windows. The cone shaped building actually has four sides that come together at the top in a point. Each side has a large set of stain glass windows. Though the rest of the building is very simple, the stain glass adds a little bit of sophistication. And it did feel good to go to church on NYE. Even though we were tourist and not actually attending a traditional watch night service, it felt good to have a little Jesus on NYE.