Filed under: Uncategorized
ARRIVING IN PERU
So we arrived in Lima all fine and dandy and headed out to the arrivals lounge to get fleeced by a taxi. We knew this was coming as all the tourist books had already indicated the taxi into Lima would cost some $45US and not take too long; none had the courage to state that it was a ridiculous price to pay but it meant I was “prepared” at least 
. We picked a recommended taxi rank and paid the bill then to add to our worries (it was 1am and we were worried we would be locked out of the hostel not checking the times we could check in!) as soon as we left the airport the taxi guy asked where our hostel was. We gave him the address but he still didn’t seem to recognise it, so off we went after a quick radio into the office, probably taking a little longer than usual!
THE LIMA HOSTEL
We managed to find the Hostel quite late and settled in as quickly as possible. We were in a dorm room with us two and some American chap that was trying to sleep. Helen headed for bed whilst I checked mails etc. and then attempted to follow. Unfortunately the American clown had nipped to the loo and locked the door – his sleep was disturbed when I commenced banging on the door – ahh well!
In the morning we grabbed a bite to eat and asked the woman on the desk to book us a taxi. I gave her the street and when she realised we intended to travel with Cruz del Sur she looked very sceptical and checked our tickets. This was fortunate as I’d given her the name of the chap who took our booking – and there was a street of the same name! – but we eventually ended up in the taxi heading in the correct direction.
CRUZ DEL SUR
The bus station seemed fairly well organised and we checked in our bags (or rather threw them over a counter and swapped for the usual paper ‘tag’. Whe we arrived on the bus we were happily surprised, we had prepared ourselves for the 21 hour bus ride but not for the luxury that awaited us (no Martin Helen still isn’t getting commision from them yet!). The chairs were massive, folded down nearly flat for sleeping and you got loads of space, so we kicked back and enjoyed the views while heading along the coast to Cuzco, on the left a vast desert that seemed to go on forever and on the right the coast line. We headed into the mountains as the sun went down, watched a couple f crappy Hollywood films, were treated to a chicken curry and rice and then went off to sleep, we set off at 2pm and were due to arrive in Cuzco at 11am and after paying another extorsionate amount for a taxi (finding out later that we were charged about 4 times to much!)
THE FIRST CUZCO HOSTEL
So we checked into our new hostel for the night in Cuzco and, as we were early, we were sat in the lobby with some Coco Tea (whereby the receptionist had put coco leaves in a strainer above the cup and Helen proceeded to attempt to drink straight from the strainer!!!) and when our room was ready we were shown upstairs to a nice double room with our very own bathroom and EVEN a T.V. room just for us!!!. As we were expecting bunkbeds in the Cuzco project we had decided to treat ourselves for the evening so a quick shower and then we headed to the Irish bar to watch the Man-U match. Some munch and beers and a bit of football and we were on our way. We ended up talking to a southerner named Steve who had been travelling for about 10 years in all and had some great advice about the surrounding area and Cuzco in general so we ended up staying and chatting and by about 9pm started to make it back to the hostel, quite “merry”. We grabbed a couple of lagers on the way back and when we were sat on the terrace bumped into a few Germans and sat chatting to them for a while, they had just been out to try a local dish, Cuy (Guinea pig) and straight away we decided that this was a meal we would try with Martin when he arrived. They also told us about the salt flats (as had Simon), the photos they had were amazing and spurred us on even more to try and make it there. So after some more conversing we headed to bed ready for an early morning pick up from Jeremy.
THE VOLUNTEER HOUSE
After our breakfast (continental – consisting of bread and a bit of scrambled eggs with a selection of Coco teas) we got ourselves sorted and were ready for our pick up to head to the Cuzco orphanage project. We were picked up by Jeremy who seemed a nice guy, on the way to the accommodation he told us that the volunteers dorm was full so he had a double room for the 2 of us an apartment he shares with his mum (Nilda – who is also the director of the Orphanage). When we got there we were not disappointed, it was a nice place with 2 bathrooms and a massive dog who was the size of a small pony!!! We were then introduced to Nilda and Shirley (one of the girls from the orphanage who helps around the flat) before heading off to the boys orphanage for a few hours.
THE ORPHANAGE
There are two orphanages, one for the girls and a boys orphanage and we went to the boys the first day. The place was quite big and very secure and they also had big plans for a new accommodation for the kids. We were introduced to the boys and another volunteer called Jorge (a Dutch fellow that had been there for nearly eight months!!!) who was taking a few of them out for a game of football so we decided to tag along. We walked for what seemed like miles to me (the altitude hadn’t seemed to effect Helen but had taken it’s toll on me), and when we did get there I opted for goalie and let Helen and Jorge run around trying to catch up with the boys. One of the boys, Junior, was quite skilled although Helen did manage to get him once (but only by picking him up and throwing him away from the ball!!!)
We learnt a lot through talking to Jeremy and Nilda about the kids as most of the kids were brought in as street kids. Although there are quite a number of orphanages around Cuzco and this is the only one specifically aimed at helping street kids (prior to Jeremy and Nilda’s involvement street kids where unable to open a bank account)! Most of the hard work seemed to have been to get the kids to believe or hope for something (anything!) and as Nilda and Jeremy are religious they do this through teaching and reading from the bible. This certainly seems to be working with the kids – whilst it’s not going to make (m)any of them angels overnight >;o) (or any of us reading for that matter) at least it gives them hope!
We spent a few times at the orphanage over the next week or two including being invited to the Feliz de Mama (Mothers Day Celebration) for which the kids had arranged various shows of their talents including dancing and playing music pipes, drums and guitars.
OF CUZCO
TO COME….
Filed under: Chile, Punta Arenas, Travel | Tags: Backpacking, Chile, Megellan Straits, Punta Arenas, Travel
TARDE AGAIN
Sorry we have not updated, or caught up for a while now. We blame Jack and although we have ha a lot of fun we have spent a lot of our time either in the middle of nowhere or on a bus for the last week or so. But anyway we were up to getting back to Punta Arenas…..
THE BUS BACK
The bus sped away from the end of the world and the 3 of us (Dylan, Simon and I) breathed a sigh of relief whilst taking in the wildlife. We spotted some flamingoes chilling by a lagoon, a few lamas, some cows, and a man on a mule herding literally 1000’s and 1000’s of sheep (so much so the bus was stuck in a sheep jam for quite some time) and Pete – yes we did spot a couple of monkeys but they scampered before we got a chance to take a photo; they were hiding in the trees! After our little safari we eventually got back to some form of civilisation in Punta Arenas
A NEW HOSTEL
We got dropped off not too far away from the hostel we were in originally but on the way there we spotted Hostal Helena, well we couldn’t just walk past that, it was a sign, so we rang on the door and entered a secure, homely hostel and after checking a triple room decided this was the place for us (even had cable and radiators and was en suite!).
First things first, after the last few days we had a lot of smelly clothes (Dylan was definitely no exception to this!), so we gathered them all up and went in search of a Lavanderia. We also wanted to book a day trip the next day to go to Tierra del Fuego on the ferry so we were in search of the info place. There was no problem finding a few info places but it just so happened that on a Saturday they were all closed!!! So not to be defeated we found a little pizzeria for some lunch and enjoyed coffees; the boys both had a pizza each while I went for a churrasco sarnie, a fave of mine in Chile. We then headed back with a detour to the Lavanderia and good news, the place was open, bad news we would have to pick our stuff up on Monday around the same time we would be flying!!!
This day wasn’t going to plan, however back to the hostel.
Dylan got on the internet to see if we could book a ferry for the next day while I did some hand washing in the shower!!! Hurray! Clean clothes (if not a bit wet) and we managed to book a ferry for the morning (although the web site was all in Spanish so we weren’t completely sure we had booked it correctly and still had no idea where exactly the ferry set off from!). Because of this problem Simon and I decided to go along the coast to see if we could find the port but we didn’t have much luck and decided that in the morning we would go to the only place where we had seen boats docked and try our luck there.
By the time we were all sorted it was getting quite late so headed out for the evening. Dylan was extremely paranoid about getting locked out of the hostel and we couldn’t work out if there was a curfew or not, so we promised him we would be back at a decent hour, no calls of “just one more wine” tonight!!!
THE OLD PALACE
The place seemed a little quiet, especially for a Saturday but we found a bar – of course! Not just any bar but the The Braun Menendez Palace (representing the Golden Age of the Magallanes region in the extreme south of the continent with its original furniture and historic objects kept as they originally were back then), the bar was in the basement of the old Palace (now a hotel) and could almost have been mistaken for a traditionally themed Olde English bar (Dylan: at least when the renovations would have been complete). The place was dead, we were the only ones there but it looked OK so we ordered some beers and a few snacks, some chicken kebabs, tacos and a selection of empanadas.
After a couple of drinks and reminiscing about the last few strange days we had had we found a bar with a few people in it, this one was quite different, for a start it had windows, and you got little portions of snacks (Pringles and nuts!) at your table with the beers (although the beers were in cans!).
TECHNO
Well, after our snacks and cans of beer it was still relatively early so we persuaded Dylan to have a wander around the toon. We stumbled across what looked like a bar (although it was surrounded by about 5 bouncers) and when peeking through the doors realised it could be a club (especially when we had to pay to get in!) but it also looked like a live band was setting up so we felt it warranted a good luck. After paying our entry (Dylan: but being reassured it was a bargain as we get a free drink voucher) we entered and selected a table. Our waitress then informed us that our drink vouchers could not be redeemed until way after we anticipated to stay there and then only against a 2 for 1 cocktail – DAMN!
She also assured us that we would much prefer it upstairs as the music was much better so we collected our drinks and headed upstairs (I, Dylan, was dubious already!). Upstairs was a kind of drinking hall with a long dance area leading to two small bars and a big DJ area. The noise was reverberating off the walls to the point of shaking the overly fancy light equipment (that I was sure could be infringing some aviation legislation!, the music was a mixture between 80’s reggae and 90’s rock and the revolving lights headed skywards through the gaps of the tinfoil covered glass roofing.
I’m not sure if things got better when the BOOM BOOM BOOM was replaced it with golden oldies such as Celine Dione, The Pet Shop Boys and Bob Marley (the latter being a welcome reprieve).
We managed a drink or two but our sensitive ears could only take so much. It was also freezing and we had put our jumpers, scarves and hats back on, we agreed to head back to the safety and serenity of our hostel – and before curfew too (H – the curfew that Dylan had made up and persuaded us to go back for!!!!)
UP AND ON THE BOAT
… we thought!
We rose in good time for our breakfast which consisted of the usual: bread, coffee, orange juice & Jam – and with the welcome addition of a few cookies!
We headed out to the port only to find that this port was where the penguin viewing ferries left from (when in season obviously) and eventually manage to ask the right person and got redirected to the correct port some 5/6km in the opposite direction. TAXI!
We arrived at the correct port and purchased our tickets. As we exited the sales ‘box’/office we realised that the walkway to the ferry was being pulled up and sped up accordingly – literally getting on the boat by the skin of our fingertips!!!
A FERRY ACROSS THE MAGELLAN STRAITS TO PORVENIR
It was quite a quite cold boat trip but we remained outside (as opposed to contesting with ill-mannered locals pushing and shoving for seats and then consuming 2 seats with their fat asses and bags) to check out the views of the land as we left. There were a couple of rainbows to be viewed in the distance and the town looked quite pretty (H – if still not very cold and a little wet and grey!) as we ventured out into the Straits. We watched and chatted for the 35km (2.5hr) journey and as be arrived a Tierre Del Feugo we were greeted by some dolphins showing off in the bay and swimming by the boat.
A MINIBUS TO THE ACTION
We managed to evade conversation with a couple of Mormons from Canada whilst crammed into the minibus that took us (and anyone else that could physically cram themselves into the somewhat insufficient space) to ‘the centre’.
READY FOR TH CULTURE
We were dropped off at the Porvenir Museum so felt it rude not to check it out (no they didn’t sell beer, we’re simply culture vultures!). It was a very odd museum (no! it still didn’t sell beer!) as it contained a whole collection of seemingly random objections such as
- stuffed birds
- models of mining scenes (maybe relevant given the fact the history of the place is built along the gold rush that nearly happened)
- Details and models of the Selk’nam people, the local indigenous people who were wiped out by the Spanish I think
- A typewriter (seriously)
- Other stuffed animals
- Some old phones
- Some old photographic equipment
Whilst we may not sound as though we are recommending it we are; it was lovely and warm and it’s worth checking out the comments we left in the book ;o)
GHOST TOWN
As we walked out of the museum and along a couple of streets it soon became apparent to us that we’d scored another beauty – the town appeared to be closed! In fact, the more we walked we realised that we would have found it difficult to define what the town would be like if it was ‘open’ – there were a few eateries so we decided to toddle into one. We soon realised this was a place we would enjoy a beer but definitely not eat and it wasn’t just to the two locals looking at us like we could be lunch that dissuaded us – it was definitely too strange for food even after a few of the places we have eaten in! In fact, Simon wouldn’t drink out of the glass as feared of catching something, so we drank up, paid up and got the heck out of dodge! – carrying on walking.
We popped into a souvenir shop (well actually we didn’t quite pop in as the three of us wandered aimlessly around the rounded hut looking for the entrance until one of the very old dears inside opened the illusive door for us). The lady insisted on forcing a little history on us showing us some pictures from a really old book – not just ordinary pictures but pictures of the original indigenous peoples along with comments on what ‘big boys’ they were (yep naked). So in the mad rush to get out Simon purchased some very expensive postcards but to be honest when trapped in a small round hut with two crazy old women like this you’d have thrown money at them to get out!
In between her innuendos looks at the photos the lady had also recommended her brothers restaurant but after a walk up the hill towards it we had decided against; the only people in there appeared to be the 2 staff.
Eventually we happened across a little hostel with a little rest room, with people in and a large TV showing a footy game, so stopped there. We checked out the hostel which looked quite OK and all had a Churrasco with a couple of glasses of nice wine, to pass most of the remaining time there
CEMETRY VIEWING!?!
After leaving the comfort of the hostel and venturing once more into the cold we headed for the cemetery (having been assured this was an interesting and beautiful site as opposed to some morbid fascination with cemeteries!).
We had a look around and took some photos; it’s amazing the difference between the extravagance of the memorials for the rich and the small wooden crosses of the poor (some not even inscribed with a name).
By this time it was nearly time for the bus back so we headed back to the museum, Dylan making a few friends on the way back, for some reason the dogs seemed to be really attracted to him (and I thought he had gotten rid of the sick smell!!!). We got there just in time as the bus was just off – about 15 minutes early, some travellers weren’t as lucky and ended up running after the bus with us shouting to the bus driver to hold on for them (I’m sure we still left some people behind!). The bus then took a slight detour, picking up a load of locals for the next 40 minutes, it looked like most of them were heading back to the mainland to study at the college/uni.
A DRENCHING
We eventually got back to the port and were early enough to grab a ticket and get a seat. However this wasn’t enough for Simon and I, after the huge waves on the way there we decided to venture out to take in a few views and see what the swells were like on the way back!!!! Major mistake, we got out and straight away were drenched by a massive wave coming over the bow of the ferry. As the boat started to rise up another swell we made a run for it, up some steps and to a higher deck. I managed to get to the top just as the boat started to dip down again and after a quick glance at the captain (fear was in his eyes, he couldn’t believe I had made it up without toppling over board I think!), I shouted back to Simon to go back down again. No need to worry, he was thinking the same thing and as I headed back down the steps, just as the boat started to dip again, I held on for my life, the sea was definitely too rough for this venture!!!!! We got back inside and were greeted by a one of the staff who (although we couldn’t understand what he was saying) was clearly amused by the state of the 2 of us, we were soaked through, but thankfully still alive!!!!
So we sat in the boat watching out of the window as the boat went up and down, up and down, watching a Spanish Simpsons and the Chilean equivalent of Animal hospital!!!
Back on land and it was already dark (and raining again!!) so we grabbed the nearest taxi, got back to the hostel and after a quick shower (and booking a hostel for Peru as well as a 21 hour bus trip from Lima to Cusco) we headed back out again.
We ended up in the same bar with the snacks, but were treated to bottles instead of cans this time and then after a couple decided it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t head back to our favourite “dusk till dawn” scary club for the last night!! When we got to the “bar in a sauna” which didn’t seem to be as scary as the first time (although it wasn’t quite as busy), we enjoyed some very strong rum and cokes before heading back to the hostel for our last night´s sleep in Chile.
A LAST SHOPPING OP´
The next morning, even after late night, 2 of us managed to make it for breakfast, you can imagine who stayed in bed after over indulging (yes correct, Dylan – well – come on, the question wasn’t that difficult!). We then packed up, leaving our bags in the hostel, and went to do a bit of shopping. OK, maybe the weather wasn’t the best for wandering about town (yes MORE RAIN!) but I dragged the 2 guys out anyway and after standing and watching some sort of military parade (no idea what it was for!) and walking around the cold and wet streets for a couple of hours managed to buy a very colourful jumper, just the thing I was looking for!!!
This left us just enough time for some lunch before we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags before a taxi to the airport. We didn’t end up having lunch but did end up finding the very dodgy bar/café we had been in before our travels to Porta Natales. No lunch was had, just a couple of litres of lager instead, and just before we had to set off (thank God) we had a chat to a couple of locals there who enjoyed Simon and Dylan’s company so much, handed them a business card n the way out (Dylan: these weren’t just ‘Business Cards’ – these were business cards for gentlemen only – on the front was a lovely calendar with the chaps business address whilst on the back was a lovely lady with a big smile).
With business cards in hand we headed off to the airport for one last drink before saying our goodbyes and heading off to our different planes.
Simon, thanks so much for coming and joining us, if it wasn’t for you I think we would have both ended up killing each other in these cold deserted towns (if not drinking a little less) and as for Mexico (we are here now and oh my god is it hot!!!) get a ticket booked, surely you have time for a few more weeks of travel before settling down!!!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Just a quick note to inform you we ARE alive. At the mo we are on our way to Mexico (currently chowing on some Guacamole and a bowl of soup each at Santiago airport – after going through various H1N1 detection processes!).
Had a great time with Jack and sorry to see him back off to blighty but now we have no excuse and will spend the next two days chilling and catching up with the blog. Lots of photos uploaded already and making visible as the blog makes them relevant – give us a day or two and we will have you fully informed!!
Hope everyone is OK and H is still chanting – Oh where are the scum, the scum, the scum, Oh they are with the smoggies!!! lol!!!
Filed under: Chile, Peurto Natales, Travel | Tags: Backpacking, Chile, Peurto Natales
First and foremost
Thanks to those that posted comments on our previous post… and just for information of 8 months I finally lapsed and over-indulged – it was a one off (that I will admit anyway 
) and there will be no more mention of it (p.s. I did write this before Helen commenced the barrage of innuendos and accusations in the following blog!)…
EARLY STARTS 
Well, we managed to drag ourselves onto the 7am bus, there in body if not in spirit, ready for our 2 hour drive to Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine. I think it’s safe to say that we all had a few winks while we were on the bus, especially Dylan who was feeling a little worse for wear and smelling a little funny too, Simon and I were sure we could smell sick although Dylan denied it!
Simon and I were both awake when we got to the park and the views were breath taking, especially when we got to the Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine), which are spectacular granite pillars that dominate the landscape definitely the best view we have seen whilst being in Chile. After a few photos we all hopped back on the bus and got to the Administration to get our tickets for the park. Dylan needed a little help filling in his form and was even asked by a fellow traveler if it had been a rough last night, how did she know? (Simon and I were still sure we could smell sick!) It was then back on the bus for the last leg of our ride up to Guarderia Pudeto were we could grab a boat around Lago (lake) Pehoe to check out the scenery.
We had to wait a while for the boat and believe me it wasn’t warm, Dylan crawled up into a little ball at the front of a Refuge and just stayed there while Simon and I took a few pics, the lake was beautiful, the water was a bluey grey and looked absolutely freezing. We headed back to pick Dylan up, apologising to other trekkers who had to step over him explaining that he had caught a bad stomach bug, and headed to the boat.
We then took a round trip on the lake, we didn’t have time to stop and trek to the Glacier Grey as we had hoped (we had a day trip planned in Puntas) but had hoped to catch a glimpse of the Glacier on the boat, unfortunately this didn’t happen, but the boat trip was fun (if not a little chilly, and (I think Simon would agree) the scenery beautiful.
AND BACK TO PEURTO NATALES
After another short and cold wait (I can’t emphasise enough how cold it was down there – again) we were back on our bus heading back to Peurto Natales. Getting back around 4ish we scooted past the last lovely hostel we stayed in (Dylan: with the father Jack type weirdo owner) and made it to Marias Cafe, where thankfully they had rooms!!! A little more than the last place but we all agreed it was well worth the money (especially Dylan and Simon who discovered that there was a third sister). After a hot shower (bliss) I met Simon in the Cafe, Dylan had decided to catch up on some sleep and after a shower (no more sicky smell) crawled into bed promising to catch up with us later.
Simon and I had a lager whilst reminiscing on the last few days and chatting to the sisters. Don’t think they understood a word we were saying but they were finding something about us extremely funny (probably the bags under our eyes gave away our lack of sleep lately!!) We headed out into the bad weather and decided to find somewhere to eat for the evening, I did pop into see if Dylan wanted to join us but I just heard a bit of mumbling under the covers, something about him dying so I decided to leave him and that was the last we saw of him that evening.
We were probably a little early for dinner by the looks of the restaurants which were all completely empty. Although the restaurants were quiet the town seemed to have come to life that evening, with people actually walking around in the streets, it was amasing, where had all these people come from????
We picked up some tickets for our return journey to Puntas, however when we bought them we had a revelation; surely we would have bought returns from Puntas, it wasn’t like we were planning on staying here, yes we did buy returns – result!. I then went through my bag and found some bus tickets, oh no!! The bus tickets I had were for Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine, I had given the wrong tickets to the bus driver (Dylan: oh, and I thought the double booking of the campervans would be the last of the throwing money in the air )!!!! Oh well, we had to stump up for a single back to Puntas and as we bought them decided not to tell Dylan for now (Dylan: Little did Helen realise I probably read the blog too?)
We found a sweet little place to eat with wood fires (definitely required – did I mention that it was cold didn’t I) and it had pasta on the menu. After the last few days a good hearty bowl of pasta would have been perfect. Yes we were the only people in there apart from the waiter/owner/chef’s friend reading a paper in the corner but this was fine as we were both looking forward to some scram and were determined to get something edible. While we checked out the menu we ordered Pisco Sours to help our cokes go down, neither of us could find the pasta on the menu so I went for salmon margarita (thinking it would be some sort of tomato sauce) with potatoes and Simon went for a steak. Our meal came and we tucked in, my margarita turned out to be a seafood sauce with mussels and cockles, normally this would have gone down well but was far too rich so I didn’t eat a lot, however the potatoes were good, creamy with grilled cheese on top, yum yum!!!!
So after one last Pisco Sour, we decided that we were not actually keen on them now, the idea of raw egg in a drink just isn’t right, so finished up and headed back to the Cafe where we had a couple of beers before turning in for an early night. Yes that’s correct, no wine, no late night and no getting locked out!!!!!!
Get this, we were even up for breakfast!!!! Our bus was at 9am and there was no way we were missing it so some coffee and toast, ham and cheese and we were ready to go (even Dylan managed to keep some food down!). So with rucksacks on backs we popped to scary hostel (I had left a fleece there in the mad rush to leave the place we think we’d left our Lonely Planets too) but surprise, surprise it was all locked up, so off to the bus station where we gladly got sat in anticipation for our 3-4 hour journey back to some sort of civilisation – Punta Arenas…
Filed under: Chile, Peurto Natales, Punta Arenas, Travel | Tags: Backpacking, Chile, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Travel
FROM DUSK TILL (NEARLY) DAWN
So we left the Twilight Zone of the hostel and headed out to find somewhere to have some food. We stumbled across a bar and on seeing the pygmy and the prostitute in the corner knew we were in for an experience. As Simon demonstrated his Spanish (in retrospect we now know he did say this correctly!!) he asked the waitress how she was (“como estas”) she immediately responded with the Spanish for “three beers”, he tried again but was given the same response so we decided to have the beers! Whilst we had a couple of beers each we were entertained with local television that seemed to be aimed at kids in terms of it’s humour and ‘game play’ (it’s a knockout type affair) although in somewhat of a conflict was the fact that all the presenters were busty, scantily clad females (bar one male, Benny Hill like, presenter). The contestants, all in bikinis and boardies, were tied up by their hands and feet, covered in what looked like oil, and then had to wriggle across a plastic floor in a relay type affair, with regular close up on the woman and their chest area. Although this amused myself and Simon, we felt uneasy on a number of levels and when the game ended and a new one began (blowing up balloons under their t-shirts until they burst!) we decided we’d better not try to eat here and opted for a wander.
PHIL COLLINS
We wandered around for a while and after realising we could be the only people wandering these ghost like, cold streets, stumbled along a chintzy looking fish type restaurant. The owner/waiter/barman was very accommodating; so much so that (of his own accord) he turned off the busty beauties and put “Phill Collins live” on for us (I did suggest questioning this but Simon and H seemed content ;o) )
We enjoyed a nice wine, while humming along to baldy, and Helen had a pleasant fish dish whilst Simon had a fish-egg and onion dish, I decided to try eel with chips and egg (they keep putting egg on everything I order – odd!) – we were all happy with our meal and vino even if the music left a lot to be desired! As we left the restaurant we noticed an Irish bar across the road (the only bar in the town it seemed) was just opening (it was about 10pm by now) so decided a glass of wine would help settle us for the evening before heading back to our eery accommodation.
A BEER WITH POTATO HEAD
Well, they say things come in threes and we were hoping by now that this place would stop surprising us with odd establishments – maybe after this one…
The bar was quite large and we sat aside the bar near a (quite necessary) heater. As Simon and I approached the bar we both noted that the barman had that ‘British’ look about him and also resembled a potato, we therefore assumed Irish, we were then surprised he was from Leeds (half right!). He was friendly enough and served us every time Simon suggested ‘just one more bottle of wine‘ – in fact until the point that leaving is a little fuzzy (H-I’m sure the few Chilli vodkas the men all partook in will have helped with the memory loss)!
HOMELESS?
So, we left Mr Potato Head’s in the early hours and wandered for a short while before we realised we were actually lost; fortunately after a lot of walking and a taxi drive (I think the driver found it a little difficult without an address or hostel name!), we stumbled across our hostel only to find it was locked. We all took turns and banging (and kicking, as Simon reminded me in the morning my Jacki Chan ego came out that evening) the door to raise the odd, underpant wearing hostel owner to no avail. As Helen and I slumped against the door in despair Simon got bored and decided to have walk across the road. All of a sudden we heard him shouting “isn’t that our hostel a few doors down?”… Yes we’d been ‘trying’ the wrong door! Discreetly we got into our hostel and headed to our attic room for a few hours sleep!
THE NEXT DAY
We slept until about 4 in the afternoon!!!
THE NEXT EVENING
We ventured to a café called “Maria’s café” that we’d spotted on one of our ventures. Helen was still feeling a little rough so decided to stay off the beer and opted for a coke and water. Simon and I however decided we’d have a beer but, being full of common sense, asked we could have a Fanta too. A few odd looks from the waitresses (and even the father of the girls on the till) didn’t disturb us too much as we were becoming accustomed to them by now and then the drinks arrived. Two Fanta and lagers (that is an orange/lager shandy!!!!) and as we took our first sip we noted the 2 sisters laughing and staring. Fortunately the toastie and piece of cake we ordered arrived without any unwanted additions (such as a bloody egg!!) but the staring and giggling carried on the entire time we were there. However we found out that the place was a hostel as well as a café and although there were the giggling sisters (H – I think the sisters were a bonus point for both Simon and Dylan), the place looked clean and fairly normal, so we decided when we get back from our trip we would spend the night here rather that our attic room.
So after our special shandy we popped into the tourist information office were we booked a bus for the next day (the plan was to head for the Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine to go and see the famous Torres Del Paine) and then decided to venture out to see some of the sights of Peutro Natales (essentially – at this time of year – The Coast – we didn’t see much as it was getting dark – and in all fairness it’s just the sea). As we feared hypothermia and there was also a funny smell (we realised that the drains must be blocked an there was lots of “stuff” filling the roads), so we headed in land looking for some food and warmth. Just as it looked as though we may freeze to death we stumbled across a homely looking café/restaurant and hedged our bets.
CAFE EL COLD
As we entered my vision was distorted somewhat as I exhaled the cold from the air reacted and frosted over my glasses – it was darned cold!! We sat and the waitress took our orders. As we sat and chatted a while we noticed that different people kept walking past the doorway and popping their heads through to observe us, I’m sure the whole family had a gander – we wondered if tourists had ever ventured this far ‘down town’!?!?!
REDUCED OPTIONS
When ordering food, Helen still feeling delicate ordered a tomato soup, the Cheeky Chica (as Simon kept referring to her – not sure that chica was the correct term for the sweet old lady) then advised her that they didn’t have this and after a couple of tries off the menu Helen went with the recommended soup, having no idea what this was. I then tried to order some lamb, however this was also off the menu and again after a couple of tries at other meals on the menu went with the recommended dish, again no idea what I was going to get. Finally Simon had a go, looking for a steak he was told, not available, as he had watched in amusement how our ordering had gone rather than try again he also went with another recommended dish. And just to mix it up we ordered a couple of house specials as starters.
Eventually our food was served (to us three shivering tourists!) and what a feast beheld us. The starters came first and what a treat, the 2 plates held a few slices of avocado (fine as we all like this) then what looked like slices of spam wrapped around some cold rice mixed in mayo – in fact they were slices of spam wrapped around some cold rice mixed in mayo!
Helen breathed a sigh of relief when her soup came just after the starters (her excuse for not sharing the delectable starters) and was pleasantly surprised with an asparagus soup and a couple of rolls. Simon and myself worked our way through the starters and as she cleared our plates waited in anticipation for our mains.
Thank god they sold beer, and after a little persuasion had managed to talk Helen into partaking in the beer!
After what seemed like a lifetime our mains were brought out. I seemed to get the better deal out of the two of us, to this day I’m still not sure what kind of animal my piece of steak had originated from but it could easily have been mistaken for the sole of a shoe! Chewy but edible (hey – we’ve been on the road a while now!) and it came with, guess what, chips and a fried egg!
Simon, however, wasn’t so lucky – he could hardly complain about the portion size; his plate was definitely full and he had a collection of meats to try. He had a smaller version of my shoe sole, and a variety of different pieces of sausages and “chorizo” to try, it really did look like they chef had gone “S<*t, I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight, lets see what left overs we have from yesterday, deep fry them and serve them to the tourists – they’ll think it is some sort of local delicacy!”. Well, delicacy it wasn’t, especially when he realised that a lot of the sausage (although warm and crispy on the outside) was actually cold in the middle!
Well we managed to eat some of our fine meals, it helped that we were being watched by the staff (and more family I’m guessing) as we munched down, although scared our jaws were just too sore to finish and Simon flirted with the Chica whilst asking for the bill, once paid we were out of there.
DAMN, COINCIDENCES
We had decided to stop for one at Marias Café on the way back but as we were walking towards the hostel we realised that the Irish bar was on the way home and lo and behold was just opening as we walked by.
We ‘popped in’ and were greeted by Mr Potato Head. we decided to have just one drink, I stayed with a Tetleys while Simon and Helen shared a bottle of lager. We were all feeling a little rough and tired but the thought of going back to the hostel at such an early hour was too much to take, so myself and Simon decided we would share a bottle of wine. As I went to the bar to order from Mr Potato Head I could hear Helen in the background shouting, only one and then we have to go back. A couple of hours later and we are at the bar chatting away to Mr potato Head with Helen telling him he’s not allowed to serve us any more wine after the bottle we had. So what do we do, we go onto chilli vodkas (Helens fault of course, well she said no more wine!!), so whilst we distracted Helen (who did not partake in the shots – boring!) we managed to order another bottle, which did actually end up being the last. While Helen and Simon were chatting I started chatting to a few locals and we got on so well that they ended up buying me their “local speciality”, oh no Pisco Sours!!
So we said our goodbyes to the locals and left; the truth be told that was more a description of Helen and Simon’s exit… Mine was not quite so ‘elegant’. I casually turned on the stool at the bar an somehow managed to lose my footing and ended up on the floor, I got hold of my senses, straightened myself up and then collapsed into the table beside me, as I casually rolled over and bounced off the floor I straightened my clothes and hoped no-one had notice – fat chance!!! lol!!! H – as we were opening the front door we heard a load clatter, turned around and there was Dylan (for the 2nd time) on the floor, we went over and helped him out of the door. From here on I lead the way and left the 2 boys to follow, getting us back to the hostel. After a stop at the bank, a few bangs on the door and literally carrying Dylan up the stairs we made it to our bed. We also managed to be up and awake for our 7am bus but as you can imagine we were all a little tired and awoke with black eyes through a distinct lack of sleep!
Filed under: Chile, Porto Natales, Punta Arenas, Travel | Tags: Chile, Pisco Sours, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas
GETTING TO PUNTA ARENAS
The flight from Santiago went without a hitch, even the travel to the airport utilising both bus and metro – result (looking good so far). I thoroughly enjoyed the flight over (at the window looking at the snow capped and covered mountains with turquoise lakes) and it was a good flight for Helen who caught up with couple of hours heavy snoring
When in Punta we decided to get taxi for 7,000 soles rather than 3,000 each to be crammed into minibus and probably have to circle the whole of Punta before arriving in the hostel that Simon (H’s uncle) had already booked for us.
SETTLING IN: Hostal Especiones
We duly arrived at Hostal Especiones and settled into our triple room with Helen spreading the contents of her rucksack all over the place almost instantly . Wandering around the hostel it had a friendly vibe (run by a local family that live within the hostel). There was a nice clean kitchen to cook in (with a good old fashioned Arga), free internet (most seem to offer this within South America), a couple of chill out areas for reading etc. and lots of little heating systems dotted about (little did we realise at this point just how cold Punta was going to be).
Unfortunately I was unable to connect to the wifi – probably related to the earlier incident of buggering up the original Asus O.S. and using Ubuntuu instead (H-who cares!!). Fortunately I got chatting to a French chap and it turned out he had a portable USB DVD with him so I finally (after months of trying) managed to reinstall the original OS and thus connect to WIFI – those lovely French people (H-blah, blah, blah) !
TRADITIONAL ‘ARRIVAL WALK-ABOUTS’
We had a walk around the town but it kept raining and it was quite cold so we didn’t go too far, we did find a supermarket and bought dinner and a bottle of wine to go with it (at 1,000 kleggies we couldn’t grumble). We then checked out a few restaurants for the next night got back to the hostel and Helen made dinner for us using the agar spicy chorizo with spaghetti, we had this while sharing the wine and enjoyed our private room with cable TV, sad I know but the room was a treat (with our own on suite) so we made the most of it and had an early night on a lovely soft bed under mounds of blankets to keep warm.
DAY 2
In the morning we were up in time for breakfast (bread and scrambled eggs with hot coffee, lovely!). We then headed out, Simon wasn’t arriving until the evening so we had a day to explore. We started at the main square, Muñoz Gamero Square, where they had a market full of woollen clothes and blankets, the lama jumpers and hats were very colourful but we decided against them as it seemed all gauged for the tourists and therefore a little expensive.
The tourist office was in the square so that was our next stop. Thankfully the lady spoke English so we got a map and they directed us to a book store as we required a phrase book and they also told us where some of the sights could be found. Some of the sights were right in the square including a statue erected in tribute to the discoverer of the strait and surrounded by ancient trees of various species; you have to rub the foot of the statue for good luck so obviously we had a go we also took in views of the Cathedral and the surrounding mansions built at the beginning of the century by the big stockbreeders of the area, among the most important of which is the Sara Braun Palace, built in 1895 with an interior entirely imported from Europe. It now houses the Club de la Union and Hotel Jose Nogueira.
It was then off to the Cerro La Cruz viewpoint, with an extraordinary view of the city and the Magellan Strait, as you can imagine a few pictures were taken here (just before the rain started), the views really were great from up here. Again the rain got the better of us so we headed back to the hostel, having a nice (but very expensive) cup of coffee at one of the many cafés around the square.
At the hostel it was back on the internet and I did a bit of hand washing while Dylan did some research on Porto Natales (a spot we fancied visiting with Simon), then by the time we had showered Simon arrived just in time for an evening out!
Simon had checked in to his room (i.e. thrown his stuff in the room) and come up to see us. I had moved my mass of belongings off the spare bed in our room thinking Simon was sharing with us but as it turned out we had a triple and Simon had a double – so here we are taking 5 beds between the three of us – most luxurious.
OUT ON THE PISCO
Dylan and I had spotted an intruiging looking Argentinian restaurant just down the road so we headed out for a bite to eat. Simon enjoyed his first Pisco Sour and we ordered wine whilst we chatted about each others’ travels. We were somewhat entertained by the waiter – we couldn’t quite work out if he was just just camp or full-on but we all agreed he certainly seemed as though he’d had a drink or two!
The BBQ was really cool and I just had to go for the BBQ lamb – so much so I had a go with the BBQ!
Pics to be uploaded…
Simon and I both enjoyed an afters whilst Dylan was too full (Dylan: Oh how I’ve changed! lol). We were both pleasantly surprised to find the afters came with a shot and after the many wines we’d indulged in, the Pisco Sours and the free shot we enjoyed a short spurt of ‘Show me the way to Amaretto’!!!
Dylan: It wasn’t long after the musical outburst that we could no longer purchase wine so we decided the night was not over yet and wandered towards the centre
We found Discotheque Barica. After paying to get in I was told that I would have to wait for my change so we did so and then went into the discotheque. Dylan: that’s not quite all, after Simon and I had paid 4 cleggies for us and 1 cleggie for Helen we were then asked to wait for some change from a 20. This was fine until H decided she’d waited more than enough (albeit only 2-3 minutes) and started to practice her Spanish on the attendant – demanding ‘donde estas mi cambio’ which we understand to be similar to ‘where is my change’. Fortunately the attendant saw the funny side and didn’t have us thrown out but gave us our change when she had it!
So as we entered what should be described as ‘a sauna without steam – with scary boys and girls all around we selected a seat out of the way. Simon and I were chatting and sent Dylan for beers. Whilst Dylan was gone we were asked we if wanted serving and ordered. Dylan returned shortly after with three very strong rum and cokes to join our three drinks – here we go!
Simon and I carried on chatting for a while Dylan ended up chatting to couple of people nearby and at some point decided to dance. Dylan: However – the dance floor had a definite ‘Hendon’ feel (bars on the bars!) to it so I decided to avoid crossing the scaffolding surrounding the dance floor and remain in a relatively safe environment with H and Simon!
Several more very strong drinks and we decided it was too micey even for our drunken state so we decided to leave. Dylan: ‘Leave’ being a general term for Simon and I walking out and H being carried over the arm between the two of us! – Mixing drinks – never works!
Once outside it’s a little blurred and the time line, quite frankly, is unknown! We think we took a few steps and once we fell down the wrong street we decided we’d just hang about for a taxi – all I recall is Simon and I propping Helen against the wall and once she was ’stable’ it’s pretty much a blur. We managed to get a taxi (we think) and we arrived back at the hostel. Simon assisted me in carrying H to bed as she was absolutely dead weight by this time and after we threw her on the bed we both took a couple pictures to mock her with (like she wouldn’t have done the same!). Then sleep!
THE NEXT DAY: GOING SOUTH
Rough would be an understatement. We awoke around 10ish and in somewhat of a hurry packed our bags and met up with Simon who was equally as rough! After an hour or so of looking for Simons camera (which we found in his quilted jacket – oddly enough!) we concluded we would head South!
OR NORTH
After we finally managed to navigate the simply laid out streets on Punta Arenas (H was map ‘reading’ at this point) and we found a joint that seemed to sell bus tickets. They did and to go south we could wait until Friday and we’d get a seat (It’s Wednesday today!) so onwards and forwards we thought we’d head North instead (this was good as the previous night I’d spent 4 hours researching Puerto Natales – Puerto Natales, a picturesque city on the banks of Seno Ultima Esperanza – and the Torres del Pain). Eventually (H still had the map at this point) we found the office that sold tickets for Puerto Natales (one office – one purpose – one location – one pain in the ass!) and purchased accordingly. By this time we were quite hungry and decided we’d pop by a taverna for some food (and a hair o’ the dog too).
After eating our plate of chips on top of chopped up hotdogs and a hair fo the dog (I don’t think they even bothered naming the dish nor the lake of fat underneath – although I was surprised when Simon verbally considered that this may be a dish to offer at a B&B in the UK sometime!) we realised it was 14:00 and given we were told that we should be at the bus for 13:50 we had a mad rush!
On the bus we chatted as we passed the Magellan Straits (and contemplated voyaging over to Tierres del Fuego), spotted trees leaning at unearthly angles in retreat from the wind and watched the earth just drop off over ‘the end of the world’ and now I drop off to sleep whilst Helen and Simon snore away!
PUERTO NATALES
After reading the Lonely Planet and being warned of the hoards of touts we should expect Simon and I formulated a plan to sit out of the way and not get hassled. As we exit the bus we arrive, not to a mad rush of touts, just to a couple asking if we’d like to check out their hostel and straight away we replied yes!
HOSTEL KNUDSSON
On the walk to the hostel we deduced this was one very odd, Danish, bird; apparently with a child of 2 years old that had feet as big as hers. None to surprisingly we arrived at the hostel and everything just seemed odd. It was a quiet place and we had the attic room – not negotiating a better price of stating we felt all was odd – I think we were all pretty scared (moreso after she’d declared that this place – as opposed to the previous hostel her and her father ran – was much better as there were no shapeless, colourless ghouls or demons!?!?!?)
Demons maybe not but her father had a sense of someone that would walk around in his undies and dirty vest usually so we avoided to much chit chat here and exited as soon as possible!
Next…
- A visit to the ‘From dusk till dawn’ bar!
- More Peurto Natales
- Torres del Pianes
- Tierra del Fuego
- The Megallen Straits
Back in our comfortable and friendly hostel we met up with Charlie again telling him our tales from the last couple of days. The plan for that evening was a few drinks at Charlies place followed by a meal out and then off to see his flat mate who played in a band. So we enjoyed a few beers at Charlies flat while tucking into some Twistos (like a nicer version of bacon fries and very nice). He then asked his flatmates if they could recommend somewhere to eat and they definitely came up trumps.
A TRADITIONAL SCRAM
We got to JJ Cruze with not a gringo in sight, only locals. It was a small place, simply decorated in plain paper but they had allowed people to graffiti on the walls so it was covered in peoples various messages and declarations of love etc. We sat down and we’re not sure if Charlie actually ordered anything as no menus were passed out, we then received our drinks and waited for the main course. This apparently is a Chilean traditional meal called Chorillana, we were all given a fork each and then the meal came on one plate ready for us all to devour. I suppose it is like a shared platter that you may get at home, the bottom layer was chips, followed by a layer of fried onions mixed with scrambles eggs and then topped off with beef strips with a gravy on. Now this may not sound too tasty but we did manage to polish it off, bar a few chips, and really enjoyed it. It did worry us that Charlie thought that there maybe a gap in the market for this kind of food at home, but in the end we agreed that rather than a gastro pub it would be better suited for a good stodgey meal after a night out on the booze!!!
AND A TRADITIONAL CHILEAN DRINK
We then headed to Dominico 25, the club that Charlies flat mate was playing (sorry can’t remember his name), however it seemed that we were a little too early as the place was dead so we headed back to Pio Nono for a happy hour beer, settling for massive litre glasses before heading back to the club.
CHILEAN FOLK
We then enjoyed some South American folk music for a few hours and out of all the bands Charlies flat mate was definitely the best and had us tapping our feet and nodding our heads. After Charlies flat mate had finished we headed back but unfortunately had to go along Pio Nono on the way back, well you can guess what happened yes just another couple of drinks while Charlie and Dylan got friendly with the bar man. It was then definitely time to call it a night so we headed back picking up some empanadas from a food stall on the way back, definitely liking the Chilean food.
A DAY IN THE CENTRE
We had planned to meet Charlie at the hostel the next day so he could show us the sights of Santiago. Charlie was on time, only to find me recently showered trying to drag Dylan out of bed. 30 minutes later and we were ready to go. We headed to the centre of Santiago getting some pictures of Cathedral Metropolitan at Plaza de Armas and half heartedly doing some shopping, only one of us managed to buy in the end and that was Charlie who got a beard trimmer to tame his gringo whiskers!! We then decided we needed some rehydration and Charlie introduced us to yet another delicacy of Chile, a Mota, this consists of a few spoonfulls of barley, a few pieces of peaches, topped up with peach juice – very tasty and just the thing for a hang over!
CAFES AND BEGGARS
We then sat ourselves down on a bench to watch the world go round for a moment, Charlie pointing out the dodgy cafés and some beggars (Dylan: The ‘dodgy cafes’ are actually an excellent concept, basically these are coffees with darkened window [obviously as it gets really sunny in Santiago] and the staff are all wearing very short skirts and revealing tops [obviously women that is – anything else just wouldn't be cricket!]). Now when we say beggars these are not like the normal poor beggars you see but are in fact football supporters begging for money for the next football match!!! (Dylan: unbelievable these cheeky scrounging gits stand there wearing their colours with a flag of choice on the floor and idiots throw money on the flag – for the sole purpose of supporting these lazy layabouts to watch the next match! Eventually I insisted we moved before I found the translation for get a job you toss-pots!).
SIESTA
After the walk and food we all felt extremely rough so decided to call it a day and arranged to meet later for some food, Dylan and I wandered back for a chill and had a relax. Charlie turned up later and we all admitted that we still felt a little rough and agreed to a quiet night which we managed to do apart from a bottle of wine with soft drinks.
A MEAL TO KILL
We headed off for something to eat and came across a guy in a window BBQ’ing a mass of meat, we decided that this would be either a brilliant experience or a terrible one and agreed to take the gamble. It was a busy place and we grabbed the last free table and while looking through the menu decided on the parilla for 3. This plate consisted of 2 steaks, a rack of ribs, 3 chorizo sausages, 2 nutty black pudding sausages (morcilla), a couple of stuffed chicken breasts, rice and avocado and tomato salad. We decided that this should be enough to fill us up and ordered a bottle of red to go with it.
When the meal came I was surprised with the size of it (Dylan: Having re-read the description about I’m truly shocked anyone could be surprised when a monstrous plate of food arrives!!!!), the meat came piled on top of a metal plate which was stood on a metal bowl full of hot coals to keep everything warm.
The food, thankfully was great, (H-I even enjoyed the nutty black pudding, really tasty) and we sat munching away while sipping our red and watching a few musicians who had come in to play hoping for a couple of kleggys. It was a really god meal and I couldn’t believe it but we managed to finish off the whole thing although we were all a little full afterwards!
After our fine meal we decided that we would call it a night for that evening (yes you heard right we actually had an early, nearly booze free night), we said goodbye to Charlie and headed off to the hostel, and for once we were not the last people to go to our bed in the dorm!!!!
CLIMBING FOR A VIEW OF SANTIAGO – Cerro San Cristobal
Bright eyed and bushy tailed we were up in the morning ready to go, we had heard that to get the best views of the city you needed to visit Cerro San Cristobal. Off we trudged and within minutes came across the city wide river Rio Mapocho – the water here comes straight from the Andes and it didn’t look inviting at all!
The mountain is an enormous hill topped by a statue of Mary The Blessed Virgin, blessing all those at the base of Her feet, the peoples of Santiago. The summit of the Cerro is 860 meters above sea level, and almost 300 meters above the rest of the city.
We set off up the hill with a small bottle of water each and although only a couple of k’s as the crow fly’s we seem to have walked 8-10k up the winding roads with the sun blasting on the asphalt and stone roads… the water lasted 10 minutes whilst the walk took nearer a week!
When we arrived at the top we were welcomed with an awe-inspiring view in many ways: the height, the view of all the valleys, the vegetation v the lack of, the waves of heat v the cool breezes, hills and the Andes Mountains. The statue of the Virgin Mary stands nearly 15 meters looking over the people of Santiago.
This pure white spiritual icon mesmerises all who came to Her feet. Hidden speakers play soft music all around creating a really serene atmosphere. There is also a chapel for services, weddings and other functions.
After our wondrous walk up the hill we decided we’d treat ourselves to the cable-car back down. Eventually locating the place to purchase a ticket we then tried to work out if we’d gone and bought a return and figured it was worth it rather than walk back down anyway!
Whilst on the way down the cable car (after scoffing somewhat of Helen’s fear every time the car went over the pylon joins and the pod juddered) we observed some fantastic sights. From this vantage point you can easily see the contrast between the more affluent and poorer areas of Santiago; from the slum-type housing on one side to the swimming pool included pads on the other. The trip didn’t take to long although we soon realised once we are at the bottom that we were actually at the opposite side of the mountain from where we’d started!
We then had a 5-6k walk back to the hostel walking along the afore-mentioned river and stumbling along a sculpture park which helped to break up unplanned walk!
SWEDES, SECRETS AND DRINKS
After our walk and a bit of a freshen up we were ready for another evening. Charlie came along in the evening, he had been at a BBQ for the day and was already a little ahead of us in the drinking stakes. We caught up in the hostel’s bar while Charlie and Dylan oggled a Dutch blonde who had arrived that day (Dylan: actually, just to set the record straight, she was one of a group of 3 Swedish lasses and the one under discussion happened to be the one I’d chatted to about travelling and when it came up that she was a Doctor back home I had to mention this to Charlie… etc.).
GAMES OF DRINKING
And then we went back out to Pio Nono where we were meeting some English friends of Charlies. They were at the same University as Charlie in Santiago and from all over Britain as well as an American and I don’t think Charlie will mind us saying but they were a little posh!!! (Dylan: guffaw guffaw guffaw – although they were fun they were running the risk of being characateurs of themselves!) Charlie didn’t point them out and we had to guess who they were, they were sat outside the bar with a couple of jugs of lager and shot glasses, not hard to spot. The idea of the game was you have a shot of lager every minute and to their credit most of them were keeping up, they were however all smashed!! We ordered a jug of beer to share and a mixed patter of empanandas to tame our hunger and started chatting with these guys, they were a lot of fun but within an hour or so we realised that the amount they were drinking between the 8 of them was not vast (we had shared a couple of jugs between the 3 of us whilst sat with them – i.e. virtually equalling their consumption over the time we were there and the previous hour or so), however they were all extremely sloshed!!
OFF TO THE CLUB
We said our goodbyes to the lads as we were off to meet Charlies secret love, a beautiful girl from Chile who was going out with his friend and therefore untouchable (that’s honour for you ). We took a taxi, not exactly sure where we were going, only knowing that the club was in the posh area of the city. Arriving in the general area we disembarked the taxi and Charlie asked a passer by for directions; the guy said he wasn’t sure and then demanded a tip for his help! As you can imagine Charlie didn’t give him any money and we all had a comment or two to pass on the subject!
CLOSE SHAVE
While wandering the men were both in need of the loo so we ended up stopping at a nice looking bar for one, Charlie headed to the loo while we ordered what we thought we was happy hour/special priced beer, just before she opened the bottles Charlie returned and realised that we had in fact ordered ’special’ imported lager and probably the most expensive bottles in the place, saved just in time!!
I’m not sure how but we managed to find the club, it had a cool little bar at the front with tables, chairs and sofas to chill out in and then the dance floor at the back was packed. We got a free drink with our entrance, Dylan choosing gin and I had a mini bottle of sparkly. We spent the next couple of hours having a dance and then said goodbye to Charlies friends (and very pretty secret love) and grabbed one last drink. We then sat down and I lectured Charlie about how he should tell this girl (her bloke was leaving in a month or so and didn’t sound like he was a great guy), however we came to the conclusion that Charlie was too honourable and would just love from afar. It was then time to call it a night and we grabbed a taxi back to the plaza saying goodbye to Charlie.
I was peckish and insisted on a pizza on the way home, it wasn’t the best pizza of all time but at the time I thought it was great (in fact it was pretty gross: a piece of dough with a bit of tomato and a piece of sliced cheese plonked in the middle!!!)
BAG SNATCHED
Dylan: Well with the night over (or certainly as much as Helen can recall) we sett off across the road before getting to a side street to take us to our hostel when we moved aside to allow a group of fighting footy fans past. Just as they passed and we were about to cross the road someone just caught my shoulder and pushed me a little aside; a split second later someone came from the other side and grabbed the shoulder bag (NO This wasn’t a man-bag!! lol!!). I instinctively turned and was just about to set after the tosser when someone launched off the fence and asked where I was going – I got the distinct feeling this wasn’t a question but more of a statement so responded “nowhere” and turned to check Helen hadn’t choked to death on her pizza. As I turn Helen’s stood with a pizza in one hand and the bag with a broken lead in the other stating (too loudly) “It’s OK they forgot the bag”, so after grabbing H’s arm and rushing back to the hostel all was actually OK!!
Helen, glorious in recovery…
THE LAST DAY IN SANTIAGO
Not much happened through the day, Helen was feeling a little rough and I was still fuming about the bag (which Helen couldn’t even remember – lol!!).
We met up with Charlie later on for a ‘last supper’ together and searched high and low for a café Charlie had been recommended from his, thus far very reliable, flatmates. Unfortunately Charlie wasn’t paying too much attention to the directions in his rush to meet up with us and we walked up and down a few streets seeing if any café names may trigger a sparkle of recollection. Alas we couldn’t find the café and opted for a decent looking pizzeria we’d stumbled across!
Whilst some local nutter passed to and fro on his roller blades singing tunes to his iPod with the occasional crazy dance, I enjoyed a great pizza whilst H and Charlie opted for a monstrous calzole (although H and I swapped half and half) and a fruit juice – yep, a fruit juice, another alcohol free night
We said our goodbye and thank you to Charlie for looking after us and headed off for an early night in preparation for an early morning and flight to Punta Arenas…
We arrived in Santiago Airport tired but excited, our first task was to find our way to the hostel. We needed to grab a bus (which we found quite easily), which took us to the metro station and from there go to the Baquendano station. The trip in total took just over an hour. We didn’t have a map for the hostel but the directions indicated it was only a couple of blocks away from the metro station. This statement was true but when you don’t know any Chillian Spanish (not to mention Spanish of any description!) and have no map it is a little more difficult than we had considered; we walked around in the heat, with our rucksacks for about 40 minutes until we found the hostel (only walking back on ourselves twice). When we did find it we were pleasantly surprised, Hostal Forrestal (as recommended by Charlie – our friend from Brockenhurst) was clean and tidy, the staff were friendly, we had free internet for the first time in months and a nice big TV room to relax in and also a free pool table downstairs near the equipped kitchen.
ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER HOSTEL
We dropped our stuff off and then decided to go straight out as we had washing to do (or rather give someone to do for us ) and needed to get a plug adapter. After dropping our washing off across the road we headed into the city. When looking through the downtown blocks you can see the mighty circle of mountains – the snowcapped Andean peaks to the east, and a smaller coastal range to the west which surround the Chilean capital. Although beautiful, it is a smoggy town and the smog circles the city with the mountain peaks sneaking over the top of the smog – although we have been told that it has cleared in the last few years the pollution problem is still apparent and on hot dry days like the one we had the pollution is very evident.
THE PURCHASE FUNNEL
After a couple of foiled attempts at communicating what we required, we found an electric store that understood and sold what the adapter. We were surprised to find that to buy a plug adapter you need to go through about 4 members of staff. You tell the guy at the counter what you are looking for, he then tells someone else who writes it down on a piece of paper and passes to you, you then pass this on to the cashier – after getting a receipt you then take your receipt to someone else who you pay, you then take the receipt that says you have paid to another guy who then gives you your purchase!!! Quite long-winded but I suppose if it works then don’t fix it (and everyone gets a job!).
On the way back we popped to the supermarket for some bits and couldn’t believe how cheap the wine was compared to Oz and New Zealand, a nice bottle would only set you back a couple of quid at the most – we reluctantly felt obliged to purchase a cheap bottle to relax with back at the hostel!
FIRST NIGHTLY WANDER IN SANTIAGO
It was then back to the hostel where we showered and relaxed while waiting for Charlie to come and pick us up. When he arrived we shared a nice bottle of wine while catching up and he then took us out to the town he’s been living in for the last 9 months. We ended up at a bar called Berri, a little bohemian bar that was a fave of Charlies, you can imaging this place being really cosy in the winter with it’s low ceilings and the antique cash register it was really cool. Here he introduced us to the local drink, Pisco Sours, these consist of Pisco liquor, lemon juice, sugar and raw egg white, odd sounding but very tasty and extremely lethal!!
LEARNING THE LINGO (During Pisco drinking!?!)
Whilst drinking Charlie gave us a lesson in Spanish (Dylan: unfortunately Charlie is a few steps above us in both Spanish and English so his talk of relative and interrogative pronouns and adjectives was a little too much – I blame the Piscos) and after a couple of hours we were all getting peckish so we headed to Plaza Italia for a bite to eat. We ended up with some local beers and a tasty, cheap local sarnie called a Churrasco. The Churrasco consists of avacado, beef strips (stewed in a gravy), salad and mayo, although extremely nice they were massive so I only managed about 1/3 of mine (Dylan: I would say they were large and Helen obviously wasn’t hungry ). By this time it was getting late and Charlie had Uni in the morning so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hostel where we managed to finish our wine while having a few drunken conversations on the phone (sorry Mike and Pete for waking you up – damn that time difference!!).
CHILLED DAY IN SANTIAGO
The evening had lasted until the wee small hours of the morning and after our flight and lack of sleep we were shattered, these are all excuses for the fact that we stayed in bed until about 3pm!
We picked up our washing (it’s kinda like being at home but costs more!), had some lunch and then popped out for another wander, walking along the river which flows from the Andes and doing a bit of people watching. The sun was shining and although a little dusty along the roads we had a nice walk for a couple of hours (Dylan: loving the contradiction of ‘nice walk’ and ‘for a couple of hours’ ). It was then back to the hostel as Charlie was picking us up again. He had invited us to his flat for some dinner so we headed to the supermarket for some wine, Charlie picking out his favourite Carmenère wine, a few beers and some food supplies. It was then back to Charlies where we met his Chilean flat mates while he rustled up some very nice home made spicy beef burgers, these were enjoyed with the wine which went very well. A couple of beers later, and a lesson in some of the local slang, including learning that the name for the local bread is used to describe what we would call camel toe, I think Charlie explains this well in the photo:
We were then ready to head out doon the toon. We headed to a street called Pio Nono, a street bursting with bars fighting for customers with their happy hours, perfecto! So we settled down with our lager and watched the world go by, Charlie pointing out his version of the true South American beauty and watching the street acts: the best being a couple of drummers who were great at spinningspinning drummers.
Later on we ended up bumping into an English couple who we met at the airport and then it was off to a club were we had the biggest rum and cokes I have ever had, and we all ended up doing a bit of latino dancing.
I wish more people could have seen Charlie teaching Dylan how to grind, the 2 of them together hilarious (Dylan: These were strong drinks incidentally)!!!!
AND OFF TO VALPARAISO
As you can imagine it wasn’t the earliest of mornings the next day but we did manage to drag ourselves out of bed as we were leaving Santiago for the port town of Valparaiso which had been highly recommended by Charlie (who had been correct about everything in Chile so far). A quick metro ride and then a 2 hour bus trip and we were at our destination.
This place was definitely different to Santiago, the city has actually been named a World Heritage site since 2003 and you can see why. When we arrived we were at the flat “business/industrial end” on the city by the harbour but if you looked in from the coast you could see a steep labyrinthine of roads, and colourful crumbling mansions.
Dylan decided he would be able to find the hostel we had been recommended without taking a taxi and after about 30 minutes, and without a map to help (we were definitely missing our lonely planet by now) he surrendered and a taxi was ordered The taxi drove us up the colourful streets, if the houses had not been painted there was brilliant graffiti art work on the walls, and we found our hostel only to be told they were full for the evening. Not to worry though, they recommended a hostel just down the road, Hostal Pilcomayo, thankfully they had a room so we popped up to check it out. It was an 8 person dorm and although the beds weren’t made, we did offer to do this but they insisted they would sort it later, everything else seemed OK, so we paid and then headed straight out to explore.
One thing we had forgotten about was the weather, we just assumed that it would be the same sunny climate of Santiago but we were mistaken. As we were back in Santiago the next day we had left our luggage, including jackets and jumpers at the hostel in Santiago, so in just our t-shirts it is safe to say that we were very Chilly in Chile (we had to use that at some point!!)!! This didn’t stop us wandering about the streets, the madly criss-crossing electricity wires above the streets, and the art work on the walls was intriguing and gave the place a lot of character. We grabbed a Chorizo Quesa to share from a take away shop and Dylan was told off for his pronunciation by the old woman behind the counter. Then we walked along the harbour and the centre of the city passing market stalls full of little wooden figures and brightly coloured woollens, we then decided it was time to hit the bar. We ended up in a small bohemian bar (not a surprise here), it was playing a mixture of eighties tunes and South American music, very eclectic!! Although it was cold (a draft coming in from the door) we decided to stay, only for a couple of beers. We ordered some cheesey empanadas and some fajitas which were very tasty and watched the bar staff mixing cocktails at the bar.
OF TAXI ‘SHARING’
When we decided to head back, Charlie had told us the taxis were quite cheap so we decided to go for it, although we were sure of the way we weren’t sure about walking the quiet streets at night. Dylan: I spotted a queue just across the road with some taxis waiting so we joined the queue. It wasn’t long before we stood out as the only English couple in the queue as people (including old dears over 100 years old) elbowed their way past us to get into a taxi. After a few tries of getting in a cab I decided enough was enough and warned Helen to prepare herself as we getting in the next taxi no matter what the cost in terms of third part life of limb! The taxi approached (he actually approached quite slowly; I think sensing the atmosphere!) and just as he stopped I threw a granny out of the way with a double-nelson as Helen dived in… immediately after Helen I got in – only to find some woman sat in the front passenger seat talking to the driver and before I could throw some pigeon Spanish in anyone’s direction I was shoved over by another 100 year old as she crammed in the back with us. The taxi set off, a somewhat bemused and quite frankly scared Helen and I decided we’d just shout where we wanted to go and see what happened. The driver responded – unfortunately this was in Spanish so didn’t mean a thing to us but he seemed to be heading the correct way. A short while later the driver was at our hostel so we passed him a few cleggies (about 50p) and he seemed happy enough to let us out so we got out as quick as we could!
Later we found that this communal taxi thing is quite common, were taxis cover a certain route or specific area and people can share taxis to keep the cost down – Dylan felt guilty about the old dear thing
AND BACK AT THE HOSTEL
Back at the hostel we popped into the room to find that the beds hadn’t been made and although it was only about 8.30pm someone was already in bed. Not wanting to disturb them we grabbed some blankets from the top of a wardrobe and threw them on the bed, this would have to do for the night. I then needed the loo, on inspecting the bathroom I decided that in the morning I would wait to have a shower in our Santiago hostel rather than have one here (enough said). Then when I went to flush the toilet it didn’t work, I found out that you had to open the cistern, find a bit of wire that was attached to the ball and then pull, this hostel wasn’t looking so great any more!!!!
Before bed we watched a film in the small TV room and then headed to bed. I don’t know what it was but I did not sleep that night, just had a funny feeling about the place and kept thinking I was being watched, stupid girly thing you think but when I talked to Dylan in the morning he said he had felt funny too, after breakfast we were glad to get out of there.
WALKING VALPO STREETS
We spent the morning wandering around all the colourful streets, we spotted some seals in the harbour hanging about the fishermen’s boats waiting for a treat and then I decided it was time to go up the hills to get some better views of the city. Much to the despair of Dylan the streets were longer and higher than they looked on the map but with every turn there was a brand new view or collection of houses, yes I went a little mad with the camera but I didn’t want to miss anything out (Dylan: actually, with every turn there was a brand new hill or collection of dogs! lol!). By the time we got to the top (about 90 minutes of up-hill climbing) the clouds were back with us, however, you still got a great view of the houses, in one book it refers to the view being like a kaleidoscope of coloured roofs and they wouldn’t be far off.
Dylan then decided his stomach wasn’t too great so we headed back down at a quicker pace, I was getting dirty looks every time I stopped for a picture (Dylan: regular readers will recall the process of David Bailey taking a picture; stop, wait, frame, check, reframe, click, check, retake etc.). Down on the main streets the priority was a toilet so the first café/bar we saw we rushed in, Dylan left me to order while running to the loos.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL
Dylan: and once again my lack of Spanish foiled me… I rushed into the loos and thought the gents would say Hombres and the ladies’ something else. Instead they both had indecipherable lingo so I rushed in the nearest. No lights. No lock. Urgent. All was fine until some old dear opened the loo and shrieked in horror. I did know the Spanish for ’sorry’ as ‘lo sciento’ so I embarrassingly rushed this out whilst shoving the door shut. It probably wouldn’t have been quite so embarrassing had the lady been just a punter – but no – she was a bloody worker in the café and I recall having that distinct feeling I was being talked about!!! Yes you guessed it I was in the ladies!
We then headed back on the streets to be confronted by a protest, apparently it was government workers who weren’t getting enough pay, the procession was massive and they even had a band playing on a stage at the end of it.
BACK TO SANTIAGO
By this time it was getting on and we had a 3 hour journey ahead of us so we decided to go and catch the bus, however we were both feeling a little peckish so thought we would grab a Churrasco sandwich. We found a little take away which was packed and thought this must be a good place, we then tried to order 2 separate dishes but in the end realised that they were only selling one thing that lunchtime, an Italianos. Still not sure why it was called this as it consisted of a hot dog in a bun with guacamole and mayo, is that italian???
Maybe not the most nutritious meal ever but it filled us up and was OK, we sat in the square polishing off our South American hot dogs and then went for the bus. Dylan still had a funny stomach so while he was there I found the bus from the correct company leaving at the correct time and waited for Dylan. Thankfully he got there just before the 3pm deadline and we got on. It was only then did we think to check that it was the correct destination, well you know us, of course it wasn’t!!! We quickly stopped the bus, jumped off, ran to the correct bus which was just leaving and got on just in time!!!!
We are hoping to get the rest of Santiago up tomorrow and you will hear all about our booze free (ish) night with Charlie and our special meat meal.
Meeting Charlies secrete love and more dancing.
And actually getting to see Santiago in the day time and doing a bit of sight seeing!!
Share on Facebook
Filed under: New Zealand, Travel | Tags: Backpacking, Campervans, New Zealand, North Island, Travels
AND BACK TO AUCKLAND
After a small detour (H – OK so normally this map reading lark is a sinch, we all make mistakes sometimes) we were on the right track and heading to Auckland with hilly views galore. The main difference with this road trip, to the ones over the last couple of weeks, was the amount of cars on the road. In the space of the few hours we travelled we saw more than triple the amount of cars we had seen our whole time thus far in New Zealand; the roads were jammed – of course – everyone was getting out of the city for the Easter weekend, we just couldn’t believe how many cars there were.
And a couple of odd signs too…
We eventually got to Auckland after dark and had a drive round to look for a parking spot but couldn’t find any and it was all a bit too noisy and a little chav for us (this city life lark that is). I’m sure the city is very beautiful and the views of the tower and city as we were driving across the bridge were great but we just decided it wasn’t for us. Instead of hanging around for the night we decided to carry on up north stopping for a quick bite to eat before going up towards Leigh and Goat Island. It got to about 10pm and we saw a sign for Warkworth, a town not too far from Leigh, so we decided it was time to set down for the night and maybe pop to a local bar for a quick one before calling it a night.
BACK TO LEIGH
Not as easy as it sounds!!! the whole town seemed to be closed, it was dead, not a bar in sight, hoping Leigh might be different we headed there and another 20km up the road couldn’t find anywhere to park. 1 hour later we eventually found somewhere to stop and sleep by the coast and hit the hay. We have found it so much more difficult to park in the north island, the south island had loads of free options available just off the roads but here it seems almost impossible to find them and Apollo Travel were about as helpful as a glass hammer!
BACK TO WARKWORTH
Anyway, in the morning we headed back to Warkworth to go to the information office and work out what we were going to do for our last few days on the north island (which included Dylans Birthday the next day!). After some super noodles (our breakfast of choice at the moment) by a very pretty river we headed to the information place, spending hours there working out a plan. Eventually we decided deep sea fishing was in order for Dylans birthday, it was something he had been dying to do and never got the chance in Oz so it was an obvious choice.
DEEP SEA FISHING
After looking around (calling a few places only to hear that they’d been full for a while given it was a bank holiday!) we stumbled along a chap who had 2 places left on his boat for the morning, great we thought, we’ll go and check out Goat Island (planning to snorkel on Sunday) and then head towards the harbour. Of course we had problems finding a phone and couldn’t call from where we were (and it was another 300km north) so we decided to plod on to Goat Island and just call later.
So after checking out Goat Island which looked perfect (if not a little chilly and covered in Japanese) for snorkelling we headed along the road up North towards the harbour. After about 90 minutes up the road we remembered we had to confirm our place with the fishing guy so we found an info office on the way who kindly called the fisherman for us. Quelle Sorprisa as we find out that the last couple of places had been taken just a few moments before!!
The woman new it was Dylans birthday (Dylan: sticking to my age old habit of ensuring anyone within hearing distance is fully aware!) so then began calling every fishing agent within a 200km radius to see if anything was available, unfortunately after 30 minutes of ringing around, due to the Easter weekend, nothing could be found.
AND BACK TO LEIGH
She suggested to go back to Leigh and walk along the docks (the boats should be getting back around 5pm) and see if any last minute thing was available for the morning. Not to be beaten we drove another 90 minutes, ended up back where we had started and after a walk up and down the docks we realised we would have to change our plans for the morning.
MATIKANA
To make things worse, as we headed for somewhere to camp up, because it was Good Friday all the wineries were closed so no cheeky wine tastings, and the bottle shops too; oh no, we have no beer for the night!!!! We ended up stopping in a little village called Matikana and although the bottle shops were closed a couple of the bars were still open. Hurray we thought, we found a place to camp up which was private and near the river and decided to make ourselves some pasta and then head up to the bar.
Dylan headed up to the bar at the top of the hill whilst I started our tea.Then our little gas canister ran out – no food for us then and fortunately Dylan had been quicker than I expected and was walking back towards the campervan. After Dylan had informed me that he couldn’t get served alcohol without eating I was happy to tell him about the gas canister and we decided to go straight to the bar (our lack of gas ended up working out quite well in the end).
We sat in the Tui Tavern enjoying a few beers with Pizzas (H – I was in a rush to get to the loo when we got there so quickly blurted out my order before rushing off and instead of the salami pizza I thought I’d ordered I was confronted with a salmon and avocado pizza instead – not quite what I had planned – or would have ever ordered – but tasty all the same). The night carried on slowly but surely and Dylan decided that this was the evening we were going to celebrate his birthday (a day early mind!) so we ended up a little drunk. A group of young lads were also in the bar that evening, we ended up talking to them and they were mainly from Auckland and had decided to come up north to do a bit of drinking and fishing and were sleeping near by our campervan in their cars. We ended up spending the evening chatting to these guys (who ended up being the New Zealand equivalent to Chavs/Hoons wheel spinning the night away), exchanging a few drunken text messages with people back home before stumbling back to the campervan.
AND THE BIRTHDAY DAY
In the “morning”, 2pm, when we got up all was not well. A water and a large coffee were required ASAP (Dylan: Oddly enough I felt a little tired but not so ‘hung-over’ as I would have expected – RESULT!) (H: I think this was the worst hang over I have ever had!).
Dylan opened his birthday cards (Dylan: Which he was very grateful indeed to receive) and we headed back into the village for a quick coffee and then food as required. We ended up in Matakana Tavern for some fish, chips and lager (H – although Dylan enjoyed his first birthday drink I didn’t have the stomach to follow him).
After some food I kindly offered to drive and we headed off to find some wineries and, unlike our last attempt, found that they were all open (Dylan: maybe a little birthday luck on my side eventually!).
BIRTHDAY WINERIES
We managed 3 wineries in total, all specialising in red wines of course (Dylan: This was my birthday treat – having the worlds most hung over lady drive me to establishments of my choosing!) and Dylan was treated to a couple of bottles of the finest reds for his birthday (Dylan: Which incidentally Helen has subsequently helped to polish off). We then headed back to Matakana Tavern after parking the van as we had booked into the cinema to watch Slum Dog Millionaire later on that evening and had some time to spare.
I was obviously starting to feel better as I decided to celebrate Dylans birthday with mini bottles of bubble while we sat in the garden; eventually I was ready for the hair of the dog, and it worked! A few boys were playing hide and seek in the garden and although we were maybe a little too old to partake in the game ourselves we did help a couple of them hide from time to time (H – Dylan was dying to ask them to play and I think if he had had another couple of beers he may have well have got up the courage).
A MEAL OF A BIRTHDAY MEAL
We just had enough time to get something to eat before it was time for the flick, so we decided a last birthday treat was allowed and we went to Tapino’s Bar and Bistro, a very nice restaurant with a pianist in the corner. Although a little under-dressed (Dylan: I felt fine having showered a few days ago?) (H – I hadn’t showered for a few days, hair ‘manky’, smelly jeans and a t-shirt and no make up, I wouldn’t dream of coming to a place like this looking like this at home!!!) we decided to give it a go. The staff were very friendly and we explained that we had to be out in about 40 minutes so could we get the mushrooms in cream starter with the mains, “no problem” they said, so we sat back, enjoyed a nice wine in massive glasses and waited for our food.
First to come was the mushroom starter, OK so it didn’t all come together but they knew we hadn’t much time so we tucked into the extremely tasty mushrooms and waited for our mains. 30 minutes later and just as the doors were opening for the film, after being promised twice that his steak was on the grill and would only be a few minutes we still hadn’t received mains and Dylan was starting to get agitated.
I sent him upstairs to the cinema to plonk our jackets on two good seats. Dylan returned not-too-upset as the cinema room was tiny and more like a living room with only about 20 seats, the front seats however were the best, they were like big arm chairs I was assured and they even leant back for total relaxation. Dylan had bagged these chairs before he ran back to the restaurant to enjoy his meal.
The agitation returned soon after he’d described the cinema realising the food still wasn’t there, another discussion with the staff and after another promise we decided we just didn’t have time – we were missing the film and would rather get up there now than rush a fine and expensive meal. Dylan told the waitress and after a little shuffling they realised he wasn’t going to budge so we just paid up (Dylan: not even a free drink or a cent of for the bad timing and poor service – and given she was in ear-shot she knew it was my birthday!) and headed to the cinema.
AT THE CINEMA
We grabbed a glass of wine from the wine bar to take in with us and just as we got to the door an old man shouted us “excuse me, are you the ones with the army jacket?”, “yes” Dylan replied, “well you may find when you get in there the jackets have been moved, it’s 10 minutes into the film and people were complaining about the best seats being hogged”.
Dylan:
Well after not getting my steak I was ready for a good ruckuss and if someone had taken my seats there was going to be trouble – the old fella did look a little perturbed when I told him, in all sincerity, the same! So, as he lead us in, and with Helen insisting I calm down the old chap pronounced (over the top of the film!) “this is the couple with the army jacket” to which the crowd replied with a big groan, I didn’t care however as the jackets were still in their rightful place so we dived on the chairs and settled for the film. The film was really good, we would definitely recommend it, it doesn’t glam India up and is an eye-opener to what can happen over there.
Well after a good day it only seemed fitting that we finish the day with a couple of drinks at the Tui bar and after a few we called it a night and went back to the camper. A good day was had by the birthday boy (and myself in the end too!) even if we didn’t get to eat very much!!
GOAT ISLAND
In the morning, as we hadn’t had much to eat the previous evening we treated ourselves to a nice brekkie, poached eggs for Dylan and eggs benedict for me, very tasty indeed. It was then off to Goat Island to try out a bit of snorkelling. We got there and decided before hiring our wet suites we would go on the boat trip they have, the boat has a glass bottom and takes about 45 minutes to go around the island showing you the sea life below. It was a really good tour with a very enthusiastic and informative chap on the mic. We saw a lot of huge red snapper, plenty of goat fish, massive sea urchins and much more, and also backed up into one of the caves on the island.
After the trip we wandered around the rocks, spotting yet more sea life just off the coast and then we grabbed our snorkel stuff, deciding wet suits weren’t required. Dylan headed into the water first only to come rushing back squealing like a girl. He had a cold sore and the mask was rubbing and very painful so he couldn’t snorkel, for some reason the idiot found this out after jumping into the freezing water (Dylan: admittedly the squealing may also have been contributed to by the afore-mentioned freezing water)!! Snorkelling was off
BACK TO AUCKLAND (isn’t this a previous title already?!?!)
After a walk we decided to head back to Auckland for the evening and treat ourselves to a camp-site, a few hours to get there and then a while trying to find the site, although in my defence there were a load of roadworks and the site was just off the diversion (Dylan: Methinks thou does protest too much)! The site not only had warm showers but also a real oven which was great as we had a couple of potatoes that needed baking and eating up! So with the red wine we’d bought on Dylans birthday and our jacket potatoes prepared we sat and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the TV room before calling it a night.
The next morning we were all prepared, a breakfast of beans on toast and then we were packed and ready in plenty of time (after what had happened on the south island we were determined not to be late for any flights). We washed the campervan (although we did note at the previous place no-one else seems to bother) and then we had a little panic when we realised we didn’t have the map Apollo had given us with directions to their office (Dylan: If you recall the tight gits wouldn’t drop us a satnav without 15 cleggies!) but found it in the nick of time.
Once they realised we were returning the campervan a few days early they were over the moon as they had double booked a hippie camper – so if we hadn’t brought it back early they would have been in trouble; of course we were given no thanks or discount for it though (Dylan: not even a refund of the sodding insurance cover that was unnecessary for the following few days)!!!
AND GOODBYE NEW ZEALAND
It was then off to the airport where we spent our last few New Zealand Dollars on a little bottle of fizz and a beer and then off on the 11 hour flight to Santiago. This was very long, neither of us slept and the LAN air stewardess seemed to have it in for me. Our body clocks were completely messed up by the time we got to Santiago as we left at 5.30pm on the 13th April and after our 11 hour flight arrived at 12 in the afternoon on the 13th April, 5 hours before our leaving time!?!?!
NEXT… Meeting Charlie in Santiago!
Filed under: New Zealand, Travel | Tags: Backpacking, Campervans, Geothermal, Mauri, Mud Baths, New Zealand, North Island, Rotorua, Travels
GEOTHERMAL ACTION
In the morning it was time for a some geothermal action. Dylan started early with another dip in the hot spring at the campsite, we had some breakfast and then it was off to the Wai-O-Tapu thermal area.
The Wai-O-Tapu area has the largest area of surface thermal activity of any hydrothermal system in the Taupo Volcanic Zone – covering some 18 square km and is covered in collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of mud, water and steaming fumaroles. We had to be there for 10.15am to see the Lady Knox Gyser, oddly enough (we thought) it “blows” at exactly this time every day; as usual we left it to the last minute and rushed to the info point to purchase a ticket. The info woman told us we had plenty of time, and said that Dylan really should calm down, however this didn’t stop Mr Stress-head running back to the van and speeding to the Geyser. As the lady had said, we were there in plenty of time and got some seats quite close with good views at the side of the Geyser. At this point we were both impressed but also intruiged as to why the geyser blew at exactly the same time everyday, surely it couldn’t predict daylight saving! The secret however was let out of the bag when a guy came along to tell us about the history of the geyser and then threw a block of detergent down the hole to force the process so us tourists could see the geyser erupt. It does blow on it’s own approximately every 72 hours but this is a good way to make sure all the tourists get to see it, and after 5 minutes of bubbles, water shot into the air about 3 to 4 metres high.
AND INTO THE GEOTHERMAL PARK
With the excitement of the gyser over it was off into the park to wander around the steaming ground and pools. It was like no sight we had seen before, the rocks were steaming and covered in bright yellows, oranges, greens, purples and reds from the different mineral elements. It wasn’t just the rocks either, some of the pools were also bright greens and yellows, one of them actually changes colour depending on the atmospheric pressure and weather in general!!
One of our favourite pools was the Champagne Pool – and no! not because of the name or, indeed, the taste of the water (containing sulphur and arsenic amongst a hundred deadly chemicals!). The Champagne Pool is the largest pool being 65 metres in diameter and 62 metres deep and the surrounding area was covered in steam, however, when the steam dissipated for a few seconds the view was amazing, the water seemed crystal clear, yet bright blue and bubbling away, there was also a bright orange border around the pool caused by the different minerals in the pool (including gold, silver, mercury, sulphur and arsenic) it was really magnificent.
We spent quite a few hours wandering around the park taking in the sights and obviously took photos so you could get a feel for the park (see here), we also saw the tiniest marsupial ever (let us know if you know what it is, but it’s very cute!).
It was then back in the van and back to Rotorua, as we have said before there is loads of geothermic activity around here and as we were driving along we would pass steaming lakes, streams and hills and mud pools – all spectacular and quite surreal!
AND SOME SPENDING
We got back late afternoon and I thought it was time we spent more money (Dylan: of course we haven’t already spent enough – we had severely under budgeted NZ and could easily spend much more next time!!) and wanted to book a few tours, the first being a Mauri Cultural evening, well if you come all the way to the other side of the world you have to take in a bit of culture!. Also we booked for a mud bath for the next day at Hell’s Gate (the same thing, you can’t come here without slapping a bit of the local mud on your skin ). Not all was spend spend however as we did get free entrance into the local museum for the next day and the cultural evening came with a meal and free tea and coffee (Dylan: and boy was I gonna drink some coffee ).
After spending all that money a drink was needed so we headed to a local and had a few beers whilst watching a couple of locals eat the equivilant of 2 large meals each (they were large women!) and then we went and found a camping spot.
CAMPING
We ended up next to the lake and just down the road to the Mauri place so we had a quick freshen up, got our chairs out and sat by the side of the road with a lager while we waited for the doors to open and chatted to a couple who were also ‘campervanning’ it. They were going to be going to the South Island in the next few days so we offered as much advice as we could and also in terms of the campervan living in general! We shared a couple of stories such as Dylan’s Mussel Catch and yes the double booking of the campervans was mentioned again – if not by me (H)!
AN EVENING OF CULTURE
The cultural evening consisted of an introduction to the Mauri culture, a meal cooked in the traditional Mauri method (a hole with heated stones – usually heated geothermically) and then a show on the stage. A tourist was chosen as our chief and he had to go on stage and perfom the traditional welcome ceremony to a Mauri chap with a huge tongue, they exchanged leaves, touched noses and then it was time to eat.
FOOD
The food was great, a massive buffet with fresh seafood, meat – falling off the bone , hoards of veg and salads and best of all roast potatoes and gravy which we haven’t had in a very long time! After a couple of helpings (Dylan: Helen is being modest on my behalf here! After several cups of coffee and two damn large and somewhat piled plates of scrumptious food – I’m not counting the third plate as this contained mainly NZ green mussels…) we then finished off by tucking into the traditional New Zealand dessert of Kiwi fruit Pavlova. We then grabbed a glass of wine as a treat and got comfy ready for the show.
THE SHOW
The show lasted just over an hour, the people up there on the stage could really sing as well as dance, while swinging their balls around and throwing their sticks, it was a really good show. It was then the point I (H) had been dreading, one of the mauri women came over looking for volunteers to perform the dance using the special balls and I was somewhat reluctantly dragged up (noticing Dylan was very keen to promote me as a candidate)! This simply ball swinging really isn’t as easy as it looks and takes a lot of skill, I think from the videos and pics though you can see that I picked it up quite quickly
Of course, the men didn’t get out of it, and after Dylan had decided to humiliate me it was only fair that he went through the same, so up on the stage he went and was taught how to do the Hakka, this basically involved him sticking his tongue out, stomping his feet and shouting/growling a lot, very amusing, check the video XXXVidXXX
Dylan: This is a somewhat inaccurate description of the Hakka. I’d prefer
the Hakka is a Maori war dance performed originally by ferocious warriors prior to going into battle. It involves lots of foot-stamping, glaring and chest thumping by men in skirts with bones through their nose. The ritual ends in a big leap into the air and a threat to take their opponents’ heads off.
At the end of the show at the Mauri Entertainment Centre we sat for 15 minutes sharing a lager and then made it back to the camper as well fed and well entertained campers, chuckling about our dancing before heading to bed.
In the morning we were up bright and early and while tucking into our supper-noodle breakfast ended up chatting to the other vanning couple, and given we didn’t have too long in the campervan gave them some tea bags and washing up liquid and, although we’d treated ourselves to a coffee shop latte with breakfast, took a couple of decent quality sachets of coffee before saying our goodbyes and heading off.
MORE CULTURE WITH A MUSEUM VISIT
We were off for our mud bath soon, but before heading there we had our free entrance at Rotorua museum to take advantage of.
After a somewhat heated discussion about map reading skills and directing (and receiving of given directions) ability we found the museum tucked away in a corner of Rotorua. It is housed in what used to be the original Bath House building which opened in 1908 and was New Zealand Governments first major investment in the tourism industry. For a change we were lucky in our timing and got there just before one of the free guided tours began.
On the tour we went to the viewing platform on the roof of the building, with views of the Government gardens, lake Rotorua and sulphur bay. We learnt that Rotorua is built entirely in the crator of a volcano and in all directions from the roof you can see the rim of the crator (it actually reminded us of the wedding in Santorini when looking out at the Caldera – not so much as looking anywhere in the same splendour but in the appreciation of the shear size of a volcano).
&nbp;
MOKOIA ISLAND
You could also see an Island on the lake called Mokoia which is very sacred to the mauri people (we’d been told about this as the cultural show), many wars have been fought over it and there is also the story of Hinmoa, a high-born woman who lived on the mainland and Tutanekai, her lover, who was on the island. The story goes that their love was forbidden so when Hinmoa was forbidden to go to the Island and her canoe taken off her she ended up swimming over, guided by Tutanekai playing a bone flute (yes a human bone made into a flute and a treasured possession that is in the museum today), where they had there wicked way before she sneaked back!
MEDICINAL BATHS
After that we were taken on a tour around the medicinal baths, were people used to come for electric shock treatment (willingly they came and it was very expensive) as well as mud and sulphur baths – a far cry from the spa baths of today!!! Also, the cramped basement where most of the staff worked (shoveling mud into pots and controlling the hot water supplies etc.) really gave you an idea about how hot and difficult to work in that place must have been.
TREASURES
It was then off to the Treasures of Te Arawa were we learned about more about the spiritual world of the Mauri and how they settled here 20 generations ago.
AND A FILM
After our tour, to ensure we got our moneys worth, we went to the museum cinema and watched a film about Tarawera Te Maunga Tapu, the eruption of the Tarawera Mountain on 10th June 1886 and, how this changed the course of history for the people who lived literally in it’s shadow afterwards. The funniest thing was that seats shook when the volcano went off in the film – very realistic! Dylan: so much so that in a class of kids behind us, one of them shot into the air, bust into tears and refused to sit down for the rest of the showing!
TOWARDS HELLS GATE
With our educational morning over we headed north towards Hells Gate where we were booked in for our mud bath.
Before we had our bath we had a wander around the grounds, again there was a park full of steaming pools of mud and water. We stopped at the beginning to dip our feet in one of the warm mud pools (this was allowed of course) and even found the pool where the mud for our bath was to come from, a guy literally scooping up a load with a bucket and putting in straight into the bath!!
The walk was really interesting and you could see why they had called it Hells Gate – very eery feeling to it. Dylan enjoyed tossing various rocks into the pools of bubbling mud and coloured waters (Dylan: Although I was very disappointed when the only reaction I got was a number of ‘death stares’ from Helen – who, scarily enough, seemed very relaxed in this evil setting )
It was smaller than the previous park but we’d honestly recommend doing both if you could or just this one if money was tighter.
AND OF MUD…
After our walk around it was time for the bath, we got into our swimmers and then were shown 3 baths we had the choice of, Dylan was extremely picky, the first bath being too cold, the second far too hot and the third only a little bit too warm so we stopped in the third. Once we’d adjusted to the heat we then covered ourselves with mud and wallowed in it for about 20 minutes.
They then make you wash off the mud with a freezing cold shower (apparently this is good for the skin), it was an extremely refreshing experience – for ‘refreshing’ read ‘freezing‘!!!
Next you can spend as long as you like (Dylan: or as long as you can manage, as in my case, should your eyes start to dispell all the liquid in your body with a stinging pain!) in the hot sulphur spring baths they have overlooking the park, so we chilled out for a while, forgetting about the silver St. Christophers we had around our necks. It was only after about 20 minutes in the sulphur bath we (Dylan: or rather, Helen, given by this time I thought I had been rendered blind) realised the silver had had some sort of reaction and was now coated in a matt black layer of, presumably, sulphur.
Although we were quite perturbed at first, we are now coming round to them and think they look quite cool, a bit different to the other St. Christophers you see about. After about 40 minutes other people started to arrive so we agreed it was time for another shower (thankfully a nice warm one this time) and then it was back on the road, the plan was to get to Auckland for the evening and then head further north in the morning.
NEXT… heading North for the birthday boy!
