South American Superlatives

Please keep in mind that these are just my humble opinions. I know a few of these will debated through the ages (see "best empanadas")...


Food:

Argentina "Best Empanadas"
Argentina "Best Humitas"
Chile "Best Produce"
Chile "Freakiest Seafood"
Chile "Consistently Great Wine"
Bolivia "Best Place for Vegetarian Restaurants"
Bolivia "Birthplace of Quinoa"
Peru "Best Ceviche"
Peru "3,000 types of potatoes"
Peru "Best Raspadillas"
Ecuador "Best Roasted Corn"
Ecuador "Best Indian Food" (say what?!)

Culture:

Argentina "Best Catcalls"
Argentina "Craziest Nightlife" 

Chile "Most made up vocabulary"
Peru "Best Beaches"
Peru "Most Spanish Influence"
Peru "Most Irritating People" 

Colombia "Friendliest People"
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) "Hottest Men"
Santiago, Chile ties with Quito, Ecuador for: "Most like any US city"

Best of:

Peru "Most Amazing Things to See"
Argentina "Most Fun"
Uruguay "Surprise, we are awesome too!"
Bolivia "Best Value"
Chile "Widest Spectrum of Landscapes" (mountain/ocean, desert/glaciars, plus, tropical island)
Colombia "Least-Andean Andean Country"
Ecuador (Vilcabamba) "Best Hostel in South America"
Ecuador ties with Bolivia for "Best shopping"

Wildest Experience: fleeing a massive wave as a glaciar crashed around our dinghy in Chile
Coolest New Experience: sandboarding in Peru



Craziest Unsolved Mystery: Nazca lines in Peru


Best Experience: meeting my family in Argentina and Chile
Worst Experience: sleeping on a freezing, non-moving train for 8 hours in nowhere, Bolivia



Special Recognition to:
Pucón, Chile - gorgeous volcanic lake and adorable german feel


Córdoba, Argentina - totally the coolest city in all of south america


Salta, Argentina - home away from home


Puerto Madryn, Argentina - most wildlife if one area


Cartagena, Colombia - the most beautiful city in south america


Montevideo, Uruguay - just because


Huanchaco, Peru - raddest beach town and close to cool ruins too


Ollantaytambo, Peru - a hidden gem


Uyuni, Bolivia - mind boggling high altitude landscapes

El Valle Sagrado

Peru's Sacred Valley happened like a drive-by: you are completely changed from the experience, but you're not exactly sure what happened. Good thing I took photos...let's see if I can piece it all together.

DIA 1
Cassidy and I made our way to the Cusco train station for our 650AM train to Aguas Calientes, the town outside of Machu Picchu. we arrived at 11AM and after being told that there were no discounts for 2 day tickets (stupid lying guide book!) we decided not to make the journey the same day. Instead, we would have a delightfully relaxing day in our hotel. Oh, but while we are here, why don't we do this 1.5 hour hike that my guide book recommends, to Putucusi, a lookout point where you can see all of Machu Picchu from afar. rad! We start up the trail, which was pretty much vertical the whole time. that was fine when it was a winding dirt path with a few clusters of stone stairs meandering up the side of the mountain. we came upon a set of ladders and i took some photos on it...oooh, look at the rustic ladder, we are such hikers! yeah, it was all a joke until we came upon the second ladder. the second ladder, and its two successors were first of all, stapled into the sheer vertical mountainside. also, they ranged between two and three stories tall. ps: we were in the damp tropical part of the forest. so we made our way up these neverending ladders, trying not to hyperventilate, and cassidy continuously asking "are we sure we want to see this?" we did. finally, oh finally we arrived panting and perspirating to the open clearing at the top. or so we thought. as we walked along the thin path with double sided dropoffs straight down the valley we couldn't see machu picchu. we looked everywhere. Cassidy pointed ominously at the second, higher peak beyond us and asked "do we have to go up there?" (it was more of a weeping really). "no, no that just couldn't be. let's continue on this trail though." my famous last words. we did have to continue onwards and upwards for another half hour, and though we both contemplated just throwing ourselves over the edge to end our suffering, the view was delightful. oh, but then we had to go back down.


DIA 2
The alarm went off at 430AM. By 530AM we were on a bus up to Machu Picchu, and by 6AM we were there. Unfortunately (maybe) we visited on a rainy day. We were there for 7 hours and it let up for about an hour. ah well. our first stop was Waynu Picchu (which means New Mountain, while Machu Picchu means Old Mountain). Waynu Picchu is so treacherous a hiking trail, that only 400 visitors are allowed to enter daily so as not to stress the path. there are also loads of warnings against unfit or unhealthy people from entering. there will be no emergency helicopter to come pick up your disfigured body...you will die there. well with all that buildup, cassidy and i were numbers 1 and 2 into Waynu Picchu. Here's my Machu Picchu secret: American explorer Hiram Bingham wasn't the first explorer to find Machu Picchu...he was just the first one who actually looked at all those stairs and said "come on guys, this will be fun!" stupid americans. More so than Machu, Waynu is like the stairmaster from hell (TM Cassidy Schindler). It would be awfully easy to just climb up a bunch of stairs to get to the top of a mountain, but wouldn't it be much more fun if we went up down, backwards and forwards, then up again? :) I was pretty bummed out that the clouds were obscuring the seriously steep view of the bottom of the valley as we scrambled along like billy goats, old asthmatic billy goats. Honestly it was fun, until cassidy admitted her fear of heights, and then i was glad for the clouds. We could tell we were really high up in any case, and clung appropriately to any rock we could grip. At the top we explored the ruins of a wealthy dignitary's cliffside home and extensive terraces. I found it amazing that this used to be a religious and vacation center for Incas living in Cusco. What, the beach was too far? After reaching the top, we once again followed an up-and-down path to the Temple of the Moon, which ended up being almost at river level. It was quiet and simple, the rain had let up and we paused there to eat lunch. Omnipresent in our minds was the fact that we had to ascend once more to escape Waynu Picchu. We'll just leave it at "not pretty". Wandering around Machu Picchu's urban center was really nice, even though the rain started a mass exodus from the clouds and we were soaked through. none of my photos do the sanctuary justice, sadly. It was a fully functioning city, with an observatory, religious temples, factories, cemeteries, homes for commoners and upper class, a main square and a lot of agricultural terraces. What I found interesting too, was the similarity between the site and what little of Ireland's ruins I have visited. Beside a similarly green and damp setting, the buildings look as if out of fuedal britain, stone buildings with peaked thatched roofs. I guess I had been thinking all the geometry of the Mayans of Mexico, but it wasn't that at all. In our last hour we trekked over to the Inca Bridge, which looks terrifying to cross, which tourists can't anymore. on absolutely a 90º drop on bald rock, the Inca's tossed a long plank across a 75-100ft gap and called it a bridge. After that we were done. hobbling and delirious we began our descent to the entrance gates, but not before Cassidy slapped a llama (a la Tim Allen's epic film Wild Hogs) and we ran screaming. okay, it was still hobbling.

DIA 3

Gluttons for punishment as we are, at 535AM we found ourselves on a train headed back down the valley to Ollantaytambo (say that five times fast). At 536AM we were asleep. In Ollantaytambo, a nice bed & breakfast owner tried to explain to us that we could not check into a room at 730AM so we stumbled down the dirt road to check out the Ollantaytambo ruins. Besides being a really beautiful town that i highly recommend visiting (you know, if you're in the area), Ollantaytambo is the site of one of the Inca civilization's last stands against the evil, twirly-moustached Spaniards. When the Pizarro brothers conquered Cusco, the Inca leader Inka Pachacutec had already retreated into the Valley. Not satisfied with what is considered to be over 20 billion dollars of gold that the Pizarros stole from Peru, he followed in hot pursuit. The day he launched his "surprise" attack against Ollantaytambo, he found that Inka Pachacutec had fortified the hillside city, and was waiting for Pizarro. His troops unleashed a hail of razor sharp arrows, launched boulders, and when the Spanish reversed course, Inka Pachacutec had the Río Urubamba diverted to flood the troops out! Scared and confused, Francisco Pizarro chose to wait for reinforcements coming up from Arica while Inka Pachacutec escaped to Vilcabamba. Go Inka! Ollantaytambo's ruins are also extensive and well-maintained, and because it was actually sunny, became the site of a rather off-beat Top Model Photo Shoot. (oh only the sevillanas will understand...) We noticed even more ruins across the valley, and headed over there for more billy-goating on non-existent paths. Turns out the facing ruins are store houses for all the delicious grains, potatos and vegetables that the Inca cultivated. By the time we wobbled down that hill, we were ready for the eucalyptus sauna our b&b offered.

DIA 4

We went to Urubamba. Urubamba is not a nice place and Cassidy and I are going to pretend that day never happened.

DIA 5 - 6

Oh sweet sweet, Pisac/P'isaq. we arrived early enough to catch yet another rain storm as we wandered around the Pisac Ruins. There are no great war stories regarding Pisac, but it was another really great ruins site with impressive stone work and clear division between neighborhoods (military, religious, agricultural, residential). There is also a tunnel to crawl through wondering if spiders are dropping into your hair. all thrilling really. The skies cleared while we spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. seriously, we were Tired. When we woke up the next morning, glowing from all the ibuprofen we'd taken, we ventured out early into Pisac's famous market. 2 pairs of earrings, a bracelet, 4 pairs of pants, pillow covers, and all of cassidy's purchases later, we were on a pure buying high with no more legitimate gift purchases to make. we ate lunch in town, played with the kittens at our hostal, and rather regrettably got on a bus back to Cusco.

After knocking on a million doors in Cusco looking for a hostel, we found one, and went over to the South American Explorers Clubhouse for a traditional Peruvian dinner buffet. As we chatted with other like-minded travelers storm clouds and lightning rolled into the city, and as we tucked into Rocoto relleno, tamales, and papas rellenas it began to hail. Seemed like a fitting end to our excursion.

Valle Sagrado Tip #1: Start in Pisac, busing your way in.
Valle Sagrado Tip #2: Don't go in rainy season.
Valle Sagrado Tip #3: Train for all the ruins by running the Boston Marathon.

mis fotos favoritas de Chile

lo mejor de Argentina y de Chile

I have to say, so far my experience of South America is very different than what i imagined it to be. My mother had told me a bit about Chile, but for some reason i still thought I would be in a much more tropical climate and surrounded by a lot more indigenous people. Perhaps it was just my ignorance, but let me debunk one grand lie: neither country is "native".

The truth is when South America, as a whole, was colonized, indigenous tribes were so fully crushed that few people today would have any idea if their ancestor was mapuche, or otherwise native to the Americas. The majority of Argentine population is made up of descendants from Italy, Spain and Wales. The majority of Chilean population is German and British descendant. Seriously, there are O'Higgins and Dittborns, Walters, Sebastians, and Olgas everywhere. Living in Buenos Aires is similar to living in a European city, with lots of tall buildings, close winding streets, people and cars rushing everywhere at all times. Santiago is like Washington DC. I was amazed. The city has a similar sprawl, wide streets, leafy wealthy neighborhoods, and almost everyone speaks some english too!

So this is my list of what I have really enjoyed about both countries. Everything is particular to each respective country...if i loved it on both sides of the andes i left it out because perhaps i will find it again in more south american countries.

Argentina
+ friendly business owners, employees, bus drivers, tour guides. They want to hear about where you are from and why you are there. they want to share their experiences too. and they aren't trying to seduce you.

+no matter what small town you go to, you will find something to do, each place holds some unique charm

+the buses in Buenos Aires; easy to navigate and pretty quick

+Northwest Argentina. it's gorgeous! Salta and Córdoba, two of my top destinations!

+Chacras de Coria in Mendoza. A beautiful, comfortable, laid-back suburb. and close to vineyards!

+Perito Moreno Glaciar. the most impressive glaciar I have ever seen.

+Punta Tombo. I never imagined that penguins would like dry arid coastline.

+Buenos Aires's gardens: well, they are all clumped together in Palermo Bosque, but they are HUGE and mostly free entry, and just lovely spaces to enjoy nature!

+humitas. corn mash with spices steamed in corn husks. a kind of meatless tamale i hear.

+grocery stores sell veggie burgers. that is seriously amazing.

+all you can eat vegetarian buffets in lots of cities. heaven.

+Terma. this is an herb-infused almost iced-tea/juice beverage. you mix it with sparkling water and ice on hot days and it's soo refreshing!

+Meat. Argentina convinced me to eat meat. hey, it's not bad!


Chile
+Eduardo and Pamela from Hostal Independencia in Punta Arenas. they made us feel like good friends.

+whistling men. no matter what size and shape you are, someone here wants to let you know they think you are great. it's not sinister either, mostly amusing.

+Lake District (Pucon to start). sunny, temperate, lots of outdoor activity to be had and a particularly german feel!

+wine country. Not only is every wine smooth and well constructed, you can get to vineyards on the metro!

+beach towns. you are forced to relax because there is literally nothing to do.

+Santiago's Metro. the cleanest and most well-maintained system I have been on versus all of Europe and the US.

+Santiago's US feel. I know I should be looking for unique south american experiences, but it's comforting after 4 months to be back in a land of starbucks and sushi restaurants!

+Casa & Ideas. a Chilean home goods store...god I love shopping.

+seafood! this is a whole new world of seafood, things I love (salmon, crab), things I've never seen before (locos, robalo, sea urchin), and some seriously enormous mussels, clams, oysters and scallops.

+fruit! when I tell you that you have never tasted watermelon, canteloupe, nectarines, and avocados before, it's not to make you jealous, its to let you know that the garden of eden is located west of the andes and there are daily flights to get here.

+ porotos granados and charki can. these are two traditional Chilean dishes that are simply delicious. porotos are big freshly picked beans that are cooked up with an assortment of vegetables, charki can has diced squash, potatoes, carrots, spinach, corn, onion, and green beans, flavored with cumin and cilantro.

mis fotos favoritas de argentina