Rage Against the Machine - CHILE 2010 VIDEO

Rage Against the Machine - CHILE 2010

This could be one of the more cruel posts I have made (if you are a fan of rock music that is).  Rage Against the Machine will be playing this Monday and I have picked up my ticket... that said (as if jealousy weren't already brewing), I start the weekend with a festival on Saturday featuring Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Linkin Park, The Pixies, and more.... life is rough.

I took a bus for close to 60 hours to make it down to Vina del Mar, Chile so you will excuse me if I have been taking a little time off now that I have set up shop in my new apartment.  The bus ride was surprisingly easier that I thought it would be although the bus company I wanted to look into at the beginning that a friend talked me out of did turn out to be super-luxury (I saw one of them half-way through my bus ride).

Now I am living in a building that oozes West Virginia Mountaineer pride... so I will be supporting them from thousands of miles away this season.

Here is a shot from Vina del Mar of the city of Valparaiso at night.  It is great living right on the water.  It would be great to have a view from the apartment, but all I have to do is walk out the front of the building to see the water.

There are sand beaches but seeing as how it is winter it is great to go out and sit on the rocks when it gets nice outside.

Leaving Peru

I realize that I still have a lot of Peru to post about, but I have been a little bit behind with my posts and I am leaving the country early tomorrow morning. 

In a brutal attempt to save money and to punish myself for my hedonistic lifestyle I have opted to forgo the plane and any attempt at sanity and take a nonstop bus journey close to 60 hours from Lima to Santiago.

I have loaded my bag up with my mp3 player and charged up the laptop to watch movies on the trip and try not to go insane.  Wish me luck.... I start on Thursday morning and end my trip on Saturday in the afternoon so I won't be around much during that time.

The Epic - 30 Min Video of South America

So I mashed up all of my videos from South America to make just one for the entire trip. It lasts 30 minutes so I applaud you if you make it the whole way through and I apologize for its length.



Now to start looking toward Europe. The Jonnywalkeradventures will be heading East as early as January to check out new places. Wish me luck.

Santiago de Chile - Video

Last Day In Chile

To wrap up my last day in Santiago, Chico, Cami, and I ran some errands around town and saw some more of the city.



Then we ate at an eatery that served typical Chilean fare. They call this small restaurant something that doesn't translate to English very well. I will let you research it on your own.


Then we got ready for the big night out. These two were terrific hosts. Apparently in this picture it also shows that I gained 20 lbs during my time in Santiago.


The night was big, but sadly no pictures. The only thing I can say for certain is that when I returned home I had one of these signs dismantled with this sexy face as a sheet on my bed. Dupre has got my vote.

Trekking in Santiago

Despite a bum leg I decided to do a little walking around Santiago... granted I did not intend on walking so much when I started. This morning my friend Cami had some classes so I opted to be taken into town and meet back up with her when she was leaving. I really hadn't taken the time to walk around, mostly due to the first time I was in town was after snowboarding and I could still barely walk.

The weather was much rougher than it has been today, but that didn't stop me.

I went by the National Zoo, but it seemed to be terribly busy with school children.

Although the view of the city from up near the zoo was nice.
On a warmer and clearer day I would have made it up to the top of the mountain above the zoo for more views, but the cloud was a whopping 20 feet above me.



I also snapped this picture. The building looks important, but I have no idea what it is. If you figure it out please let me know. In total I would say that I walked well over 10 miles today. If something looked interesting I checked it out. Now just a few more days left before Buenos Aires.

Easter Island Bound

I just finished packing my bags for EASTER ISLAND! It was by no means on the itinerary, but then again I travel without a watch or any sort of alarm so I might as well live in the moment. I am planning on just going until Thursday before flying back to see some more of Santiago.

I am leaving some stuff here for my trip so the pack is much lighter than it was before.


Got my electronics still and my travel book... I should be fine.


Morning pic of the traveler


It will be hard to move back into hostel life after staying here though because my friend Cami's house is amazing.

Here is a view of the back garden.


Some of the surrounding houses as viewed from the top deck of hers.


Wish me luck on my trip, I love hearing from everyone. Either in comments or at jonnywalks@gmail.com.

Jamie's Birthday and Goodbyes

The last night in Santiago for my friends from Essex just happened to be on Jamie's birthday. Granted he had already celebrated it 4 times before but this time it was actually the right date.

Jamie was on point

James danced the night away and Jamie might have spent some time chatting up the locals.


James simply was not ready to say goodbye in the morning. The boys are headed off to New Zealand and should be boarding their flight in an hour or so after I submit this.


Poor guy, he just didn't want to see me leave.


Needless to say, they will be missed. I am sure we will run into each other while traveling again someday.

Valle Nevado - Outside of Santiago Chile

With a still healing leg I decided that snowboarding was simply too important... I did however decide that teaching would keep me out of too much trouble. James had skied but never been on a board and Jamie had done neither. One of the other guys from the hostel named Ricardo was from Brazil and had never even seen snow so he decided to get in on some free lessons.

The views were epic and there were no trees so I couldn't break my other leg.


This is simply the bottom third of the mountain


An action shot of Jamie


James and Ricardo made a friend on the lift.


For having never seen snow, Ricardo picked up the sport faster than anyone I have ever seen. He even followed me off the beaten path and into one of the bowls. Completely fearless. Too bad he lives in Brazil and will only do this sparingly.



At the end of the day all three of them had picked up up quite nicely and my knee was still in one piece. Even having some car trouble couldn't ruin the trip.

In Santiago... pics to come

today and yesterday were a complete travel whirlwind. Somehow we made it from Arequipa, Peru to Santiago chile in about 18 hours. By bus, taxi, taxi, plane, taxi... the day was crazy but Jamie, James and I suceeded. Now for a Sunday night in Santiago. Pics to come