Acorn: Next chapter of life as i know it...

I'm not a gambler, but i am certain that i won the lottery at birth. In my time I have managed to go about my life in a pretty fortunate way which is all dependant on where and who i was born too. So yea, thanks mum and dad for going at it...

So the next wee chapter is just a few pages in and just over a week old. Arriving in the concreteness that is Santiago i have hopscotched my way to Isla Negra, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Mendoza and tomorrow will hope a 20hour bus up to Salta (argentina ).

Backpacking is entirely new to me as any travel in the last 8 years has involved bikes (besides about 4 flights in nz). So boarding a plane sans bike left myself (synonymous with bikes) feeling a bit perplexed and a bit naked.

SO FAR:

SANTIAGO:

Lots of concrete, loads of street vendors, not really my cup of tea... Highlight would have to be the 'tour4tips' which i got to meet fellow english speakers, hanging out with some rad ausies/kiwis/canadians during a 3 hour tour around some neat city/cultural highlights AND drinking a Terre Moto (earthquake) that floored all of us and then dumped us back on the street at 2pm rather day drunk. Then with the ausy lasses managed to make our way to the human rights museum where we got up to date on the intense recent hostory of civil unrest.

ISLA NEGRA:

On chilean coast 140km out of Santiago. I hopped a bus with a lovely argentinian lad from hostel and we spent the day in the rain and scoping out Pablo Neruda's (famous poet/ politician) house which is super neat as he has an eclectic collection of all things nautical and rad. He collected bow figure heads (no idea the correct term), boats in bottles, maps, bottles... So much cool, which is why his house is now a museum. Then we ate empanadas, which i fear may be the best i may eat as they were EPIC and nothing has come close yet

VALPARAÍSO:

Colourful, rich with history and artistic. 2 days was enough to soak in this wee place with amazing history with being Chile's major port way way back in the day. Colour and graffiti murals cover the city which inspires much artistic appreciation. Bus system here is AMAZING! Also the streets are either flat or 40degrees to walk up; San Fran has nothing on it.

VIÑA DEL MAR:

Spent a day walking walking walking along the beach and writing letters to some of the kids at home, not much to see besides the lovely beach, tanning yourself and/or caffinating at cafes..

MENDOZA:

Escaping chile over the Andes I made my way to Mendoza (argentina)which as it turns out is super neat and my favorite so far (not hard). This place i super lively, people are friendly and footpaths are wide. Siesta is a very serious thing and pretty much EVERYTHING is closed 1-5pm. Everything opens again till 9pm so streets are busy and lively till late... Am really enjoying it! Met 2 very cool lads from germany/ brazil in my hostel in which i went on a day adventure to Cacheata to go swimming and rafting ;this place is at foothills of the andes and 40km from mendoza... Safe to say i was pooped after this becuase the night before it was a 3 am return home and 8am wake up after a super awesome friend from NZ gave me 'obligatory instructions' to drink Fernet; which i will never drink again..

20 HOUR BUS:

Tomorrow 5th i hop a bus at mid day to Salta heading in the direction to Bolivia

My spanish is still very very shit!!!!! Slllllowly working on it.

Exchanging all my foregn money for the Argentinian 'blue dollar'... Kinda black marketish.. I feel like a bad ass.. But really i am not

White water rafting

Cachueta hot pools on a 30+ degree day

Dennis and Marcelo know how to eat... So many animals to eat in argentina. I dont usually eat meat but things have chang d a tad

Dennis and marcelo (german and brazilian) rad lads i met at hostel and spend 2 days with. We are out drinking (3am) and i had a Fernet... First and last time. Thanks nat