I began my time in Brazil in Salvador, Bahia where I fell in love with the people, the music, the food, and the beach. While there for two weeks, I took Portuguese courses at a local language school and met some beautiful people from around the world. From there I went with a few of those school mates on a roadtrip to the beautiful paradise of Chapada Diamantina (Lençóis), Bahia and saw some of the most AMAZING nature and views I've ever witnessed. I walked through a few caves and swam in their natural pools, slid down a natural rock slide, walked through a waterfall, like the top of it, which was one of the most dumb dangerous things I've done here, among other nature adventures. If you are an outdoor person, I highly recommend it! Finally after returning from this haven, I returned to Salvador to revisit some friends and that led us on an early adventure to Rio de Janeiro, RJ. I've spent the past two weeks here and will soon head to São Paulo before I fly away from the Americas. Let you know more about the last two cities when I leave.
First sunset Salvador
Favorite sunset Salvador
Island hopping boat trip with the schoolmates
Just a neighborhood
ROAD TRIP!!
Lençóis activities
The crew
One of my favorite Chapada views
A little cliff side Capoeira
Chapada Diamantina
Taking it all in...
Panoramic...location unknown...Chapada Diamantina
Looks like he was dancing so we'll go with that...
-As a result of irrigation, the city is able to boast its green landscape and very successful vineyards. Also, many of the rows of trees are really, really, perfectly and deliberately planted (I thought they were cute)
-The city’s water supply comes from snow melting from the mountains so, less snow for them means less water for EVERYTHING.
I spent three weeks in Mendoza, Argentina and I must say they were pretty flippin’ awesome. It was a very relaxed time and thus, felt like normal life (as opposed to the life of a vagabond living from a suitcase). Since I spent three weeks, there is so much to tell and quite honestly, I don’t have the patience to to type it as I assume most don’t have the patience to read it. So, I will try my best to share in the most optimal way and I'll begin with a backtrack.
Almost every other day while I was in Santiago, the Chilean/ Argentine border was closed. Why, you ask? Snow. That was something I had not factored into my plans, that the border I needed to cross was on top of the mountains and the winter was just ending. That was my first lesson in going with the flow. After a string of fortunate events, I was able to travel to Mendoza on September 12th with an awesome guy named Leo, who was from Mendoza but visiting Santiago on business. We took the 7 hour road trip together and bonded, the whole while on a desperate search for empanadas in the mountain. He was my first introduction to Argentina, then of course came the breathtaking views of riding through the mountains, of which the pictures cannot begin to do justice.
Leo and I
Due to some host to guest miscommunication, I had to spend my first nights (which turned to a week) in a hostel. I HATED IT!! Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice place, the people seemed okay but it was full, it was loud, it was....a hostel. My dorm room had a group of six French friends, some of which spoke a hint of English, and others spoke none so, there was an immediate barrier in my ability to befriend them as a group.
First glitch.
My first day arriving I only booked the hostel for two days because I was planning to leave ASAP. The receptionist told me I could come to extend at any point and I would be fine. Fast forward to the morning after night number two. I wake up ready to extend my stay a couple more days, I’m feeling great. I shower, dress, go head to the stairs, grab a book from the shelf on my way down, get to the bottom stair the receptionist rounds the corner...
¨Erin!! There you are. It’s time to check out!¨
Me: Oh, I was just coming to extend for the night
R: I’m sorry we’re full.
Me: *blank stare* ...
Her: ...Sorry
Me: Okay. *smile*
So I turn around, place the book back on the shelf, walk to the room and pack up the bag I’d just decided to unpack an hour prior. I took my things downstairs and sat with the knowledge that my sleeping location for the night was unknown. #2 going with the flow. Luckily, I had Diego and Romina.
Diego and Ro
I was in contact with Diego weeks before I even departed the States. (If you don’t know about Couchsurfing and you’re a traveler that likes to know more about other places than a resort, you should check it out.) After putting out a public request to the community with my intended dates, Diego contacted me inviting me to take part in his English conversation class and I accepted, little did I know that connection was going to set the tone for my entire stay in Mendoza. I hated to leave them.
Tess and Jasper were two friends from Sweden traveling South America together. During the time when I hadn't made any hostel friends yet, they became my first. We bonded over the fact that they didn't speak French either. No, just kidding, but really we all spoke English and they were the first pair or group that invited me in. (First photos in the video below.)
I met Lucas and Nadia at the end of my first week in Mendoza. Up to this point I hadn’t done much touristing and they kindly invited me to go on a wine tasting tour with them. Let me tell you, starting the day with a breakfast of four glasses of wine wasn’t the best decision I’ve made but I was REALLY fluent in Spanish by 11am and I was understanding Portuguese as well. Oh, the powers of liquid encouragement. (Drink responsibly.)
Zaida became my host at my week anniversary in town. Saturday we got up and she said, ¨Erin, I have to tell you something, I forgot I have to travel home for my mother’s birthday, you can come, or you can stay at the house¨. My first response was to stay in Mendoza, I wasn’t up for more newness but within moments of saying no, I immediately kicked myself for being so closed. This ENTIRE trip is about exactly what had just happened so, that night, we bought my ticket and took the 6 hour bus ride to Malargue, Argentina. While there, I met a nice chunk of her family and stayed in the home of her in-laws, had dinner in the home of her grandmother, and beer at her father’s, among other things. Oh, not to mention I was one of about 20 at the family dinner to celebrate her mother’s birthday, so I’d say I became family really quickly. It was an awesome feeling of warmth and closeness that I cherished but really made me miss my own family. (Photos featured in video below.)
Ana Maria y yo
Ana Maria was a woman I met in Diego’s English class. Our first encounter was a bit awkward but normal for its setting. I’ve noticed many people learning English are initially made very uneasy about speaking to a native speaker (the same would happen to me in Spanish). So we slowly made it through the first class and she loved it, and me. I went to stay with her a few days and my first night was Hell, or really close to it. She had cats, 2 to be exact and a really old dog. But the real problem came from the pillowcase I later found out was full of kitten fur which landed me in the hospital. Well, all was well, turns out my inability to breath was due to a case of bronchitis. And since I survived, Ana and I had a great time during my stay.
I told you all about my trek and the birthday man, so there you go, snippets are done. I loved Mendoza, I really did and all the people that came along with it. Actually I'm pretty much in love with Argentina in total and I've already plotted my return. Since I have now seen Cordoba and just this morning arrived to the capital, Buenos Aires, I'm more in love with every move. I have a whole new set of stories to tell you all but until I get my life together to stay on top of my trip, we all must wait. Thanks for following along, below I put together a video of random happenings in Mendoza and the people mentioned above. Disfruta!
Santiago, Chile. This was a stop of convenience for me, a place where the plane ticket was far cheaper than my actual plan. So there you have it, sorry Santiago. Because of this, I hadn’t really made too many plans or had expectations on my time here, I didn’t even really prepare for the dying winter or the birth of Spring here that makes the days short, gray and crisp. I have been cold 98% of the time!
I spent my first couple of days dragging out the remnants of a cold I’d been struggling with from before I left and so, nothing too exciting happened. I walked the city a few times, talked to some store owners or managers or whatever they may have been.
Santiago has not proven to be the place overrun with tourist accommodations and people with open arms and ready to give you a good time. Everyone has been nice and helpful in their own right, but they’re just going about their days. The city is on the move, with a metro feel and a city smell. The mixture of modern and traditional run throughout.
The city is surrounded by mountains, making views beautiful and pollution horrific. On my first few walks around, I got so lightheaded because of it but I adjusted quickly. While walking around I've also felt like I was back in Ann Arbor with groups of young folks gathered in the parks tight-roping between trees and slack lining (look it up), juggling and doing hula hoop tricks, dance battles and b-boys in the intersections; there's a lot to get into.
I've gone on a snowboarding adventure (click the link for more info), I've visited Valparaiso, which is a port city on the coast of Chile, and I've had a friendly interaction turned robbery, turned friendly interaction again. All these experiences made may stay here in Santiago more interesting, among the awesome people I've met. As far as the economy, the people, the scenery and city landscape, and the vibes and culture I've experienced here, I really wouldn't mind making Santiago a home for some time. I think it'd be a cool place to live and be a part of, especially if you're a city kid like me! My hostel and the staple people in it have also made this place so comfortable, Chris from England, Ivan, the owner and his two friends that come over everyday; we're like the Golden Girls. I could just stay here non-stop, for months and chill. On my last night, we had a movie night, the 5 amigos, with chocolate and pie but I know I have to look forward to doing this over and over again. Today I head to Mendoza, Argentina which was slated to be my first ¨actual¨ stop so hopefully I will have some awesome things to share from my time there. Until later, ciao ciao!
Parque Forestal
Bellas Artes Museum
The first sunset I saw
Mapocho River (runs through the center of Santiago)
