Posting on a Whim

I am currently sitting in Arica, Chile eating a late hostel provided breakfast and slowly memories of posting to this blog started coming back to me.  I just finished 2 weeks in Lima, Peru of general chaos and now I am on my way to see a lady in Vina del Mar, Chile once again.

(ARICA is all the way on the top of the shaded in yellow.)

If you look back to my trip last year it should note that I rode for over 60 hours on a bus; this trip is being broken up.  A 20 hour bus from Lima to Tacna Peru, climbing into a group taxi for 5 dollars and crossing the border with strangers, and now staying overnight in the border town of Arica (I have been here before) before flying out at 3PM today for Santiago Chile to avoid another 40 hours on a bus.

I have photos of Peru I should post as well and should get back to that once I get to my new apartment and "procure" internet.  

(Here are some shots inside the hostel.  I would post pictures of my "gourmet" breakfast of a bologna-like sandwich but being as how I am a bit southern I used the sandwich maker to fry my bologna so it was delicious and long gone.)

The Apartment in Chile - Leaving shots.

 Since my time is coming to an end here in Chile I thought I would post some shots of where I have spent the better part of the last 3 months.  THE APARTMENT IN CHILE.

 It is nothing fancy but it has served a purpose with the only issues being a slight "old lady" smell near the front door, the cable that came with the place turning out to be illegal so it got turned off the last month here, a shower-head that had to be replaced to make the showers last longer than 45 seconds of low pressure warmth, and the overabundance of fake flowers that were in the place that are currently hiding in the cabinet waiting to be redeployed on the last day I am here.

Bed

 TV

 Bathroom

 Living Room

 Front door and Refrigerator

 Little Kitchen

Attempting to Return to the USA

 My funds have dwindled to what is surely to become a new low so having failed to find dependable work here in Chile I must accept a temporary setback and return to the USA.  That being said, it will not be without a little bit of mystery and adventure.  

The first step of my trip will be a flight to Lima, Peru on Halloween.  All flights from Chile were extremely expensive so in an attempt to add more fun (and maybe save a few dollars) I am making up the trip home as I go.

Right now the options are:
Fly to Washington DC from Lima
Fly to Fort Lauderdale FL from Lima
Fly to Bogota Colombia from Lima and then to the US from Colombia
Fly to San Juan Puerto Rico from Lima and then toe the US

Bus to Ecuador and Colombia (80 hours) from Lima and then fly home

or magic carpet.

I am sure there are other options that I will have to just make up as I go.  wish me luck.

Sibaritico for Completos in Vina del Mar

In a recent post I linked to the video of Anthony Bourdain during his time in Chile.  I live just a few blocks from the site of his "Completo" consumption here in Vina del Mar so the other night (after a few of the necessary liquid appetizers) I rallied some ladies to go partake in some Hot Dog overkill.

If you have not watched the Anthony Bourdain video (a few blog posts back at MY BLOG) a completo is a footlong hotdog with Saurkraut, mashed avocado,  tomatoes, and artery clogging of mayonnaise, that I like to top with ketchup.

Needless to say it was a good night and the next morning I woke up a little rough.  I am still not sure whether it was the appetizers or the completo but I would definitely repeat the process.

Football (soccer) here in Chile

Sometime in the past few weeks of my time here I went to see the local football club Everton of Vina del Mar play a game.  The stadium is small for the fact that it is in the top league of its country (more notable teams would be Colo-Colo, U Catolica, and U de Chile).  

Ladies and children got in free to the game and there was only one full section (AKA the end where the tickets are 6 dollars)

The game ended in a high-scoring 3-3 draw but the real entertainment was the fans themselves.  Apparently Chileans are not trusted with alcohol at any event so it was dry but I found out why in no time.

Fans came marching in with drums to play while they all sang songs.  There were also massive banners hung all over the place.  Honestly this place had more decoration than any college dorm room on the planet.
 As for the fans appreciation of the game itself is another matter entirely.  Mostly young people sang songs to the drums and smoke weed the entire time without any care about the game itself.  The home team scores - keep singing the same song... the away team scores - keep singing the same song.

I have noticed this trend before and it is not something I understand.  I enjoy the game and find it easier to get into when the crowd also understand it and follow along.  That being said, once I moved over away from the main cheering group I enjoyed the game a bit more.

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.

Beach and Big Ass Sandwich

There isn't really a clever theme to this blog post as much as there is a take-no-prisoners title that has obviously drawn you in.  With the weather getting nicer here I am spending more and more time on the beach and out in the sun.  If I make it back to the States in late November I fully expect to look out of place this winter with my epic tan that is starting now.

 And to not disappoint I will show you an example of the late-night (drunk person) food that is readily available in Chile.  This sandwich is simple in construction but the size is what make is.  For about 4 dollars US you can get this sandwich which is larger than a human head.  I used a starburst to show size but you really don't understand until you buy one at 2 in the morning.

 It was delicious.... I think.

Where I worked (notice that it is past tense)

During my time down here thus far i have managed to pick up a few hours working at an English School.  Given that I am without a work visa and the school is a bit behind on processing one I am separating ties to the school and going back to being blissfully unemployed.

It also appears that my time in Chile will come to an end when my 3 month tourist visa does.  Things are more expensive here that most places in South America and I fear it could bankrupt me to stay until Christmas (plus Christmas is in the middle of their summer so it would just feel odd). 

I have now started the planning phase for a trip back to the states.  Could be up to 120 hours on a bus...   more info to come

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.

Working Toward My Escape

I am currently in the process of looking for the cheapest method of getting myself to Chile.  I have decided that I will be moving there (if all goes according to plan) as early as this July.

 

 (with any luck this will be my plane)

Of course I have been to Chile before.... that is how I got to make the flight to Easter Island to see these guys.

 

Right now it appears that the best (most fun and cheap combo) is for me to fly from Washington DC to Lima Peru, Where my friend Bob will be for the next 2 months and staying with him for a while and ultimately renting and apartment in Vina Del Mar, Chile starting in August.

Where am I getting the money for this trip you might ask?  OK so I still haven't got that ironed out yet, but I am working on it.  I have taken up 4 jobs or so that have been going on for over a month now and with another month or so to go I figure I will at least have a start.  I am also certified to teach English as a Foreign language so maybe that will pan out down there.  If not the plan is live cheap and try to make ends meet.  Wish me luck.

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

Border Crossing Chaos...

2 days ago I woke up early in the morning in Arica, Chile and began my journey into Tacna, Peru. It is one of the structured border crossings in and out of the country and I had done it in reverse already on my way out of Peru a couple of months ago. Needless to day the situation has change a little since then.

The crossing was easy enough

Then things got a little rocky... literally. Hundreds of people had relocated thousands of rocks into the street to keep cars from entering and also threw rocks at the cars that might have tried to go around.


My taxi drived turned through the median and drove back a little bit before dropping us off miles outside of town. I then had to walk through the town of protesters hoping that they didn't turn on me.


I walked for over 2 hours and found out that the bus station was closed indefinitely and that I would be stuck in Tacna if I couldn't find a flight out.

They also had large demonstrations in the main square.


(I apologize for the lack of quality pics, but I didn't want to get stoned for taking pictures. You never know what could set somebody off)

Luckily for me I had a friend. One of the people in my taxi extended his hospitality to me and accompanied me to the bus station. When it was found to be closed he then took me into his home and helped me find a way out and made sure I was well fed. Needless to say I hope to have found a friend for life.

This is my friend Christian and his family. Without them I am certain that Tacna could have become the worst part of my trip, but now I consider to be one of my best days.


His hospitality extended far and beyond any common courtesy. It is something that I have found abundantly during my time in Peru and that is why I consider Peru as one of my favorite places in the world.

I do think I started a guitar player on her way while I was there, and afterwards I managed to catch a cab that snuck me to the airport and I flew into Lima. No more buses for this guy.

Please excuse my horrible Spanish

Para Christian y la familia,

Gracias por la hospitalidad. Usted es verdad un gran amigo. Recordaré siempre su ayuda y esperanza de permanecer en tacto.

Su amigo,

jonny walker

Arica - South of the Border

I am now in the middle of the longest day of my travels thus far. Luckily it is in a beach town. I arrived in Arica, Chile this morning at 6am after 36 hours straight on buses and somehow I am still awake. I have floated the entire day in an odd state of subconsciousness caused by lack of sleep and massive changes of altitudes.

Here are some shots of the town.


I did find some water, but no beach at first

Later I allocated the beach



Here is a shot of the view without my massive head in the way

The town itself seems to be very nice although I am not sure I will entire grasp it all in my current state. I really want to go surfing, but still feel uncertain of the effect it will have on my leg so I might just save up for sandboarding on my way through Peru and then maybe some surfing in Lima.


Tomorrow I plan to make the border crossing, but have heard from a taxi driver that there are issues with it. I will know more tomorrow and find out if I need to fly north instead.

BUS RIDES ARE AWESOME!!!

Resistencia, Argentina to Arica, Chile is a blast by bus. I headed out Saturday at 6:00 PM and made it to Arica at 6:00am Monday morning. It started with a 11.5 hour bus from Resistencia to Salta, Argentina. I then purchased a ticket with a connection from Salta to Calamas, Chile with a 2 hour layover and then another bus from Calamas to Arica.

I apologize if none of that made sense but I have spent about 36 hours straight on 3 different buses. Needless to say, I am taking a night off before starting up again.

I have purchased a ticket back to the US from Lima Peru on the 12th of November and I am working my way there via bus.

Now I am in Arica Chile and hoping to take in a beach day

here are some pics from the road.



Salty Desert

Boarder Crossing

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.