Saturday, January 01, 2000

Chile

December 6 - December 24

We entered Chile by taxi from Peru and worked our way down the lenght of this long-ass country. Most travel was by bus, but there was a pleasant train/ferry combo leg in there from Santiago to P. Natales. We left the country on a bus into Argentine Tiera del Feugo.

Day by day:

  • Tue Dec 6 - cross border around 09:00, have breakfast at arica bus station while looking for a place to sleep, catch a taxi to chosen hotel and settle in, over to internet cafe to finalize brasil hotel, lunch at local place, buy SIM card for jason and new phone for mike, back to hotel for a bit of this and that, mike climbs el murro and jason chills, rejoin and head out to make trouble, dinner and strong beers at cafe, out to rock club but mostly empty, hit the strip club for many beers, back to rock club well drunk where mike occupies self screaming at the band, ditch out and return to strip club, somehow make it back to hotel
  • Wed Dec 7 - hotel brings breakfast around 10 but don't get out of bed until at least 1, mike has a shocking hangover, hit firehouse cafe for lunch and a restorative pisco sour, it doesn't work, sit in hotel burning DVDs and watching shitty movies (streetfighter!) to recover, out for pizza dinner and a restorative beer, it also doesn't work, then retire for more TV and DVDs
  • Thu Dec 8 - head to bus station and catch a very long ride (20 hours) to la serena, mike has to sit next to a very strinky mofo, bad movies are watched
  • Fri Dec 9 - arrive in la serena around 12:00, find a hotel and taxi over to settle in, out for cafe lunch al fresco, mike takes a nap while jason organizes the immediate future, mike heads out to fax driver's license to mom, rejoin jason and go out to local pub for 2 completos and a big pitcher of beer, then off to jazz cafe for a bit more food and rather more drinks, meet english couple (eliott and kelly) from santiago there and procedure on to another bar and then on to a salsa/disco sort of affair, return to hotel in something of a state about 04;00
  • Sat Dec 10 - up late and out for another al fresco cafe lunch, kill time in courtyard of jazz club enjoying wireless and nice weather, mike is again feeling worse for wear, back to hotel to meet van that takes us first to hotel in vicuna to drop bags then on to observatory to check out stars, return to hotel after the show and pass out
  • Sun Dec 11 - up early for breakfast of cake, cheese, tea, bread, jam, and butter, hike across town and take in election day antics, climb up local mountain to statue of mary, back down and hang in plaza de armas for a snacky lunch and to watch the world go by, a bit of a rest at the hotel, hacky sack back in the plaza, try to get some food but most things are closed, resort to eating an entire fried chicken and a mountain of potato chips while watching predator in the hotel, sleep
  • Mon Dec 12 - up at 09:00 for another breakfast that includes cake, walk over to pisco bottling plant and take the tour, taxi up the valley and try to find another pisco outlet, eventually find a shop and get the goods, taxi back to hotel then out for a very nice lunch next to a garden, pick up bags and catch a commuter bus back to la serena, wait in bus station for a bit drinking beer and computing, take night bus (23:45) to santiago
  • Tue Dec 13 - arrive in santiago around 08:00, settle in to city hotel, nap a bit, hit cafe in plaza de armas for a sturdy lunch, go shopping for christmas presents and cold weather clothes in pedestrian area, trek out west to a big mall to continue shopping, have light dinner in cafe there, back to hotel, out for beer and completos and empanadas, in bed for about midnight
  • Wed Dec 14 - up at 09:00 and grab breakfast, out to central station to get tickets, walk back along main road and stop for a very meaty (but apparently typical) lunch, drop in a few vintage clothing shops along the way, hop tube back to hotel, a bit more shopping, mike fights the post office while jason runs errands and makes use of the internet, mike calls home to SC, stops for a coffee, assemble at hotel to prep for night out, good mexican eats then a student pub, find that dance club is closed, settle into another bar blaring butt rock classics, meet a local called richard and chat with him a bit, end up in strip club for an hour until closing, bed down somewhere near 04:00
  • Thu Dec 15 - up at noon and have lunch just off the plaza de armas, back to hotel to relax a bit, mike heads out for a walking tour of the city, jason blogs and rests, reassemble around 08:00 to shower and head out to celebrate jason's birthday, go to bellavista for drinks and dinner then more drinks then a club, bounce around a bit and end up in a reggaeton kind of place until closing at 04:00, walk home and hit the sack
  • Fri Dec 16 - up at noon and back, leave bags with hotel and head to local cafe with wifi for a big laptop jam, get nice spanish lunch on the way, take in "coffee and cigarettes" then pick up bags and taxi to central station, board train and split around 22:30
  • Sat Dec 17 - arrive in Temuco at 07:00 or so and change to P. Montt train, it arrives at 14:00, catch a taxi into town and check into hotel, late lunch at local cafe, drop off laundry, mike walks up to fishing village of angelmo to shop for a jumper, jason does a few errands, meet back at hotel for a nap, check out parade then grab giant hamburgers at OK Corral, mike heads out to take in street carnival and some free music, then back to hotel to sleep
  • Sun Dec 18 - mike up late at 12;00, out for a run, meet jason back at hotel and walk up to angelmo for seafood lunch, screw around for a bit then head out to cafe for coffee and wireless, realize that final league cup match is on and head back to hotel bar to enjoy, laptop jam a bit, then head out for a completo and a beer and call it a night
  • Mon Dec 19 - up early at 07:00, mike out for a run and breakfast, grab laundry and pack, taxi to port, get tickets and leave bags, head down to angelmo for another seafood lunch - picorocos (barnacles) this time, grab some groceries then wait for departure at port, board boat around 03:00, four person cabin shared with an australian girl (chris) and a french man, cocktails at 18:30 with chris and andrea (another new friend - from ny), then dinner at 19:30 followed by beers and some music on the bar deck, in bed for about 0:00 after a couple of bedtimes stories
  • Tue Dec 20 - up at 08:15 and grab a big (by chilean standards) breakfast, mike spends the morning talking to andrea, jason does some laptop shiz, lunch with chris and andrea, mike showers then works on vidz after a read, jason hits the laptop as well, long nap for mike, cocktails, dinner, conversation with passengers, sleep
  • Wed Dec 21 - jason up early to visit natives, mike up at 11:30, lunch with the usual suspects, spend the afternoon working on jarah vid and d20, cocktail hour at 18:30 then ruckus dinner with boozy conversation to follow back in the pub, mike gets attacked by an irate passenger and heads off to bed after a smoke with a sympathetic welshman, jason stays up late for some dancing
  • Thu Dec 22 - up at 09:00, mike has a hangover, leave the ship and take a taxi to town, try to find breakfast and succeed after a short stint in the park like hobos, get some internet at local cafe, hang at bus station then board up for p. arenas, arrive around 17:00, check into hotel, stop at cafe for simple dinner and watch the football, back home to watch TV and chill
  • Fri Dec 23 - up at 09:30, missed bus to argentina, so spend day eating seafood and shopping and chilling (love the cable), watch crappy movie in the evening then head back to hotel to blog and play games and watch TV
  • Sat Dec 24 - up at 06:30 to catch bus for ushuaia at 08:30, cross into argentina around 14:00
Photo Albums
Drink Chile
Navimag

Video Clips
Take That Photograph
Completos and Conversation
Da Glacier

posted by jason at 9:00 AM gmt