Jason's Trip Around The World, and now life in Singapore - Chile

Santiago, one last time

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:06:00 -0500

Well the last couple of days in santiago have been pretty uneventful. Sunday I was set to go check out the museums, but I was kind of tired from the bus ride so I went and had a nap at about one, and didn't wake up until five, so I just ended up watching the football games with a guy from Israel who was a big football fan, too bad the saints lost. The hostel I am staying in is really nice, and I got the room to myself, so no cute roommate.

I figured Monday would be a good day to go see the museums, so I got up early, and set out, but just my luck, all the museums are closed on Mondays, so since I was close to the castle I forgot to take pictures of, I thought I would check that out, but alas it was closeed as well, so I was able to take a picture of the outside of it, but that wasn't to exciting.. So I just ended up wandering around the city, had a great lunch of seafood and rice, and then made my way back to the hostel.

When I got back to the hostel I decided to practice my pool, crappy wood table, bleh.. Then this guy came walking in with a Calgary Flames hat. He is from Australia and a big Kipper fan, so we chatted for a bit, he has got himself a girlfriend from here, he speaks no spanish, she speaks no english, but they are learnng, kind of neat.

Other than that not to much went on, I am just sitting on the couch watching flavor of love, writing this on my PDA so excuse any typos. Tomorrow I am off too Mendoza. I think I am going to try to spend more time in fewer destinations, I think that will allow me to meet more people, and get a better grasp of the local culture, seems I have been on way too many busses lately.

Oh ya the hostel I booked in Mendoza double booked, but they booked me in a similar place for me, I hope it is nice, as I will be there for five days Then I will think I will head to Buenos Aries and get my Brazilian visa sorted out, and perhaps spend a couple weeks in the rocking city of B.A, but we will see how things go.

Back In Santiago

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 09:20:43 -0500

Well I have arrived back in Santiago, after another lovely 12hour bus ride. I slept really well again even though the lady next to me snored most of the night. It was a double decker bus, it's a weird feeling sitting on the top of the bus, I was sitting 2nd row from the front, so like ride above the driver, it kept looking like he was going to hit things, but I guess it was just my vantage point, as we arrived safely

The bus didn't drop me off at the main terminal like the guy who sold me the ticket said it would, instead it was in the middle of no where. But I could see some familiar buildings in the distance so I figured since it was a nice cool morning a walk would do me well, stretch the legs. So about an hour of walking I arrive to my hostel at 8am, obviously to early to expect them to have my room ready, so I signed in, and had a little tour of the place, looks quite nice, pool table, big 48 Plasma, which hopefully I can watch the football game on.. Way nicer than the first place I stayed in Santiago, and that place wasn't bad. No wireless though, just a PC. I am writing this at the bus terminal where I went to check out how to get to Mendoza on Tuesday, found a wireless signal coming from an internet cafe, you think they would have it secured somewhat, but it is wide Open

Oh and also in the bus terminal I found a hair salon, so I got my hair cut finally, it was driving me nuts, $7 after a $2tip, so pretty decent deal, that reminds me of an idea I had when I was waiting in the airport back home, there should be hair salons in the airport, because you have to get there 3 hours early, so everyone is just sitting around, and I am sure a hair salon would do well, not sure if it would be allowed having scissors and other sharp things in the 'secured area'

So today I think I will try to watch the Bears / Saints game, and maybe check out a museum or two that I missed last time I was here, since my hostel is pretty close to a couple

The Plan

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:18:05 -0500

Well I slept like a rock last night, I watched a movie (Blood Diamonds,
really good), and then was asleep by 10:00. This morning I spent a good
chunk of time trying to figure out a plan for the next little while. Which
was a little painful on this slow internet connection. But it beats sitting
in an internet cafÃ©! This afternoon I went and got my bus ticket, and walked
around a bit, surprisingly I wasn't really that stiff. Today they tested the
volcano warning system, like a Air Raid Siren, it was crazy loud, didn't
help that I was a block away from the fire station where it is based, nearly
gave me a heart attack, they have a Red/Yellow/Green warning system, they
are at yellow, I think it said because of the large amount of gas emitting
from the volcano, apparently tours up the volcano today were canceled, so I
was lucky I went when I did! I bought a basket of Raspberries, like 2 pounds
of them for 500pesos about $1.25, not sure I will be able to eat them all
but for that price I couldn't say no!

So here is the plan! I will be heading back to Santiago on Saturday night to
arrive there on Sunday, will stay there for 2 nights in my first dorm room
it's only a 2 bed dorm room, so I figured I would try it out, as my room in
Rio during Carnival is a dorm room, so I have to get used to them I guess.
Who knows maybe my roommate will be a hottie!

From Santiago I will go to Mendoza, Argentina, a 6 hour bus ride through the
Andes, which is supposedly scenic. Mendoza apparently is a very neat city in
the desert of Argentina, right in the wine district, it's very hot there,
right around 35 as a high, and 25 as a low! I think I will need to get some
stronger sunscreen, the 45SPF just isn't enough in this intense sun, even
the locals here use 50-60!

I was able to find a nice looking hostel in Mendoza that got rave reviews
with my own private room for $35 a night, which is a good deal, as it is
high season there. So I have booked that for 5 nights, then from there I am
not fully sure where I will head, but it will be in the general direction of
Buenos Aires, as I will need to get my Brazilian Visa sorted out there as I
have to be in Rio on Feb 14th which is sneaking up quickly. To get a
Brazilian visa you need to show proof of a ticket in and out of the country,
I will likely book a return flight from Feb 14 - March 16th, (The return
flight is the same price as a one way ticket about $350, so even if I don't
use the return ticket that is fine), but I figure a month to see the 5th
largest country in the world should be enough, since I don't speak a word of
Portuguese, my little phrase book will be in heavy use I would imagine!

So tonight I will go check out the night life of Pucon, there apparently is
a nice club inside the hotel/casino. Then I have all of Saturday to kill, as
the bus leaves at 20:10. I am sure I will be able to leave my suitcase at
the hotel, so I won't have to lug that around all day, but not sure on what
I will do for the 8 hours I have to be out of my room. (They are very strict
on the check out time, as the hotel is all booked up for the weekend) So
hopefully I can find something mildly interesting to do, that doesnÂ’t get me
too sweaty, as I won't be able to shower before the 12hour bus ride! Perhaps
I will go for a boat ride on the lake or something like that.

Villarrica Volcano

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:58:12 -0500

Well I have just returned from an amazing, but exhausting climb of
Villarrica Volcano. I must say this was probably the most amazing thing I
have done, and hopefully some of the pictures I took can do it some justice.

First we got our gear ready, snow pants, jacket, gloves, pick axe, and
boots, then we drove 30 minutes to get to the volcano. Which incidently is
a ski hill in the winter. We then took a 10minute ski lift up the volcano to
where the snow starts. From there it didn't look like it was going to be all
that difficult of a climb.. So we started walking up, the snow never melts,
but does get a little slushy in the sun, so it's very icey, and not overly
easy to climb up, we have to zig zag our way up the volcano. So about 45mins
in, it's break time, and the top of the volcano doesn't seem any closer, I
wasn't really tired, but I then knew it was going to be quite a hike.
Another hour climb, it's starting to get harder, the air is getting thing,
the top of the volcano is almost 2500 meters, I wasn't having that much
problem with the air, as the is the same elevation of Calgary, my problem
was that well I guess I am a tad out of shape. 30 more minutess, some of the
group are really slowing down. I am doing ok, I have to put on a good show,
as I am the only Canadian in the group of 9, the others were from Germany,
Brazil, and Argentina. The group leaders say it is only another hour to the
top, it is getting steeper, and definatley more difficult. So one last
break, and then finally we reach the top!

It was like being on another planet! Smoke was gushing out of the volcano,
it is active, but the last time it errupted was in the 70's however a few
months ago there was a scare, as there was a lot of siesmic activity, and we
have to wear helmets as sometimes rocks fall from above us, and sometimes
the volcano shoots out rocks, you could see them scattered around on top of
the snow, most were baseball sized, but some were larger, like basketball
size. Anyhow, I was up closer to take a look into the volcano, and the
sulphur gas was overwhelming, very hard to breath, and really burns the
eyes. So I tried to find a vantage point opposite the wind, I took some
photos, but I don't think they turned out too good, as there was just too
much smoke from the volcano, but I did see several gushes of lava about 50
feet down, it was quite amazing.

So we sat around the top of the volcano, as other groups started to trickle
in, and ate lunch, it was very windy, and kind of chilly up on top, it was
now time for the decent, and that was so much fun, there were grooves from
all the tourists over time, and most of the way you could just slide down on
your ass, kind of like a luge, with out the luge, as was a bit frozen, but
it was a nice quick way down, and in some parts you were going at a pretty
good speed!

Well I will upload the photos shortly, and then tonite I will probably take
it very easy, as I am quite tuckered out, and then tomorrow during the day I
have to figure out where the heck I am going next, a couple of the places I
had in mind, seem very booked up, so it should be interesting, I may look
for a cheaper place here in Pucon and stay a few more days, as I quite like
this town.

Internet Explorer

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:17:03 -0500

I just logged on to my website using Internet Explorer, which I never do, and wow it's layed out a fair bit different than if viewed with Firefox. (Which I Recommend)

So I have adjusted the site a bit to look a little better in Internet Explorer. If you ever see something that looks a little lame in Internet Explorer, let me know, and I will try to fix it.

Just sitting on my balcony looking at the sun setting and the volcano, having a Rum & Coke a bottle of nice Domican Republic Rum and a bottle of coke for about $6. I cooked my own dinner, of spicy shrimp with pasta, food at the supermarket is so cheap, so I figure I will cook a bit more this week to make up for the luxury of a king size bed, and my own shower that doesn't suddenly go cold on you during your shower. Hostels and Houses here use Propane to heat there water, so when it gets hot it is scalding hot, but then goes to ice cold in a flash.

Pucon is filled with tourists, mostly from Argentina. I am considering heading there next, instead of my original plan to work my way up north to Peru.. I am just so close to Argentina right now, and having to be in Brazil for Rio on Feb 13th, I think I would be rushing to see all there is to see in Peru, as everyone I have talked to has nothing but good things to say about Peru. And since I am way down south it doesn't make sense to go north just to come way down south again in a couple months, so I will have to figure out the logistics of getting to Argentina next, and maybe go to Puerto Montt in Chile, which is even further south, but apparently is quite spectacular, and this is the only time of year when it's even remotely warm at a high of 20 or so, but nearly 16hours of day light.

Pucon

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:38:55 -0500

Well it was just over a 12 hour bus ride from Valparaiso to Pucon. But the buses here are so very comfortable, I got a fairly decent sleep. Chile has a top notch bus and road system for sure!

Got to my hostel, it was a ok looking house, they said my room wasn't ready yet, which was understandable, as I got there at 10am.. So I wondered around the town of 15000, and I must say it is a beautiful place, a nice snow capped Volcano on one side, and a huge lake with black volcanic sand on the other, and the air is so clear.. It was a bit cool at 10:00 or so, but by the time I had finished lunch at 12:45 it was starting to heat up. The high today is +30, so it is hard to imagine there is snow on the volcano!

So I go back to my hostel, and they show me my room, which was a 6person dorm room, even though on the internet I had booked a private room, so I said, no thanks, and got my luggage, and went on my way, she said I was crazy as it would be impossible to find a room, but I thought I would take my chances.. So I wondered over closer to the lake where I had saw some nicer looking places, and tried one hostal, and they were all full for the night, so a small case of panic set in, then I saw an actual hotel, and since I was planing on treating myself to a nice place in my next destination as I have been living really under budget, I decided I would see what they had to offer.. $125US a night, for my own little apartment type room was they only room they had, so I went up to take a look at it, it's was quite nice, big bed, nice bathroom, and a nice balcony on a nice little street, with a view of the Volcano. So I figured what the hell, and have booked it for 4 nights.

I have looked into climbing the volcano, which I think I will do Thursday, you start at 5am, and climb to a summit where you can watch the sun rise, then continue up the snow capped volcano to the very top, and if I'm lucky I will be able to see lava in the volcano, and then we apparently slide down the mountain like an ass sled. It's $90cdn but they provide all the gear.

So hopefully I will have some pretty nice photos to upload, the town of Pucon seems to have free wireless internet all over the town, it's not overly fast, but quite handy.

Well I think I will walk over to the lake and maybe take a swim in it. It is massive lake. It is a shape google maps doesn't have the detailed maps for this area. but if you have google earth, take a look at 39.56S / 72.02W you will see the volcano and lakes there

Sunday = Football

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 14:10:53 -0500

Last night was similar to Friday night, hung around the hostel drank some beers, then a guy from England who has been living here for about a year took a bunch of us out to a neat bar that the locals hang out at, we stayed out there till about 4:00 and then some of headed back to the hostel, where we sat around talking for another couple hours, it's great learning about other countries, and people from all over the world. A couple guys from San Francisco here had some crazy stories about floating on a boat for a week down the Amazon, they are true budget backpackers, not really my style, but interesting to hear some of there stories, they too are going to Pucon on Monday, however they are likely going to hitchhike, as they said there is no way they would pay the $20 for the bus ride.. I didn't want to tell them that I spent an extra $20 and upgraded my seat, similar to first class on a plane, I figured since it is a 10 hour bus ride, and it is over night, I would like to be as comfortable as possible.

Today was kind of cloudy and cool, so I wondered around for a bit, and just watching the football playoff games now, Europeans don't really seem to grasp the concept of american football, so some of us are trying to explain the game to them, they don't really care much for it..

Valparaiso

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:42:30 -0500

Well Valparaiso is a port city, lots of Navy personal here, along
with a large blue collar class of people, it is certainly different than
Santiago or Vina Del Mar, but still a pretty nice city built in the hills.
You wouldn't want to bike much here, the hills are steep and numerous, I
made a wrong turn a couple times when I was getting used to the area, and
well that wasn't much fun.

The Hostel is quite big, lots of people always coming and going, pretty laid
back fun enviroment.. Last night I was playing a Swiss drinking game based
on the card game Uno, with 3 guys from Sweden, 2 guys from Argentina, and
myself, it was quite fun.. We then headed out to a night club, they had a
pool table so I played pool with some local guys, they don't play 8ball
here, it was a rather weird game where all 15 balls were placed along the
rails of the entire table, then you shoot them in order from 1-15 the
person who sinks the most balls win, the table was a bit bigger 5'x10' and
had really small pockets.. There were 4 people playing, I won by sinking 10
of the 15 balls. They bought me a shooter of Pisco to celebrate my
victory..

It was a pretty fun bar, lots of people from all over the world there, drank
a fair amount of beer. I was slightly hungover this morning, so I took it
pretty easy today, walked around town with the 2 guys from Argentina, and a
guy from Sweden, bought my bus ticket to Pucon for Monday.

Tonight apparently we are playing another drinking game, perhaps quarters,
which no one here has played before, or perhaps an Argentinian game.. I will
have to take it a little easier tonight!

There isn't a whole lot to see here, so not much in the way of pictures, and
the internet is really slow, but I will upload a few tonight.

Bus Time

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:45:00 -0500

Just finishing packing up. (Which I am getting much quicker at), and will be heading off to the Port town of Valparaiso, which is about a 10minute bus ride from here for about $2, ($4 if I have to pay for a seat for my backpack which I may, as it is just a public city bus)

I am not sure what the internet situation is at this new hostel I am going to, so if there aren't as many frequent posts from me, don't be too alarmed!

Yesterday was probably the hottest day yet, as I was walking to the mall I passed Castillo Wullf, a house built right on the coast in the 1920's, now it is more an Art Gallery, so I posted some pictures from a local artist who was having a show there, for all you art lovers out there. His work fit in well with the house, it was a good mix..

At the mall I was just to tempted by the food courts to pass it up, had been a while since i had something greasy, so KFC it was, the colonels recipe must have got mixed up in translation, it was more bland, no real spices, it's odd as most food court places serve beer as well, and it's the same price as the pop, but I stuck with pop this time.

Found a nice little Windbreaker jacket with a hood, on sale for about $20. (Clothes weren't overly cheap at this mall, about on par with home, except shoes were a fair bit cheaper)

Went out for dinner with Kerstin from Sweden who has been at this bed and breakfast for 2 weeks, it was a nice place, but kind of dull for a younger person. It was handy having someone who could speak Spanish fluently do the ordering, I ordered a Picante Shrimp dish, hoping for something with a little kick to it, again it was bland, all the food here seems lacking in spice, it came with one little red pepper, which I guess was the 'Hot' part. The food is tasty, just a bit bland, and no black pepper to be found here!

Well it's 15mins to check out time, better finish up packing.

Seafood!

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 09:31:23 -0500

Finally ate some good seafood last night, Salmon with Shrimp, Muscles, and Squid on a bed of rice.. It was very tasty, and was pretty inexpensive at about $8, the 3 beers i had were $10, so more than the meal.

The guys I met from Victoria were interesting group, they are struggling with Spanish as well, 2 of them are east indian, and the other is whiter than me, well he was redder than me, as he was really sun burnt.. But since the 2 guys are darker, they almost look Spanish, so everyone assumes they can speak it Spanish, they are heading in the opposite direction as me, but will be in Rio for Carnival, so we will keep in touch.

Today at breakfast I met a girl from Sweden, she has been in S.America for 3months and is leaving next week, she can speak 4 languages, I have a greater respect for people that know multiple languages, especially fluently, as I am struggling with speaking Spanish, I can get by, but it limits the number of people I can meet/talk to. There are loads of tourists here from other parts of S.America, it's interesting, I can spot the people from Argentina out pretty easy, the women tend to be more dressed to impressed and the guys have much longer hair, speaking of which I will need to get a hair cut soon, although the longer it gets the more protection from the sun it will give my head.

Well I am off to the mall, I will need to get a jacket, and perhaps a long sleeved shirt, as it gets much colder down South at night, 5-10 degrees and the zipper on my heavier jacket I brought broke, it was old and cheap jacket anyways.

And to all the people in Calgary reading this, I know it's bitterly cold there, so stay warm, and I will have a PiÃ±a Colada, served in a pineapple for you all.

Sun Free Day

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 20:00:22 -0500

Well today was a keep out of the sun day. So while it was still cloudy I took a hike up a big hill to see the presidentâ€™s summer residence, but just my luck he was actually using the house, and no one was allowed even close to it, armed guards all over the place. But I did walk through â€˜Little Italyâ€™, so on my way back I stopped and had a good Calzone, and some ice cream. Then came back to the B&B, and researched on where my next destinations will be, Friday I leave for Valparaiso, which is about a 10min bus ride from here, itâ€™s an old port city, and apparently has really good seafood, and nightlife. So I will party it up there on the weekend, and then on Monday head down south to Puscon, where I will be able to hike up a volcano which will be neat.. Itâ€™s a 9hour bus ride from Santiago, but the buses are quite comfy, and since it is a night bus, I hopefully should be able to sleep on it.

Now I am off to go have dinner with three guys I met today from Victoria, they are doing a similar route as me in S. America.

Sunburn

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:59:00 -0500

Just a quick post today.. When I woke up this morning it was
overcast, and quite chilly, so I decided to go for a stroll and check out
the city. I walked along the beach line to the other end of the city, along
the way I passed and out door navy gun museum, it was somewhat interesting,
I never really thought of Chile as a Naval superpower, but I guess with this
much coast line you would have to be.

3.5hours later I had reached the other end of the city, by then the sun was
fully out, and the beaches were filling up. I had made my way to a really
nice beach, nice sand, so I thought I would hang around and check it out. I
put on another coat of sunscreen, and wandered around, having some tasty
frozen treats.. Frozen Pineapple Yogurt is my favorite..

I decided I have had enough sun, as the top of my head was getting a bit
toasty. I didn't bring a hat because it was so overcast when I left.. So I
hopped on a bus and went back to my part of town.. Went to go lay down for a
couple hours before dinner, and well now it is midnight and I have just
awoken.. I am not really hungry, I have some fruit in the fridge, I will grab that. My head is kind of sunburnt. As are my
feet, the ocean water must have washed away the sunscreen.. The rest of my
body is fine, the 45spf sunscreen did it's job.

I think tomorrow I will go shopping for a hat and a wind breaker jacket, as
it is quite chilly along the coast at night.

ViÃ±a Del Mar

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:29:05 -0500

Well I have arrived at my bed & breakfast in Vina Del Mar, seems like a nice little city, reminds me of Acapulco, with houses on the hills surrounding the coast, just the hills here are steeper. The bed & breakfast is quite nice, fairly cozy, it is this nice lady's house and there are I think 5 rooms here for guests, $28 a night, and includes a full breakfast, and towels, and high speed wireless, which will make for uploading photos a tad quicker

I took a quick walk along the beach, the air is cool as is the water, it was actually quite nice, it only felt like low 20's along the beach, and the water is quite brisk, and the surf is quite strong.. I didn't take a dip as I wasn't in my trunks, but I will tomorrow, as the beach is only a 3min walk from where I am staying. I will have to watch the sun though, as even though it feels cool the sun is very strong here, and I am going to try to avoid my usual vacation sunburn.

Farewell Santiago (For Now)

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 08:29:00 -0500

Well today I am leaving Santiago, and heading for the coast (ViÃ±a Del Mar & Valapariso) so here is a run down on my thoughts of this city of 6 million. I walked around the downtown area and a few sub areas (each district is called a Barrio), I felt safe all the time, mind you at night I only stayed in Barrio Provedencia & Bellavista at night, I was told there were some areas that are fine at day, and very scary at night so fortunatley I didn't go to any of those areas..

There are LOTS of stray dogs, of all sorts from cocker spaniels to German Shepards, and oddly enough not alot of dog shit all over the place, the locals don't seem to mind them, restaurants just shoo them away, and they seem to just understand and wonder off, all the dogs seem very passive, and friendly, lots of the locals pet them there was this one shop keeper down from the hostel who puts water out for them.

I also liked how you the shop keepers didn't harass you to buy stuff, or go to there stores, the only time this happened was around dinner time, (10:00pm), waiters would try to get you to sit down, waiters didn't have sections like they do back home,if you were able to get the person to sit down, they were your waiter. There are tons of parks and green spaces all through out the city, with statues and fountains, it's quite nice, and there are always people cleaning which is a huge task. From what I can tell there is no recycling program, people just throw pop bottles in the garbage, and then some people go through the garbage and take the bottles, but there is no recycling fee on plastic bottles so maybe they just get money for collecting plastic, not too sure. Another interesting thing, no parking meters there are guys with little ticket printing machines, they help you park, and print a ticket, and you pay them for the spot and some will even wash your car for you while your eating dinner.

There is alot of construction going on, lots of old buildings are being torn down to make way for new ones, shame as some of these buildings are several hundered years old, but lots of them were in bad states of repair and lots of the old government buildings were bombed in the 70's when Pinochet took power.

All in all I would say Santiago is pretty civil, but I didn't get a really friendly vibe. Tthere were lots of slums outside of the down town area and the gap between rich and poor is quite large I think, but I think that will be common through out S. America. There is also a very mixed population here, lots of German decendents, so blonde hair isn't that uncommon, so lots of locals would speak to me in Spanish, thinking I was from here, I was even asked directions to places a few times, it was a strugle to try to answer back though, but in time. Also I noticed a fair amount of Asians here, they appeared to be Japanese, there are tons of Sushi places here, along with hot dog stands
and Pharmacy's there everywhere.

I haven't yet been able to adapt to the 1am nightclub start time, so I didn't really get to check out the night life but it seemed quite vibrant and busy, I'll have to learn how to sleep in till noon or take longer naps in the evening, as staying out till 6:00am would be difficult since I have been waking up around 6:00am, but I am sure I will adapt.

I think I would have enjoyed Santiago more if I could actually hold a conversation in Spanish, but it is a pretty cosmopolitan city, and perhaps I will pass through here after Carnival ini Brazil, as I did have to pay a $132us tax to get into Chile, so I best make the most of it!!

Museum Day?

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:54:22 -0500

Well today was supposed to be Musuem day, as several of the Museums in town are free on Sundays So I walked to the archaeological Museum, and to my dismay it was closed, for repairs, it was open a couple days ago, as I nearly went in.. So then I was going to go to the Pre Colombian Museum, but along the way I found this castle. on top of a large hill, so I went up to that, it was quite the hike, like climbing up Nose Hill in Calgary except steeper, very steep steps, but the view was worth it. Unfortunatley I came back down a different way than
the way I went up, and forgot to go to the actual Castle, a total blonde moment I didn't realize that until I had made it all the way down
and the thought of climbing back up again in the 35degree heat didn't overly excite me.

I was just too tuckered out to then make the walk over to the next Museum, so I just strolled back to the hostel. And walked
through the Central Market, there was all sorts of Seafood, Meats and Produce there, some pretty bizzare looking Seafood items, the smell in there however was quite potent, and I didn't really want to stay around and take photos.. But did pick up some fruit, plums, nectarines, cherries, and banana's They taste much better here for some reason, perhaps as they are much fresher..

Two girls were walking in to my building just as I got back, one from New Zealand, and one from Australia, chatted with them for a while, gave them a few tips, and things to see then they went to sleep, they were pretty zonked out from there 15hour flight, which I could totally relate to. But they said they would be up for going out for dinner.

I have some more photos to upload that I took today, but I will probably do that on Monday when I get to my new hostel in ViÃ±a Del Mar, as apparently I will have wireless access in my own room, which will be nice, as I don't like parading my laptop around the hostel for everyone too see. I am sitting on a little patio in the shade at the hostel typing this, it is quite nice to be outside and just relaxing..