Ushuaia

From Puerto Williams we bought a boat ticket to Ushuaia Argentina. That 'boat' ticket consited of a 1.5 hour car ride and a 15 minute raft ride across the Beagle Channel to Argentina. We waited for customs to arrive on the Chilean side for atleast 40 minutes, crossed the Beagle Channel at dusk (thankfully I had taken dramamine) a rocky ride to say the least. Arrived in Argentina, stamped in and walked to a hostel. We stayed in Ushuaia for too long for doing nothing. Our days consisted of walking around town, cooking dinner and drinking wine. We decided against taking days of buses north and bought a ticket to fly to Mendoza.
We grabbed beers with Dusty that final night to say our farewells before departing on separate journeys.

Puerto Williams and the Dientes Trek

Puerto William declares itself as the Southernmost town in the world. Thus, Josh sent his first postcard for the trip to his Mom from here. It's a sleepy little town of modest means. Directly across from the boat docks we walked into a comfortable self-service hostel. We stayed 2 nights, bought groceries and headed out for the trek.

We thought those first couple days of Torres Del Paine was rough, that was child's play. Yes the sky looked dark before we began the hike, but we weren't about to sit around in Puerto Williams for weeks awaiting the perfect day. Up in the mountains within 20 minutes we would experience warm sunshine, fierce winds strong enough to knock me down, hail, snow, rain, sleet and some serious Elisha tears.

The trail was evident at times marked by rock piles and this wacked French Trailmarking system of red and blue lines. Other times the trail dissapeared and we were left to skirt the side of an eroding mountain with 70 mile/hour winds. Dangerous, scary, not fun When we arrived at a valley that would allow for tent set up we decided to stop and camp. Shortly after we shed our packs a Spanish guy we had met on the boat of misery and who had started a couple hours before us on the trail came running along saying that a gal up the trail a ways had a broken leg. He was running back to get help. Josh prepared a first aid kit in his day pack and quickly set off to see if he could be of any help. Dusty and I continued setting up our tents and made some extra yummy mac & cheese while nearly freezing our fingers off. We got into each of our tents after the food was finished and tried to get warm. Most of my clothes had gotten wet from the sleet, at times I feared that I might in fact freeze to death, but overall had more worry inside me about Josh. I warmed up eventually, but Joshua never came home that night. I kept saying to myself that he must have stayed with the hurt gal, but I was still horribly terrified.

The next morning I called to Dusty, reporting Josh's absence. We readied our day packs to set out and find him. Just as we were lacing up our boots he called over the mountain to me. I don't know if I've ever heard a more beautiful sound. What relief.

Josh gave us the low down, it was a Dutch couple. The gal indeed had a fracture, swollen but not open. He said that had he not been there, the boyfriend of the injured girl wouldn't have had a chance at setting up their tent in the wind. Without the tent they surely would have acquired frostbite at the least of their worries. Thank goodness Josh ventured that way, he truly saved lives that night.

We packed up and headed out, hoping to make another contact with rescue services once we exited the park. Just as we walked into town we saw a Chilean helicopter circling into the mountains. We stopped by the ranger's station to confirm that the helicopter we saw was the fallen gal's relief. Thankfully yes, but let it be said that it took over 24 hours from the time of the incident for her to receive aid. Not acceptable in my opinion, but thankfully she was helped anyhow.

We hung around a couple more days in Puerto Williams while Josh debated if he would or would not attempt the Dientes Trek again. In the end he decided against it. Says he's saving something for him and Dusty to come back to.

Boat to Puerto Williams

We were expecting something nicer to say the least. We bought the cheapest tickets for the Navimag ride to Puerto Natales and were pleasantly surpised at the comfortable common areas, rooms cleanliness of the ship and delicious food provided. This boat was a rude awakening. For over a day and a half we had a seat smaller than standard airplane seats. The seats were covered with a vinyl that was dirty and cracked. Within the cracks lived mountains of crumbs. The woolly blankets provided surely weren't, at least 20 black hairs decorated mine. Sleeping was difficult. An old woman behind us that resembled an overweight pig more than she did a person took up two seats and snored loud enough for everyone to listen all night and even at times during the day.
As far as the food served goes, if you like butter & bologna sandwiches for breakfast and spaghetti noodles with beans for lunch then it's your kind of ship.
And for the scenery- the reason we just HAD to take this overpriced ride. We saw a 3 foot blue area that was supposedly the back of a whale once. And may I mention nearly the entire journey it rained or was extremely cold on the top standing deck (the only place to view the water from). So to sum it up, no I did not care for that ride, and I'm sure not happy we payed over $300 to do it.

Punta Arenas

After getting back from the trail we had showers and some tasty pizza and microbrew beers at a local pizza joint in Puerto Natales. We bought tickets to Punta Arenas for the next morning. In Punta Arenas the boys decided that they just had to take another boat further south the the town of Puerto Williams. The boat only left certain days, so we ended up killing a lot of time in Punta Arenas. Fortunately we had a clean room with wi-fi and cable TV. I've gotten to just love "The Big Bang Theory" when we get a chance to watch it.

The main event in Punta Arenas is going to see the enormous Magellanic Penguin Colony. Unfortunately we bought the tickets to Isla Magdalena for a rainy day. The penguins didn't seem to mind the rain any though, they were just as active: waddling, diving, fishing and making a surprisingly loud honk. We spent an hour on the island just watching, photographing and video taping these awkward little creatures. I do have to admit that the air was not that fresh. There was a strongly unpleasant stench of penguin poo I suppose. The excursion was worth the money though, we saw more penguins than I'd ever thought I'd see in my lifetime.

Torres Del Paine- days 3-9

When we woke the third morning the sun was lightly poking out. Unsure how to handle a beautiful day we layered in all our usual gear and packed up. Shortly after climbing the first leg of the W we had to strip down a few layers. The sun kept shining, what a beautiful day. Michael brought a very positive addition to our group by always having chocolate during the dreary parts of the hike. We didn't even need the chocolate on day three. The guys took more pictures the first 20 minutes of our hike than they had the previous two days.

The next few days while Michael was with us we saw most of the major sights, with omission of glacier grey. We spent a night at the horns campsite where mice got into Dusty and Mike's food bags. We saw a cute little owl- probably waiting for those mice that came later in the night. The guys hiked up the French Valley while I read by the raging river. We cooked pasta with red sauce or rice with tuna every night, but usually bought a bottle of wine from the refugio for after-wards. On Michael's last night we splurged on supper at the refugio, a nice change from the usual.

Sadly the next morning, he left on the boat and then back to Puerto Natales as his plane departed the following day. He left us a lovely chocolate bar in my pack though, always the sneakily generous friend. Thank you Michael!

Dusty headed off early with a French gal we had met to hike to the Glacier Gray campsite. After we said our goodbye to Mike we too set off that way. The hike was nice with some beautiful flowers in the valley and condor sightings. Glacier Gray was neat, but of course took a second seat compared to Perito Moreno in Calafate, Argentina. We spent one night at Glacier Gray then headed back to the camp where we departed from Michael.

At this point the plan was to take the boat back to Puerto Natales, However plans changed and Josh and Dusty really wanted to re-hike the W. I pitched a bit of a fit, but got over it and went along with the hike. Day nine we were planning again on hiking up to the towers to see the classic postcard picture, however again it was raining. We hopped on the 2pm bus to Puerto Natales later that night.

Torres Del Paine- first two days of misery

Let me be the first to admit that the hike didn't start of as splendidly as planned. It was drizzling outside during our final breakfast at Nancy's Place in Puerto Natales. We were hoping it'd pass over by the time we reached the park. The first day the plan was to hike up to a view point to see the infamous Torres or Towers. We continued with our plan until halfway when we made it to a refugio for lunch.

It took us about 2 hours to get the chill out of our bones from the sideways rain and then we stayed and played cards and drank tea for another hour hoping the rain would pass. Never did it pass. Making decisions were tough for our group of four (Joshua, Dustin, Michael and I). Before leaving the refugio we decided to buck it up and head up to the viewpoint where our reserved campsite awaited, also the one next to the refugio here was flooded. While putting on boots and nearly every layer we owned outside the refugio Michael asked a few passerby's what the weather was like up higher. They shook their heads with disgust and said not to bother, it was snowing!

Okay trekking up was out, now we had to decide between staying in the swampy camp to our right or heading back down. 10 minutes passed and somehow we came to the decision to descend. We made it 300 meters when doubt crept in. The boys weren't sure again, should we descend, only to hike upward for 5 hours before light in the morning in order to catch sunrise at the towers? Well long story short, we went down and found camp where we started.

The next day the weather was much the same. We were ambitious and had intentions to go ahead and complete the circuit. We donned our large packs and decided to skip the mirador for now, as the weather would not permit viewing anyhow and began the first leg of the mighty circuit. Boy was this day hell. Muddy paths, tromping through mud rivers at times it seemed. Winds fierce and never halting, rain so strong it whipped through the 'waterproof' raingear. I broke down to Josh saying, I just do not want to do this, I have absolutely no desire to trudge through a living hell on my vacation. He snapped at this point, he was having no swaying from the plan two days in a row. I kept on going, after slipping so many times in the mud, I was afraid I'd break a leg on the trail alone if I turned back. Michael, ever positive, tried to cheer me with some wisdom about 'it's all perspective' and how good life is. I told him, that I'd rather be dead at this point.

At lunch we sat and talked. Josh changed his mind and announced that maybe we should head back. Before that Dusty gave the option of him and I heading back, while the power horses kept on. With our running noses freezing and the wind howling in our ears we all decided to head back to our original campsite. We thought that at least in the time Michael was here we should see some sites, and the W as opposed to the circuit would provide those grander viewpoints. With new energy we got back up and trudged through the mud with a little less disgust this time.

After two days of carrying our full packs for day hikes we decided the next day we might try to camp in a new location, change things up a bit. At the same time we were getting quite used to the comforts of this main lodge. Warm heater, flushing toilets, beer, wine, soda. Without that heater to dry our socks and semi-dry our boots the experience would have been infinitely tougher. Of course I was already strongly considering taking the bus back to Puerto Natales and hanging out while the boys completed this unfriendly adventure. I decided to tough it out, knowing I'd just be disappointed in myself if I gave up now.

Puerto Natales, Michael Arrives

We crossed back into the Chile the day our dear friend Michael was to arrive all the way from the States. I met Michael while he was in his final year of residency at the children's hospital. For this vacation he only had a week to work with, we were sure he wouldn't fly to the end of the world to meet up with us. We were wrong, this crazy doc flew into Punta Arenas to hike Torres Del Paine with us.
We met him coming off the bus in Puerto Natales, got him checked into Nancy's Place, our hostel, and went for a bite to eat at the local Baguales Brewery. He hadn't slept much, but wasn't going to miss a beat. We signed up for the all day tour of Torres Del Paine for the following day to get an overview of the park before embarking on the big hike.
The tour was fun. We stopped at the entrawling cave of the Milodon. According to the tour guide the Milodon was a prehistoric relative to the armadillo with fish bones, might have gotten something lost in translation there. After that exciting viewing, we headed to the park, after a quick pitstop at an overpriced touristy cafe of course. The park was beautiful that day, the sun shone brilliantly. Michael set up his tripod and took some good photos, Josh took some great ones with our camera as well. Of course, he wants a bigger and better camera even more now though...thanks Mike. We saw the Torres, the Horns, Salto Grande(waterfall), and an Iceberg maybe a shadow of Glacier Gray. The wind was ferocious and scary. Even scarier was the fact that we were starting the 9 day loop of the circuit the next day...with winds that fierce, how?...that was just the beginning.

Chalten

After tasting a piece of patagonia with lovely perito moreno we were ready to get hiking. The next day we hopped on a bus toward the quaint mountain town of Chalten.
Nestled within a valley of snow covered peaks, Chalten is an outdoors enthusiast's paradise. All of the trails can be reached by foot a short walk from town. The trails were marked amazingly well. Coming from Peru where mule routes were your best shot at a decent trail, the well groomed trails and clear signs were a welcomed surpise in Argentina. The first day we arrived Dusty and Josh went on a nice hike, I headed to an internet cafe to get my final nursing CEU's caught up before renewing my license. After I finished nursing work I went for a small 5k hike up to a viewpoint. It was lovely and remarkably safe with rangers nearby. The next morning we were planning on getting an early start on a nice hike that would lead us to a lovely viewpoint of Mount Fitz Roy. Rain was pouring down all through the morning and with the heavy hike of Torres Del Paine ahead which nearly guaranteed a few bad rainy days, we decided to sit this rainy one out. We waited till mid morning when the rain let up and hiked up a ways. We didn't see much in the way of mountains. However, the walk was nice and we did see a beautiful pair of woodpeckers. We left Chalten a bit disapointed that we didn't have more time to get deeper into the mountains. But as Josh always says, "have to leave something for next time."

Perito Moreno

We stayed in the town of Calafate for two night in order to see Perito Moreno, one of the worlds last growing glaciers. Hostals/hotels were painfully overpriced, but we bit the bullet and payed it for the glacier.
Upon entering Parque Nacional Los Glaciares we were amazed by the beauty. This was for me what I imagine Patagonia to be, pristine lakes, snow capped mountains, forest of green, fresh air all around. The ride to the glacier was lovely, windy mountain paths making you want to get out and hike.
The bus eventually dropped us off in a spot and directed us toward a trail that would lead to a viewpoint of the glacier. Our first look of the glacier filled us with awe. Massive, so blue, incredible! Nicely kept walkways made of metal lead you to various viewpoints of 3 different sides of the Glacier. Constantly you can hear the glacier creaking and groaning. Every few minutes you hear the thunderous sound of a chunk caving off. All eyes scan the glacier for the area in hopes of seeing the ice sheets plummet meters before crashing into the icy water.
The experience was amazing. Josh and I agreed, probably the best single experience of the trip thus far. Josh took over 230 pictures and I video taped over an hour of glacier footage- which turns out to be quite boring upon review, shocking. If you're going to Argentina I recommend Perito Moreno for it's enormous presence and awesome beauty- simply awe inspiring.

Arrival in Puerto Natales

We arrived in Puerto Natales on a Monday night and headed to Nancy's Place where Josh had made a reservation. That night and the following day we wandered around the scruffy town of Natales. A few overpriced outdoors sporting good shops lined the main drag along with another handful of regular restaurants. As far as we can tell the Chilean diet consist of hot dogs in Santiago and a large plate of fries topped with egg, beef, hot dog and tomato everywhere else. Of course every restaurant advertised fish, but not one had a fish to serve up. We did run into a nicely casual microbrewery that served up some mean pork tacos.
Knowing that our friend, Michael would be arriving in a week we had time to kill. The next day we took an 8 hour ride across the border to Calafate, Argentina.

Navimag to Puerto Natales

From Chiloe Josh, Dusty and I took a bus back off the island of Chiloe to Puerto Montt. Before leaving Santiago an employee of Casa Roja, the hostel we had stayed at helped us arrange the Navimag boat ride from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. We chose to take the ship rather than bus because it traveled through the various fjords that make up the west coast of Chilean Patagonia. We heard also that there was the possibility of sighting whales.
The ride was delayed a bit due to bad weather that caused it to arrive late into Puerto Montt. We finally were able to board the boat at about 11pm. We all hurried on with our huge bags excited for the adventure ahead of us. Dusty, Josh and I hauled our luggage up the steps and were pleasantly surprised with the sleeping situation of the dorm rooms. Each room contained 4 beds with a locker and a reading lamp. The three of us shared one small dorm with a Chilean fellow that was on his 3rd or 4th pass on the Navimag.
We headed up to the top deck just before midnight to toast the trip off with some boxed wine in our camping squishy cups. On the top deck there was a bar with a decent sized lounge room and 3 or 4 card tables. The bathrooms even smelled clean in the place. Everything was looking good.
We were on the boat for a total of 4 days and 3 nights. We ate 3 very good meals each day and slept well every night, including naps. Day one the weather was lovely and the scenery increased in beauty as we pushed on further south. We heard that the section of the trip in which we head into open water can be very rough. Thus I stocked up on seasickness medication prior to the trip. 2 am on the second night we broke into those open waters. Josh and Dusty slept soundly, snoring included but the rocking woke me. I took a pill and headed to the door to check out the action. From my bed I could hear the waves crashing up on the deck, from the window on the door I verified that waves were definitely crashing aboard. We swayed from side to side for awhile, and then I fell into a Dramamine sleep. By the time everyone arose for breakfast the sea had settled down. Dusty was disappointed at the lack of swaying, the rest of us were relieved.
During a nap I missed the back of a whale, the boys saw. Josh was kind enough to say that I didn't miss much. We saw a few dolphins and some happy sea-lions playing in the water as well.
Other that that, the ride was fairly uneventful, very relaxing- probably the closest we'll ever come to a cruz.

Chiloe

From Santiago we took a night bus south to Puerto Montt. From there we immediately got on a bus to the town of Castro, the capital of the island of Chiloe. We found a little place to stay, a bit overpriced for the lack of space and cleanliness. Dusty, Josh's buddy from college (the first years) has rejoined us for Patagonia. The three of us went to a schoperia- place that sells draft beer, and had hotdogs and beer for lunch in celebration of entering patagonia.
The island is famous for it's houses on stilts- palafitos, pictured here. We didn't actually see quite as many as I was expecting, but they still looked neat. The next couple of days we spent taking mini-buses around the island looking at the wooden churches.

Back to Santiago

We took a night bus back to Santiago with the girls. We had one more night booked at Casa Roja before Katie and Abby were to fly back to Grand Rapids. We spent the day hanging by the pool. Abby developed a bad case of bed-bugs so called it an early night while Katie, Josh and I toasted off the night with some nice Chilean wine. Our last day, Katie and I went shopping for a few things in the city and later, Abby Josh and I got some hot dogs for dinner. Josh loves the completo- hotdog smothered in avocado. Josh and I departed for the bus station and shortly thereafter the girls got a cab to the airport. It was awesome to have some friends to share the vacation with.

Punto Chorros

From the tourist office in La Serena we were given the number of a company that would provide transfers to Punto Choros. Punto Choros is a beach located 1.5 hours from La Serena where a small colony of Humboldt penguins reside. Josh made the phone call and arranged the transfer for the four of us.
We were picked up in the morning and made it to Punto Choros by early afternoon. We checked into a lovely Cabana (Amarilis Cabanas) owned by a charming Chilean couple. Shortly thereafter we headed to the dock to check on Penguin tours. We were able to get on a tour quickly. We ordered shrimp and cheese empanadas for lunch, bought some bottled water and boarded the boat.
The tour lasted about four hours. We saw a variety of birds native to the area before arriving to the island. Curious dolphins jumped along side the boat. We visited two islands, Isla Damas and Isla Choros. We didn't see a huge number of penguins but the 20 or so that we saw were on the first island that was restricted from landing on. An enormous colony of Sea Lions was the highlight of the trip for me. They played in the water together, slipping off the rock and jumping back up. The shear number of them was astounding.
After the tour we made some pasta, taught the girls cribbage and shared some wine in the cabana. The next two days we spent relaxing on the beach, playing cards in the cabana and eating tasty cheese & seafood empanadas. Josh, Katie and I rented kayaks for a few hours on one sunny morning. Katie and I were a bit nervous to try sea-kayaking, but it went well and we had a great time.

La Serena

We headed north 7 hours to the city of La Serena. For some reason our reservation at Maria's Casa was forgotten so we had an adventure finding a spot to sleep. The owner of Maria's Casa was overly helpful and did in the end find us a place to stay. We went through a few streets and checked about 5 diff locations that were all booked due to summer travelers. Finally we arrived at an accepting location. We were all a bit unsure about this place as there wasn't a sign on the door, in fact the door was actually just a cut out in the brown wooden wall. Surprisingly enough behind the door was a very sweet woman with an equally sweet pooch named Freida. We settled into two separate rooms, Josh and I in one, Katie and Abby in the other.
Time for some eats and maybe a couple drinks...
We found this bar, I think it was empty, maybe a couple of guys in the back when we arrived, but we had to problem making it a happening place. Abby's favorite-margaritas were 2 for 1. We put back a few and a few more, had a great time taking pics and singing along to the 80's music video's. Katie and I were sure we could handle a few more and make our way back to the brown door. Thank you Josh and Abby for pulling us out!
Unfortunately the walk home had a few stumbles. Katie's flip-flops were not helping with the moving sidewalk. On one particular corner the road claimed some pieces of two of Katie's pearly whites.
We made it back. However, as reported by Abby, Katie did not have a restful night. At one point she fell out of bed and suffered from a probable concussion.
Ugg...sorry Katie.
Yet Katie was resilient. She made some phone calls and squared away a dentist appointment upon her return and was back to enjoying the vacation.

Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

After a night in Santiago we caught an afternoon bus 2 hours away to Chile's largest Port city of Valparaiso. Immediately we all loved the quirky and artsy vibe of Valpo. We walked checked into Hostel Caracoal and took a walk about town, stopping at a nice seafood diner for lunch. The rest of our time in valpo was just spent walking up and down the impossibly steep hills taking photos and enjoying the colorful buildings, tiled lampposts, and funky graffiti.
We spent 3 nights in Valpo, on one of these days Abby, Katie and I took the bus just 15/20 minutes to beach town of Vina del Mar. We enjoyed the afternoon laying on the sand. The water was icy cold, and the wind was a bit brisk for a beach day. But the girls coming from snow, soaked up the sun. I think we all got a little red that afternoon.
The next day Abby took the opportunity to catch more rays in Vina while Katie, Josh and I toured Valpo a bit more. We rode up the hill in the mechanical lift system on tracks that they call the 'ascensor'. Katie led our camera to some interesting graffiti, afterwords we ended the night at the tasty El Mastadon restaurant.

Esperando mis amigas

For the 24 hour bus ride from Iquique to Santiago we splurged on the supreme bus with seats that extended completely flat like a bed. The ride went suprisingly quickly, I slept through most of it. We arrived in Santiago the night before my friends from work, Abby and Katie were to arrive.
We made reservations at Casa Roja, a beautifully restored mansion in the area of Satiago called Bario Brasil. I immediately loved the place. The building seemed enormous with ceilings looming at least 20feet high. Out back there was plenty of space to relax including an enticing pool for the warm days.
The next morning we rushed off to the airport to get the girls. Their flight was delayed a bit, so we wasted time drinking coffee and people watching for a couple hours before their arrival. Awaiting them I was literally sweating with excitement. Thankfully they made it safely and we caught the next bus back to to central Santiago.
Their first day of vacation we relaxed around the pool. Katie and I put back a liter of beer while Abby tried at a nap. She joined us later to have at a bottle of nice Chilean white wine. Needless to say we stumbled out of the pool a bit tipsy. Katie was attacked by the ruthless step into the shower and came out with a rough looking scrape. If only she knew that it was only the beginning of her battles against the ground.
We headed out to dinner that night a few blocks from the hostal near a cute plaza. Katie asked along a friendly guy from Chicago that she had been chatting it up with. After dinner we wandered down to the plaza to find couples dancing quite elegantly to latin beats. Josh and guy from Chicago, Andy, headed off to find some wine while we watched the show. The dancing kept on into the night as we shared the bottles of Chilean red wine.
After the music ended we headed back to the hostal, but weren't quite ready to say goodnight. We sat at a patio table in the back to play a round of cards with a little Heineken night cap. It was a good first day.

Out of Peru!

The second of week of January we finally crossed the border into Chile and out of Peru. We had spent over 1.5 months in Peru and were ready for some fresh faces.

We landed in Iquique, a coastal town in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. I immediately was in love. The first public bathroom I went into had not only a toilet seat but toilet paper and handsoap as well. I couldn't believe my eyes when I could buy diet coke= coca light almost everywhere! And guess what, the Chileans didn't bat an eye if you handed them a 10,000 peso, the equivalent of $20. If you handed that large of a bill to anyone in Peru they'd 1.) glare 2.) ask for a smaller bill 3.) Declare that they have no change and refuse to sell you whatever you were buying. 4.) Run down the street to get change. We never figured out where all the change went in that country.

Besides the conveniences of a modernized country, Iquique stood alone as a nice place to lose time in. The beach didn't have the white sand or clear waters of the carribean, but hot just the same with plenty of beach bunnies in the afternoon. We spent a few hours each day soaking up the sun and taking quick dips in the icy water to cool down.

We ventured over toward the dock and to see the older part of town. The old town's building are colorful, constructed of wood with high ceilings and wooden verandas. The street has a feel of an old mining town perhaps seen out west, maybe Colorado. Not far from the town is the port. We headed over one afternoon to check out the dock. We were pleasantly surprised by a harem of sea lions. The animals were adorable and huge! On occasion visitors would approach the lions a bit too closely and the sea lions would bark and jump toward the tourists to declare their territory. What a highlight it was to see those creatures one afternoon out of the blue!

a week in Arequipa

We signed up for a week of Spanish at Rocio Language Institute just a few blocks away from the hospedaje of good value and friendliness that we were staying at. Josh and I enrolled in separate private classes, as his spanish is wonderful and mine is just above horrible. The classes were good, but saying this from 3 weeks later...I forget quickly without studying properly. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to fit studying into a day down here!

When outside of class we spent the rest of our time walking around the city or doing our homework in a nice little coffee shop. We toured a lovely monastery on one day and the Cathedral in town on another. We found the city quite relaxing, easygoing, but maybe a touch to dry to cultivate a nice flower garden.

We spent New Years in Arequipa, Peru. This has to be my favorite city in Peru. I believe it is the second biggest, next to the capital, Lima. The city has beautiful architecture, many of the buildings being made out of a type of white volcanic rock found in the area.
To welcome in the new year people decorated their homes and businesses in yellow; yellow balloons, yellow streamers, bouquets of yellow flowers sold at the stores. Everyone sported their yellow hat, sweater or flower lei for the nights events as well.
When the clock struck midnight fireworks sparked from every direction. Pretty colors in the sky, loud firecrackers down the street, the town was awake and excited. We stayed in a hospedaje with a very kind family. They handed Josh an'd I a cup of champagne and layed a yellow flowered lei around our necks. After toasting to a 'Feliz ano' the grandmother brought out a smoking bowl of fragrant incense. Then she tossed perfume water throughout the house, letting us have a toss for good luck in the new year as well.
We felt welcomed that night. Even with such a limited Spanish vocab we all understood that everyone wanted a happy new year, we celebrated it hopefully and joyfully together.