Adios Santiago, Hola Patagonia!

Greys glacier (Chile)- this is where i abondoned Kara

Frances Valley

Karas solo hike

Main st in Calafate (Argentina), really not much to look at but if you look carefully you can see

the price-tag hanging off of everything (haha)

Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia (Argentina)

PS- None of these photos are ours, internet is expensive here so its faster to download photos. But we have some awesome pictures of Patagonia (Chile side) and Patagonia (Argentina side), especially of falling glaciers!



So Kara and I made it down to Puerto Natales/Patagonia on Saturday the 14th. Here is a little background info: For those that are not familiar with Patagonia, it is a region that spreads throughout the southern area of Argentina and Chile. Patagonia comes from the word ´patagon´ used by Magallen which he used to describe the natives whom he thought were giants (spaniards at the time were small (5ft +)and the natives where about 6ft).

Anyways, we arrived in Puerto Natales , the gateway to Torres del Paine on Saturday. We spent Sunday gearing up for our trip gathering what tasty light food we could find. After supplying ourselves with enough oatmeal to make me cry and kara druel (i dislike kara´s oatmeal) we grabbed some pasta and peanut butter and called it good. The bus we took to Torres Del Paine National Park left at 730am and took us 2 1/2 hrs North. There are a number of routes you can hike, but the two most common are called the ´W´(5 days) or the Circuit(9 days). Because of weather conditions it was heavily advised to do the ´W¨ which kept you on the south side of the mountains because the north side was washed out due to rain. So, it made the choice easy.

Day 1- In an informative meeting held by a local hostel on Sunday, we leanred about an extra day that we could add on by walking into the park . It was a 10 mile hike to our first camp site but it was well worth it. We got to see the all three towers from a distance even though the peaks were being stuborn and hiding behind clouds. The walk in was fairly easy despite the gal force wind blowing at us. At times i´d look back and see kara leaning as far forwards as possible so not to be blown away. After sunshine, rain, and wind, we arrived at the campsite and quickly set up our tent when the rain paused. We were really lucky to have chosen that night to stay at that particular camp ground because a film festival happened to be presenting extreme sports films that night, which was fun to watch.

Day 2- We packed up our tent, made our outmeal that Galen cant get enough of, and headed toward Grey´s Glacier, the first part of the three part ¨w¨ hike. During the hike, Galen tweaked his knee. After a couple of hours, we got to the camp ground and were relieved to find that the camp ground was on the glacier lake where a boat comes a couple of times a day. Galen reluctantly got on the boat and headed back to Puerto Natales. As he prepared to board the boat, I saw a couple who we had met at the school in Santiago. They were on the same flight as us and we spent dinner together for our first night in Natalas. So I hiked to the look out point with them to see Greys Glacier, which was surreal. We then hiked back down to the camp grounds we were at the night before.

Day 3- I woke up early the next morning to give myself plenty of time to hike up frances valley and get back to catch the boat back to the bus. As I waited for the kitchen (a round building with a few tables, chairs and a sink) to open I saw the most beautiful sunrise over these unbelievable mountains. After making my oatmeal, I began my trek. I was soo appreciative of the sunny, warm day. After hiking and camping in the rain, you have a new appreciation for the sun. I made it to the top, snapped a few pictures of the magestical mountains, made a quick sandwhich and headed back down. On my way down, I bumped into the same couple as I hiked with yesterday and they decided to turn around and hike down with me. Once I reached the bottom, there was a huge line waiting for the boat that brings you back the bus. I was only a few people away from getting on and had to wait for the boat to make a second trip. I finally made it back to Puerto Natalas around 10:30 and was so relieved to see Galen waiting on the sidewalk...


We woke up in a mad rush (2-21, Saturday) this morning, for we had slept through our alarms and had to make a mad dash for the bus station. Today is our travel day from Puerto Natales, Chile to Calefate, Argentina. It was crazy that after 2hrs of driving the landscape totally changed, despite the close proximity. Argentina was small rolling hills as far as the eye cold see covered with a tanish/gold grass. We spent this 5hr trip in the back of the bus next to constantly occupied toilets ( it was GREAT!). Once we arrived in Calefate and got situated we had the chance to take a walk. The town is located next to a beautiful giant glacier lake, which the wind rips across. The main attraction here is the Perito Moreno Glacier,

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are

not retreating. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi)

wide, with an average height of 60 m (200 ft) above the surface

of the water, with a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft).

It advances at a speed of up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) per day

(around 700 metres (2,300 ft) per year), although it loses mass

at approximately the same rate, meaning that aside from small

variations, its terminus has not advanced or receded in the past

90 years. At its deepest part, the glacier has a depth of

approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft).

It costs a fortune to see, so Kara and i rented a old piece of junk and drove up at 6am before the park opened so we would escape the overly priced entry fee. It was AMAZING, the photos speak for themselves, and even they dont do justice. The sounds of millions of tons of ice crumbling shifting under preasure is indescrible. We saw some great pieces of ice falling from the top of the 50 meter (150ft) glacier and becoming icebergs.

Were getting a bus tomorrow morning to El Chalten, another national park in Patagonia on the Argentinian side. Well we have written a novel for this blog... we heard from a lot of you guys, which was greatly appreciated along with the pictures. Keep them coming!

Pichilemu

its been a while since we have put up a blog but here is the update. since the last blog our days have been filled witha lot of studying with not as many outings, but don´t worry we have still been having fun! We met some more travellers when our school partnered with a hostel in hosting an asado (bbq). It´s always helpful and fun to hear about others´ experiences and stories. Last weekend we went to Pichilemu which is the surf destination in Chile. We had a little scare when our bus was stopped by the police who asked each person on board for their identification. We were a little confused in the reason behind this, but as the police officer with his dog came on to the bus and searched the isles, it became clear. When we set foot off the bus in this beautiful beach town we were rudley greated by a burst of freezing cold air. the temperature on the beach was probably 65 degrees plus wind chill so none the less it was cold. We met up with a friend from school and quickly made friends with two guys from Norway and a irish guy. The second and last day we were there, I suited up in a wet suite with boots two sizes too small, and headed out for a surf in 52 degree water. Since they didn´t offer heated dry suites Kara found a nice cozy spot on the beach to write poast cards. After two hours of surfing i came ashore half drowned and freezing. this pretty much sums up Pichilemu. below is a the link to the areal view of the town and surf spot.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

On saturday the 14th kara and i fly to Puerto natales which is located in central Patagonia. From there we will continue on to torres del paine, a national park about 4hrs north, where we will hike the ´w´which is a famous hiking route. it takes about 7 days in total. Afterwards we will make our way into Argentina specifically Calafate, where there is a national park that is home to a massive glacier. Then we will make our way further north then back into Chile to visit the lake district, consisting of puerto mont, chiloe, and pucon. From there we shoot up to the atacama desert in the far north of chile, there we´ll hopefully do some sand boarding at night, and check out the ´valley of the moon´.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl


From this point on plans have changed and instead of staying in chile we are going to go into Bolivia and Peru, details will follow.... trying to take it one day at a time.

Hope you guys are all doing well if you get the chance shoot us an email and tell us what is new back home the news would be well recieved... ps only good news... galenemerson@hotmail.com, kara.obrien@hotmail.com

At a typical Chilean Asado (BBQ) hosted by a student´s host family

Galen created his own pisco sour (unique chilean drink made with a chilean liquor distilled from grapes) mix, which was called, ¨gringo sour¨

Obama´s inauguration party in the american owned, Basic Bar.

We promise, despite these pictures, we really have been studying spanish...and really immersing ourselves in the culture... We have been taking advantage of the many excursions organized by the spanish school we´re attending. This past weekend we drove to the mountains with a few other students and hiked to the San Francisco glacier. The Andes are breathtaking with the wide array of colors and open landscape. Galen has found the link to the googleearth site:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sanfrancisco+glacier,+Chile&sll=-33.584164,-70.473948&sspn=0.0271,0.077248&g=maipo+river,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.758384,-70.066638&spn=0.013522,0.038624&t=h&z=15&iwloc=B

On Sunday we went to a Chilean BBQ at one of the student´s host family´s home. We have been having a great time getting to know students from all around the world. We have befriended students from Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, England, and Australia. After enjoying great food from the BBQ, we headed into the center of Santiago where there was a night performance on one of the open plazas. The area was covered with people and the sky was filled with blinking lights. It was quite the show with acrobatic performances taking place within a 30 foot tall gigantic glowing wheel.

We have been overall very pleased with the Spanish classes. We are both amazed with the progress we have made in such a short period of time. We are starting to actually make out words when people speak to us in their rapid Chilean tongue.

THE BLOODY NOSE

The churillasco

my semi frozen lunch

Tourist??

Kara learned a new word yesterday-servilleta which means napkin

it all started out yesterday when we were walking towards the metro, and i suddenly got a bloody nose. i turned to kara and asked if she had any napkins in her bag and she replied ¨no¨i´ll go get some. As she ran down the street to the McDonalds i turned my face towards a near by building with my nose up in the air. Now this was not just any bloody nose it was the worlds worst! A passing by woman and her daughter stop and saw the issue and immediately went into action. i told them my girlfriend would be back in a minute but she ran off as her daughter stood and giggled at me. Her mom came running back and with a wet paper towel and proceeded to forcfully jam it up my nose. it had been about 8 minutes since kara had left and she finally comes around the corner holding a chocolate icecream in one hand a the most pathetic looking napkin in the other. we all looked at her and laughed. The people at Mcdonalds didn´t understand what kara was asking for so they just gave her and icecream cone and one napkin. After i recovered from my bloody nose i had the opportunity to eat the icecream, which was actually amazingly good despite where it came from. we then continued our journey to the market where we did our grocery shopping.

we both start classes on monday, which is only a 25 min walk from our apartment. we are both excited about starting this class, NOT that my spanish was that bad, but its not that good.

hope all are well

kara and galen

Day 4

us at bellas artes; a museum filled mostly with political cartoons and a few sculptures and paintings

kara´s quote of the day is : ¨i love it here, i feel so tall!¨



we just relocated to the apartment that we will be living in for the next 6 weeks, which is in the provendcia area. to say the least i don´t think that kara´s dad has to worry about her safety. the apartment is in a gated community with a 24 hour clerk in a up class neighborhood. The Providencia district is beautiful with cobble stone streets and wide sidewalks lined with trees that have lights all around the branches. It is a very nice residential area that has a lot of stores and restaurants but doesnt have as much of the hustle and bustle of the centre district in the center of santiago. kara is very excited because we have to walk by a Starbucks to get to the metro, so she can get her real coffee. she learned today how to order a grande coffee with two pumps of vanilla. suprisingly enough people around here typically drink instant coffee.

we went grocery shopping yesterday for the first time and i accidently asked where the breast milk was only to get a very concerned look. the humor of not knowing the language... The mid range price for wine in this area is $3.00 a bottle, which is a little dangerous.

our phrase for the week: ¨when in rome¨ Kara was very excited to order the typical chilean fast food, churillano, which is equivalent to the american hamburger. It is a slab of beef with cheese, fries, and a fried egg inbetween a hamburger bun. It was delicious.

we are getting more and more familiar with the city; we just purchsed our metro card yesterday and now can get anywhere we like without spending money on taxis.

the beginning

Our poor decision to stay up late on new years had its consequences. Our flight time was 21 hours. we had crying babies and people unable to keep their food down. galen experienced the challenges of his height throughout our flights.

We cant express our feeling of relief and excitement as the lights of Santiago became visable out of our plane window. As we stepped off the plane we felt the wonderful summers heat. We had our very first experience of being GRINGOs when the taxi driver charged us twice as much as it should have...i guess we have some work to do with our spanish.

So far we have had a pleasant experience interacting with the Chileans despite the language gap. They have been very friendly and helpful besides ripping us off on the first cab fare. Kara has appreciated how studious Galen was with his past spanish classes... however, he has helped complete the mission of keeping us fed, clean, and happy so there cant be too many complaints. For the past two days we have been seeing the sites...despite karas desire to take an official city tour, galen insists on being our city tour guide...(for those who know the emersons sense of direction, you can only imagine the adventures)

We are excited to move in to our apartment tomorrow that we´re renting for almost 6 weeks. Kara starts her classes next monday and Galen may join...

lastly- Chileans stay up super late we have dinner around 10;30 at night. lunch is their biggest meal, we miss our big american breakfast. we´ve been enjoying their abundance of fresh sea food.

we are now going to enjoy a pisco sour, a traditional chilean drink!! hope all is well.