Chilean Adventures: October 2011

So October has just flown by! Hands down busiest month here in Chile, but definitely one of the best! It started out with me traveling to San Pedro de Atacama, which is in the north and one of the driest deserts in the world, then to Bolivia and the salt flat of Uyuni, and back to San Pedro. I went with 6 other girlfriends and we had all planned this trip together mainly to see Bolivia. We booked 4 day tour of Bolivia up to the salt flat from San Pedro through a company called "Cordillera Tours" through Chile before hand and met up with them in Atacama. Bolivia was absolutely amazing, and I don't even know where to begin. I saw some of the most beautiful sights I have seen in my whole life. The tour was with a total of about 25 people in 4 toyota land crusiers with guides from Bolivia. The 4 days we were there I think the only time we were on a paved road was in the small town at the end of the tour. The most amazing thing to me was that the drivers knew where they were going and how we didn't get lost. Literally we were in the middle of nowhere the whole time, it was so crazy, and we would just drive into nothingness. It was also insane cause I'm pretty sure our driver was no more then 24 or 25 and he said that this was just his 3rd year doing the tours. He was amazing. The first day we saw several lagoons and went to a hotspring. Also, we saw some geisers. At the lagoons there were flamingos! More flamingos then I've ever seen, i didn't even know they come from the desert. At night we got to this little "hotel" in the middle of nowhere. All us girls got to stay in the same room, we shared beds to keep warm because it was so cold at night! That first night our elevation was approximately 15,000ft. The highest I have ever been in/slept in. None of us slept that night. At one point we all woke up in the middle of the night at like 1am and said "Oh my GOSHHH, this is the longest night ever!!!" We couldn't breath, couldn't sleep, felt sick, were thirsty, so pathetic. ... but it was hilarious. One of the problems was that we went to be so early because we were so tired, but then couldn't sleep. I kept saying it felt like we didn't have any oxygen in the room because it probably didn't have good ventalation and we were at an extremely high altitude. I was literally was having trouble breathing and felt like I was suffocating, while sharing a twin bed, now who can get a good night sleep like that?! haha. Well they next day we got up bright and early and were off again to see more lagoons and other desert sights. We drove and sight saw all day and landed at a hotel made of salt (because of the obvious excess) in the afternoon. Even the ground was salt, which made changing your clothes difficult, but I guess that what the bed is for. That night the sunset was amazing and then the moon was so bright that you couldn't see any stars. It lit up the whole sky. The only other thing I saw in the sky was Venus, which was shining so bright. It was beautiful. That night we slept better and the 3rd day left to get to the salt flat. We got to the salt flat and it was just forever and ever of while nothingness. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before except maybe like looking at the ocean and how far it goes, but with the color white, and salt instead of water with mountains in the background. Especially then I had no idea how the drivers knew where they were going. There were definitely no gas stations or subways off the path. At one point we were in the middle of the salt flat taking pictures and our friend who always has to go to the bathroom asked her driver, "so is there a good place to pee around here?" he looked to the left, looked to the right, and said "nope". So she found a nice rock to go behind at the next stop. After the salt flat we went to the "train cemetary" near the small town where they dumb the old trains they can't use anymore and we got to play on those. It was pretty cool. Then after the town we were the only ones who were going to be heading back to Chile, because the rest of the people were heading up higher into the north of Boliva. So we all squeezed into one jeep and drove half of the way back that day and half the next. It was about 4-5 hours BOTH days. And our new driver only liked to listen to his cds, which I can't even try to describe how the music ways, lets just say you can only take so many times of the same songs with the same beat over and over. When we got to where we were staying we decided not to bring our stuff down from the top of the car cause we had to leave from the place at 4:30 the next morning. So we slept in our clothes and didn't brush our teeth. The next morning, he played the same 2 cd's again all the way to the border. This time it was 4:30am, so even better. But I have to say the sunrise in the car was absolutely amazingly beautiful. Also with Venus shining so bright and the full moon. It was beautiful. So we eventually made it back to Atacama and spent some time relaxing in the desert. I went sandboarding one day, which is just like snowboarding but on the sand and you have to climb up the hill. It was pretty fun, but extremely tiring and, well... sandy. We also went horse-back riding one day which was great as well. Then I headed back to Santiago for about 8 hours until I was off in a bus to Buenos Aires to meet my MOTHER!!!

SO, like i said i bussed to to Buenos Aires which doesn't seem to bad on paper, but it was needless to say, 24 hours! But totally worth it of course. It was snowing at the border which was beautiful. My mom's plane ended up being late but I eventually met up with her and we stayed at a fancy hotel that had the most amazing bed and pillows ever which was great coming from where I had been staying just a few days prior. We did a lot of exploring in the city. We didn't have much time cause I had to be back for school Tuesday but saw a lot. We went to Caminata, where the tango was born, and did some shopping as well as got to tour the soccer stadium where the Copa America Final was played. It was really cool. The section for the visitors was in the corner and fenced with barbed wire. My mom and I thought that was interesting and funny. Then on our last night we went to a tango show! It had a 3 course meal and was followed by the dancing, singing, and band playing of indigenous music. It was awesome!! It was small and intimate and I was right by the stage. At one point, I had turned around and asked the man behind me to bring us somemore water cause my mom kept bugging me to get some more and it happened to be a DANCER about to go on stage. He laughed and winked at me and I was so awefully embarressed, it was hilarious. Then we headed back to Santiago.

In Santiago, my mom and I got our own apartment where we've been staying for the past 10 or so days. She met my host family and has been coming to school with me which has been great. We also went to my internship together in El Monte 3 times and did Armenian dancing with them. It was really fun and everyone loved her. It was funny because everyone kept saying how young she looked and that she could be my sister and there is no way she is my mom. They went on and on and on. haha but i don't think she minds. She also cooks for me and we've got to spend a lot of time together, its been great. Last weekend we went to Vina de Mar and Valparaiso which are by the beach. It was beautiful and we got to stay in my mom's friends place right on the water. It was an amazing view from their apartment. Now it is her last night here... :( I'm going to be so sad when she goes home, its been such a great visit and I had really missed her. There is nothing that can compare to a hug from your mom and that is one of the things I missed the most. That was the longest I had ever gone without seeing her and it is going to be even longer after she leaves. Now we are just trying to get my dad to plan a trip ;) But, after she leaves I am heading to Lima and Machu Pichu in Peru because we have a holiday. So that will be a good thing to help me get over her leaving. After that its crack down on the studying because my finals will be coming up and the end of the semester! So soon it seems like. Hopefully I can get it together and do well on my final assignments and tests. School is tough as ever and I am having a really hard time with the tests. Its more difficult then I could have imagined. It is also weird cause I am not used to the semester system and it seems to be so dragged out. But anyways, I'll just have to do my best. Until next time!