The second chapter

I have started to draft on how I want to travel through South of Argentina and Chile. I will start up again in early/mid January 2014, and have as a goal to travel all the way South to Ushuaia (the worlds most Southern city) along the coast, and back up to Patagonia along the Andes, to finish off in Santiago again.

I have already mapped a few stops at distinguished national parks, well-known cities, and famous most-see-landscapes! I hope to reach Bariloche towards the end of February/beginning of March the latest. It doesn´t give me a whole lot of time, although I don´t want to miss the late-summer season in Patagonia!

Let me know what you think, and please share some opinions on the preliminary itinerary!
Thanks!

Big weekend in Santiago

Unlike the Argentinians and Uruguayans, but like most of the world, people mostly go out dancing until 3-4 am. For my colleagues and I at California Cantina who get off work at 3 am, only "afters" are available for the weekend party. Yet, last Friday I had the night off, therefore we completed the full Chilean check-list with;

1) "Previa" (pre-drinks) Lots of their (acclaimed) national drink Pisco mixed with soda! (Picture to the left). As a "gringo", I´m not even qualified for the DJ position, as Cumbia and Reggaeton dominated the previa.

2) "El baile" (dance club) I am surprised by the extent of electronic music that is played, but they seem to really like it!! Latin tunes you need to look for in the city! 

3) "El After" (after party) For those who hasn´t had enough just yet! (And those working until 3am) They can be hard to find, so find yourself a local who knows where one is! Generally fills up at 5-6ish. 

Chilean karaoke and dance!

4) And then; "El After After" (at someone´s house) Generally not recommended for those working the next day (I´m not sure how some of my friends managed with the Saturday shift!) We picked up boxes of Budweiser and enjoyed the morning sun at my friends house. At some later point, the mic and amplifier were taken out, and the group joined together for some karaoke and dance to Chilean Cumbia. - Not bad Chile!! When the hunger started to kick in, I found my way home in the afternoon for some food and a good nap!

See you again soon Peter!

After a few hours of good rest, I´m up again! A good friend of mine is throwing a fare-well party, which you should not miss! So, after a quick shower, some food on the run, and the next case of beers in hand, I´m ready for the next stop! The party proved to be a success as many close friends showed up! As I was one of the firsts ones to arrive, I witnessed all the Chileans arrive with their precious Pisco in hand. Amazing snack food was prepared and a bond fire lit in the backyard. The stereo music was in the early hours replaced by acoustic as the few of us remaining gathered around the fire.

Bondfire & Acoustic music!!

I was offered a couch, and enjoyed a well deserved rest! - Luckily not all the weekends are as "big" as this one! 

The Latin Spanish Accents

All South American countries speak a unique form of Spanish, some more extreme than others. My own impression so far is that Uruguay, Argentina and Chile speak with the most notably different accent, and can thus be hard to understand initially, even with proficient Mexican Spanish. While the Uruguayans and Argentinians for example use a heavy ´Italian´ accent, the Chileans use a complete (non-existent) dictionary of slang only applicable in Chile. Let´s have a look:

Commonly used Uruguayan hand-gesture, aka:"WTF man?!!" 

Uruguayans and Argentinians:

This is a good video to showcase the stereotypical sound and tone used. The accent can sometimes  be interpreted as assailing and quarrelsome, as they do enjoy their arguments! - "Obvio bo!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IpOfFlX8gc

Chilean:
Is generally referred to as the worst spoken Spanish in Latin America. (I don´t entirely agree!) Still even native Spanish speaker tell me they struggle with the Chilean accent. Mostly because:

1. Chileans generally speak m-u-c-h faster than other native Spanish speakers
2. Chileans are known for its extensive use of "made-up" words and slang, which essentially form the  mood and tone of  the conversation
3. Tone/mood, facial expression and eye contact also constitute a very important part of Chilean Spanish

You do well by knowing these;

"Po" = ´man´, something they frequently enrich their sentences with, "Weon" = man, dude etc., and "Catchai" = you know / you get it!?

Facial expressions!

Here is a 101 in Chilean Spanish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95RLVOnIerw

And here is a sample on how Chileans speak:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4XqujAZxvQ

(for those of you who do not understand Spanish, skip to: 1:04 & 1:50 for the typical accent! ENjoy)

To conclude, the following song is attributed to you all learning spanish!!

Que difícil es hablar el español: (Oh, so hard it is to speak Spanish!)

A preliminary route of the First Chapter

Hey guys!
I have drafted a preliminary route of the first phase of my trip: the northern parts of Chile and Argentina.
Copy-n-paste to see it in google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/Lp5rH

Chile:
The plan is to initially start off from Santiago heading North towards Bolivia. In Chile I have listed stops in:
Valparaiso / Viña del Mar
La Serena (hopefully on the 18th of September, the Chilean national day)
Pan del Azúkar National Park
San Pedro de Atacama
Lauca National Park
I will also keep my eyes open for the Pisco vineyards along the way!
(Anything I forgot!??)

Bolivia:
I haven´t heard, or read anything about absolute essential stops in Bolivia, and the plan is to cruize through, enjoying the landscape, the people and some peace! The salt-flats is on the list! I will return to Bolivia at a later stage on my trip, thus no hurry!

Northern Argentina
This is something everyone talks about in the hostel world. Cities like Salta, Tucuman, Cordoba are well recognized and visited for their unique character and are thus the stops marked on my check-list!
I will save Mendoza for my trip out east, and Iguazu for next year, as I only have a month and a half before I need to be back in Santiago.

At the start of November, I am invited to take part of an expedition to explore the jungles of Peru in search and study of Orchids! A random stop perhaps, but certainly a one-time-opportunity to see the jungle from a very unique perspective! So I will fly out from Santiago and meet up with a friend to my family in Lima, who is in fact leading this expedition!

Head back East, from where I once came

After this 2 week break in Peru, I plan to head East from Santiago, passing through the impressive pass of the Andes, through the wine fields of Mendoza, the cultural city of Cordoba on my way to the beautiful summer of Uruguay!!

I´m going back to celebrate Christmas with my beautiful family in Sweden (due time) and plan to continue my journey in January 2014. Upon my return, I have waiting the astonishing south of Argentina, the incredible Patagonia and much later..Brazil!

Please leave comments!! I appreciate all feedback!!
Thanks,

The Winter in Southamerica

I was about to buy a sleeping bag in Vancouver, I though to myself; "maybe I get a lighter one since I also want to bring it to South America. My wise friend advised me to go for a thicker one as he told me; the winters get very cold. I thought to myself; "Yeah yeah, not like Sweden anyway".

Two of my room-mates, and our beloved mobile gas-heater

I have noticed that I about two really strong colds per winter here in South America (knock-on-wood, this one is still not over). And for sure, the winters are not even remotely as cold as in Sweden (and now I am just using Santiago and Montevideo as a reference) where we count -10 avg. over a good winter. So why is it so hard to adapt to the chill weather here?? All my friends seem to be just fine, with minor symptoms of a cold every once in a while.

I remember the winter in Uruguay, when I woke up I had prepared beside my bed a set of: a few t-shirts, 1-2 sweaters, and a hoodie that I instantly pulled over my torso to shield myself from the close to zero temperature in my bed room. And there it goes, the temperature is about the same inside as outside, which is hardly, or ever the case in Sweden. This is clearly something I haven´t accustomed myself to. It always surprises me when they sit with the door or window open here in the winter, but I guess at the end it hardly makes a difference. :P Thank god for our rolling gas-heater though, which spreads some hope of warmer climate to come!

My pride of being a Scandinavian Viking; not feeling nor suffering from the cold, is quickly waning as I over again fall victim to the constantly present chill temperature. (Or maybe it is this viking mentality that makes me pay dearly!?)  (Don´t answer that!!!)

Thanks MEC Vancouver for heaven on earth!

As the classic Scandinavian saying goes; "there is no bad weather, just bad clothing"! So walking around with a pair of socks and a layer of clothing in your house wont do! As well, I always keep a set of cloths ready to instantly swap into after a warm shower (which is a true morale booster!). Grandma´s wool socks and a pair sandals is highly recommended, as well as scarf and beenie! Still I am annoyed that I can´t sleep with an arm outside my sleeping bag! - And mentioning the sleeping bag, this thick sleeping bag that I bought in Vancouver, is without a doubt the most precious item I possess!

So, to all of you out there who is planing to go camping in South America in June, July, August, bring  a T-h-i-c-k sleeping bag!! :D

A real white winter is way easier to deal with! - With my two brothers in Whistler / Canada 2012

This entry is clearly a rant from me dealing with this cold, ..again! - Strangely it seems to come after a long night out ...  :S ) - THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTENING!