San Pedro Atacama North into Bolivia (Uyuni, Potoci, Sucre)

Death Valley

Valley of the Moon

Salt Lagoons

San Pedro Atacama

We last left off with our experiences in Pucon down in the lake district of Chile. From there we hopped way up north to San Pedro Atamaca which is the driest dessert in the world so it was a bit of a shock to us. The entire town was made up of one story Adobe mud buildings, as seen in the picture above. Like Pucon and Puerto Natales in Chile, this town evolved around tourism, but was subtle because of the towns rustic look. We went and visited the death valley, and the valley of the moon. Both valleys were nice, and we were glad to see them. The following day we paid a driver to take us out to the local salt lagoons, which turned out to be a riot. We got in and were amazed by how buoyant we were. You actually ´bob´like a buoy. When I stood up straight and just floated my heart was just at the surface, and when you try and swim...well it was nearly impossible because your feet came out of the water and your face would threaten to plunge into the salty solution. So for 2 hours or so Kara and I ´bobbed´. Once home and desalted we spent our night from 9-1 taking an extraordinary astronomy class out in the desert. This part of Chile is known to have some of the clearest skies in the world and in 2011 they will have finished building the worlds largest telescope, which was a big deal and the community was very proud of this. The program we attended was called ´space´run by a French couple; they taught us about the stars, light travel, constellations, and planets. They had about 10 different telescopes set up for the evening. One of the more powerfull ones was pointed directly at the moon from which craters could easily be seen.

The following day we started our 2 night 3 day 4x4 journey from Chile into Bolivia which is actually the only way to get into the country from where we were. For Kara and I, this was really the start of another trip. We hopped in a bus early in the morning which took us to the Bolivian border where Kara and I had to leave possession of our passports until we paid the obscene entrance fee at our destination (Uyuni). So, until then our trust worthy driver held onto them, who ended giving Kara and a couple panic attacks as he had misplaced them several times throughout this journey. Our trip brought us by beautiful lagoons set at the base of massive mountains, up to 14,700 ft accompanied by a piercing headache and down across salt flats further than the eye could see. But details of this I think are best left for verbal description.

Salar de Uyuni

Largest salt plain in the world

Once out of no-mans land and in Uyuni we spent a quick day exploring then connected with some friend and took a 7hr white knuckle trip to Potosi. This city is spread along a massive hill.. I guess more like a mountain. It is the highest city in the world for its size, resting at 13,451 ft. It’s well known for its mining and has 250 entrances and employs over 8,000 workers. The following day we made arrangements with a guy named ´Freddie Silver´, an ex-miner to give us the tour; he asked if we wanted the tour or the ´extended tour´. We chose the ´extended tour´and Kara, myself, and our Irish friend, Ken took off. Our first stop was to gather up the appropriate gear, then we headed off to the miners market where we had to buy ´gifts´for the miners... the word´gifts´now has a whole new definition. We bought them Soda, Cigarettes, Coco leafs, 98% Alcohol, Dynamite, and Ammonium Nitrate (its makes a VERY big bang)... you know just a few ´gifts´. As we walked up to the entrance of the mine three men (the bosses) walked up to us and we bribed our way in with a couple bottles of hard alcohol, coco leafs, and a few sticks of dynamite. The walk into the mine was .7 miles, Kara could stand upright but I had to bend the old knees and feel ´the burn´. Our guide ´Freddie Silver´taught us about the process of mining and the minerals they were mining (tin, zinc, silver) . Since we opted for the ´extended tour´ Freddie pointed to a deep dark hole which would take us down six levels (300ft). I saw Kara bend over the old wooden latter and start down, her head lamp became dimmer and dimmer and soon I couldn’t see her at all. I turned to our friend Ken and said, ´I am so happy her parents didn’t just see that´, we laughed and went down ourselves (there is a video of her doing this below). I wondered how they got a ladder so long and it soon became clear, the last foot of each ladder was bound together to the next ladder by a piece of thin rope (so comforting)... Once down at the bottom (the devils layer) we crawled on our stomachs for about 100 feet with the deafening sounds of the drills ahead getting louder and louder. When we got to the opening where the miners were drilling there was so much noise and dust being kicked up it was hard to think or breathe. We literally stood inches behind the miners watching them drill the holes for the dynamite, then we watched them clean the holes out, then we watched them put the dynamite into the holes, then ... ¨shouldn’t we be leaving?¨... then they shove the holes full of Ammonium Nitrate.. then they lit the torch.... Our guide yells at us to get ´MOVING.´ We throw ourselves back on our stomachs slither rapidly back down the passage, fly up the ladder with the miners at our feet yelling, finally get up to the main level sit down then.... BOOOOM! The first charge blows, the shock wave vibrates our bodies and re-jump-starts our hearts, then blast 2.3.4.pause,.5.6.7.8. and then 9. We all look at each other in absolute disbelief at what had just happened. For the second time that day I was thankful neither of our parents where there. As we walked out of the mine and into the day light each of us was dazed over, I was thinking this was probably one of the most incredible experiences I had ever had.

Ladder down to the Devils Layer




Kara climbing down into the ´Devils Layer´

Miner blowing Ammonium Nitrate(explosives) into the holes

The next day Kara, myself, and our two other friends hopped a taxi to Sucre (the capital 9,000 ft) a three hour drive (total cost $10 dollars). Sucre, the capital, is very much a Spanish city, the narrow streets of the city centre are organized in a grid centered around the main square. The culture is embodied in the architecture of the city's great houses and numerous convents and churches spread throughout the city. Sucre remains the seat of the Catholic church in Bolivia, and a common sight is members of religious orders dressed in traditional costume. We spent two days walking throughout the city and eating the amazing food. Kara also got her Yellow Fever Vaccination so we would be able to go up into the Amazon jungle. The night of the second day we hopped an over night 10hr bus to Cochabamba which would act as a pit stop on our way to La Paz (northwest). We hopped on the bus and got on a rocky start with grinding gears and Kara with an upset stomach. Little did we know both would seemingly get worse... a LOT worse. After an hour the bus broke down at the top of a hill. Phone calls were made and there were other buses but no bus drivers to bring a new bus. We had no choice but to turn around and drive back to Sucre. Seeing how we only had first gear it took us about 4hrs to get back. We made it back quickly grabbed a taxi and got into a hostel not a moment too soon. Kara spent the next 2 days draining her system and another 2 days recovering. Exhausted and hungry I spent the first 2 days taking extra good care of Kara, examining hourly for the symptoms of yellow fever, thinking that her body couldn’t fight the live strain of the shot she had gotten. Within four days she was back on her feet and here we are today about to leave for La Paz.

The past couple of weeks we have spent in Bolivia have been incredible; it has filled in the space in our travels that we have been looking for. Hope all are well back home and send us some news of what you all are up to, we are eager to hear anything.

Sucre

The Lake District.. Heading further North

Rafting on the Trancura river, Pucon Chile

Class 5 rapid called the Diablo...

Galen and I have been exploring the Lake District of Chile for the past couple of weeks. From Chiloe, we travelled to Puerto Varas to Valdivia to Pucon. We stayed in Valdivia only for a night, but got to explore the highlight of the town, their outside Mercado (market). The market was right on the river where there were loads of sea lions that would perch themselves up on the rocks beside the market to beg for fish scraps. It was quite the site. These were not your ordinary sea lions...these sea lions were ENORMOUS! They were about 8 feet long and Galen could probably wrap his arms only half way around them. We got to see them up close when we rented a little motor boat for 45 minutes to cruise the river that cuts through the town. Galen who loves his boats, was on cloud nine. He had a permanent smile on his face the whole time he drove it.

The next destination was the fabulous Pucon. Pucon is known as the vacation hot spot for Chileans and now we know why. The town itself is much like a ski town that you would find out west in the states, but it offers much more than skiing. The first full day in Pucon we bumped into our friend Alex from England that we befriended in Santiago. That afternoon we went white water rafting with him and his friend who is visiting from England. We had an absolute blast crashing through the waves of this class IV river.

The next day I woke up early to climb up the Villarica Volcano that is about 20 minutes from town. When I arrived to the Volcano with three other tourists, our guides told us there was a possibility that we would not be able to hike to the very top because of the strong winds. We decided to take our chances and started hiking. Thankfully, the winds had subsided enough for us to continue past the midway mark. They handed our crampons and with our ice picks in hand, we started trekking up the snow. After five hours, we finally made it. It was unbelievable to be on top of an active volcano. We got to look inside the hole with smoke billowing out of it! For part of the way down we got to slide down with these little plastic spoon like sleds.

Galen with his bad knee, made the wise decision to go downhill mountain biking with Alex instead of hiking the volcano. Heres Galen: Hey guys! Our trip from start to finish was great and painful. Our guide showed up in a ´kitty truck´which is a short bed and a tiny cab. the driver and guide sat up front and they put us in back and stacked the bikes in our laps and away we went. for 45 minutes we bounced up an old dirt road listening to the poor engine wine and groan. once at the top we strapped up with helmet and the most pathetic looking knee and elbow pads i´d ever seen. A couple strips of duck tape to keep them on and off we went. Mind you, none of us have all that much experience rocketing down the side of a Volcano on a down hill bike before so it really wasn´t all the graceful to watch. It was some of the most technical riding i´d ever done and within a few minutes every person in our group of four had at least one bloody gash. We found out quickly that the rocks really weren´t all the forgiving. the ride took a total of 4hrs and was probably one of the most fun and most painful thing i´ve done yet.

The following day kara, myself and friends went ´hydrospeeding´. This sport is quite different from most river sports, you have a wetsuite, flippers, helmet, and a giant foam board similar to a ´boogy board´but with more depth where you can hold on inside. We went down the ´Bajo´class 2 and 3 rapids which was the same river that we had rafted but the lower section. Despite the fact that Kara isn´t the biggest water person and doesn´t like to be cold, she didn´t wipe her huge smile off her face even even after flipping over dozens of times.

Today at 5 we catch a bus to Temuco about 2hrs North where we will fly out tomorrow to go to the Northern tip of Chile to a town called San Pedro Atacama. This town is in the middle of a giant desert, actually the worlds driest desert. The area is also known for having some of the clearest skys in the world so we hope to do a SPACE program where we will be learning astronomy.... Afterwards we will enter into Bolivia and start...... who knows!

PS- For all of you that don´t know Kara got accepted to the Emerson graduate program!!!!!!!!!

North to Chalten, Argentina then South to go North to Chiloe

Kara got to see her ugly little midget Panguins

Lago Torro, Chalten Argentina (patagonia)

view from our campsite in Chalten

On our way to Chalten

Lago Torro, Chalten Argentina, Patagonia

Galen- Here is a small video clip from our hike in Chalten, a glacier park in Argentina. i managed to haul myself up the 4hr trail with the help of some hiking poles, I don´t think those poles will ever be the same again. The hike up there was amazing. The first 30 minutes was a little steep but soon we crested onto a ridge which overlooked the valley below which was divided by another ridge that we would have to pass over about a mile away. There was a total of three of these valleys and each one was very different from the next. Unfortunately that was my last hike for a while.

Long story short we went to leave Chalten to go 36hrs North, only to be bounced between two travel agencies. At first it went from waiting a few hours to a day then next thing we knew, it would be a week before we could leave.New arrangements needed to be made! Our final destination would be Chiloe (an island in Chile). Option A) Take a 36 hr bus on a horrific dirt road north to Bariloche and then take another 16hr bus to our destination, OR, go back south the way we came 8hr plus another 3hr bus ride to Punta Arenas (one of the most southern cities in South America) then take a 2hr flight to Puerto Montt, the gateway to Chiloe, and save in the end around 50 bucks and 3 days. Much to karas dismay (she hates backtracking) we took the flight. My only bargaining tool was she would get to see these ugly little penguins. Well, we took the flight but we didnt realize that the penguin trip took 5 hrs and we only would have 3hrs before our flight....Ooops.

So we finally arrived in Chiloé, which is a beautiful little island about 3/4 the way down the coast of Chile. In my opinion is has been one of the most cultural experiences that we have had yet. The island is 118 miles long and about 41 miles wide. Kara and i took a bus to the middle of the island to a town called Castro where we made our base. From there we took day trips all over the island to small fishing villages. Each one was unique in itself, but the whole island had churches that were especially interesting. They where untouched, with original paintings that hung to the ceiling cracked and chipped, while the outside was weather beaten and stained by the sun.
Kara and i enjoyed our daily dosage of seafood. We ate crab, various fishes, shell fish and Mussles that were bigger then my had, I kid you not!

And, Yes Chiloe also had Penguins which, yes kara dragged me out to. These little critters stand about 18 inches high and as far as i´m concerned do nothing but feed the sharks. The two most amusing parts of this little excursion was after kara had talked with a travel guide who connected us with a boat captain. We hired a taxi and Kara and I got in the car with our captain and the travel guide. About 45 minutes later once at the coast we had to cross a river to get to the beach which dragged our taxi further down river stream then we went across. We were dropped off at a boat only to see our guide and captain drive away down the beach not to be seen again. A little man came running up to us with life jackets and rushed us out to a boat that we hopped on and started our tour. I must admit i wasn´t all that excited about paying the fair of two other people only to see some fat little flightless birds but it soon all became worth it. Kara was having the time of her life pointing and laughing at all these little penguins marching in a long row down to the waters edge when all of a sudden a massive wave leaped from the ocean and pummeled the little guys unexpectantly. I watched in total fasination as they where flung like bowling pins. As the way receeded a dozen or so heads popped to the surface in utter panic.

The next blog will start with Puerto Varas

Hope all are well