My travels through Chile.

Torres Del Paine Trek Day 2

January 17, 2006
Day 111

We had to get up at 4:00 this morning. There's a great viewpoint of the Torres del Paine about an hour from camp, and we wanted to get to it before sunrise. We had walked part way up the trail yesterday afternoon, so we had a good idea of… Read More »

Torres Del Paine Trek Day 1

January 16, 2006
Day 110

Prologue:

Torres del Paine National Park is probably the most beautiful park in all of Chile, and indeed all of Patagonia. Its main attractions are, not surprisingly, the Torres del Paine, which are a series of jagged mountains located in the middle of the park. "Torres" means "towers" in… Read More »

Chilean Election, Part II

January 15, 2006
Day 109

Today I temporarily said goodbye to Argentina as I took a bus to Puerto Natales, Chile.

When John and I got settled in our hostel, we met Tony, a young Englishman who is taking a year off to volunteer, teach, and travel before going to college in the fall.… Read More »

Bugs!

December 26, 2005
Day 89

Sam, Kim, and I had all been sitting around, acting really lazy, and eating a lot of food for the last few days. We all wanted to get out and do something now that Christmas was over and the buses were back running in full force. A nice, long… Read More »

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2005
Day 88

Seeing that it was Christmas, not much was going on today. A few restaurants were open, but pretty much everything else was closed. I didn't have much to do, so I took a walk along the beach to the other side of town. A few people… Read More »

Christmas Eve Dinner

December 24, 2005
Day 87

Today, several people from my hostel planned a Christmas Eve Dinner. I walked to the grocery store with Sam and Kim from Alaska, Carolina from France, and Magnus from Sweden to buy supplies. Town was surprisingly busy. There weren't many Christmas decorations anywhere, which combined with the warm weather,… Read More »

The Ghost Town of Frutillar

December 23, 2005
Day 86

Today I took a bus to the nearby town of Frutillar. It's supposed to be the most German community in all of Chile, and seeing all of the houses and signs in town certainly confirmed that for me. It's also supposed to be… Read More »

Am I Still In Chile?

December 22, 2005
Day 85

I got into Puerto Varas early today after being on a bus for twelve hours overnight. I was able to find a nice hostel run by a German family. In fact, it seems that more people speak German than Spanish here. This small town is a nice break from… Read More »

American Pancakes

December 21, 2005
Day 84

This morning, Katty cooked American-style pancakes for all of us. The Brazilians had never seen such things, so I carefully had to explain how to eat them. "First, smother them with butter. Next, smother them with syrup. Finally, stuff your face with them." I think they… Read More »

Museums and Zoos

December 20, 2005
Day 83

I started my day by making my way to the Plaza de Armas again. After sitting on a park bench and soaking in my surroundings for awhile, I decided that it was time to do something slightly more productive. I took the lazy man's choice and… Read More »