Hostal Residencial Chiloe Arica

... us a little while, but we finally figured out that "Residentials" are pretty much the same as hospedajes. Evan had a good feeling about one so we stayed and after seeing a bunch of others it seems we made the right choice.

There are an abundance of cake, roasted chicken, and sandwich shops. We took full advantage of the sandwich and cake shops. Evan had cake everyday! The 2nd night our hunt for cake started after most shops had ...

... bottle popped open in my toiletry bag and everything had a sudsy goo on them. So my first trip out this morning was to the farmacia to get some soap. It was only at lunch that I realized that I had asked 3 people at the pharmacy for soup instead of soap. My Spanish sucks.

Anyway, the rest of the day went pretty well. Hiked up El Morro after lunch. El Morro is a sheer cliff that ...

... get used to these military things since my big bro will be a man in uniform starting in November. I also heard the entire crowd sing the national anthem. Made me want to bust out some Star Spangled Banner but donīt worry, i didnīt.

Next I went to the beach and watched surfers tackle some of the biggest waves Iīve seen in my short little east coast life. I climbed on these huge jacks that surrounded the small bay. That made me hungry ...

... was dancing to him on a variety show just now in the chicken joint. There seem to be lots of little people on the variety shows and there are lots of variety shows in Latin America, from what I can tell. Back to Michael, lots of the cars I pass are blasting his hits. I think the King of Pop is receiving more attention and honor abroad than at home, but hasnīt that always been the case?

... sea, homeless dogs on the street (friendly as anything and they even wait for the geen man before crossing the road in Santiago!) cheap beer, Depeche Mode, (and the Smiths, and Keane....) Futbol commentators screaming Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllll lllllll whenever someone scores on tv, and the lovely, lovely (if a little vertically challenged) people.

Oh and did I mention the mountains? ĄĄHermoso Chile!!

... yogurt, juice and coffee prepared by End of the Trail's Owner Franklin Boydt who in my opinion is "Living the Dream" after relocating to Arica from the US. He informed us of a big surf competition near "El Gringo Beach" that day so we decided to go check it out.

For lunch we checked out "Roly's Sanduches" which was a great place to eat before hitting the beach- NOT! The burger Taylor received was monstrous. Probably a pound of beef with six or seven slices of ...

Salutare! Azi am fost cam lenesi. Ne-am dus la muzeul arheologic si, in rest, am frecat menta pe plaja si la hostel. Si pentru ca Cristina a fost prea prinsa de peisaj si nu a facut poze, trebuie sa pun de pe aparatul meu. Ne-a luat o ora sa descarcam 6 poze, dar le punem pe alea. maine ...

... nemesis, it was so huge and never ending. In the bottom of these mountains you could sometimes see random stretches of lush, green grass in the crevice of the caverns. How can anyhting be green here? How can anyhting live here? Itīs defiant grass. All along the highway there are also dotted little shrines to Saints or more often to loved-ones commemorating those who have lost their lives on these unforgiving roads. I arrived safe and sound to terminal terreste and ...

The airport in Puerto Montt had real coffee. Rejoice. While there we were trying to figure out why it was going to take 10 hours for two flights travelling a total of 3000km. It dawned on us when we boarded the plane with about twenty other passengers and saw the plane was already almost full. It was the milk-run flight. We stopped twice on the way to Santiago and twice more between Santiago and Arica. Six take-offs and landings, my least ...

... and I meet Carolinaīs two amigos. These guys really loved to drink, they literally drunk me under the table - well until I was falling asleep on it I was so tired! The whole trip was like a nice dream and a great break from the usual travel, I would have loved to have stayed longer, but summer in Patagonia was calling me. I said my goodbyes and hopped on the bus for the 22 hours back to Arica, had some drinks with Betsebe before catching the bus south.. to where I was not quite sure!