Roaming Some Familiar Streets

It's been about 2 months since I have arrived back in Santiago. I just spent so much time catching up on summer vacation that I have now completely neglected what is currently going on in my life. When I arrived in Satiago after basically 3 straight months of moving around, I felt like I was coming home. Walking into my house was just the greatest feeling, complete comfort, like returning to California after a long vacation, except this time I was returning to Chile, but it still felt like home.

School is in full swing and midterms are right around the corner. For some reason my classes are a lot more challenging this semester. Maybe it's because I am understanding a lot more, so I am actually processing the concepts, and not just the language on the surface. I'm taking 4 classes: 

1. Nobel Prize Literature of Latin America

2. Chilean Theater (Which is completely kicking my ass)

3. Geography of Latin America (more like human geography)

4. Chilean Culture

I cannot believe that i only have 9 weeks of classes left! I know that seems like a really long time for some of the people reading this, but after an entire YEAR that is absolutely nothing. It's a really strange feeling to realize that this experience is coming to an end.

I have no class on Fridays, so I have dedicated my time to working at a kindergarten. 6 hours a day hanging out with 2-5 year olds, I LOVE IT! They make me so happy and I always leave with a smile on my face. Yes, it is extremely hard work and takes it's toll (especially when I decide to go out on Thursday night...), but it has just been the best experience. I don't think I could do it every day of my life, so I have gained a lot of respect for the people who work at the kindergarten full time. It's an intense job. The kids are just so cute though! Pictures will come soon, my boss said it was ok to bring my camera one day :)

These aren't photos of little kiddies, they are however, some things in Santiago that captured my attention upon my return. 

The Costanera Tower, the tallest building in South America

Flowers in bloom at Campus San Joaquin

A tile store

My street, at 3a.m.

Easter morning

Back into the Cordillera

Plaza Bolivar

Heading back to the cordillera also meant more cold and rain. The weather was really fitting to Bogota in my opinion, the whole city has this gothic and kind of ominous feel. I guess the gloom added to my actual feelings, Bogota was our last stop on this epic summer journey and I was not ready for it to end. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't dreading going back to Santiago, but I just could have kept exploring.

The Cathedral at Plaza Bolivar

The hostel in Bogota was one of my favorites from the whole trip. It was really small and probably had room for a total of about 15 people. Breakfast was included and there were hot showers! The neighborhood, La Candelaria, was also one of the best in Bogota, so I felt really comfortable walking around. Since the hostel was so small and only about half full, I actually got to know the other people staying there. That's where I met Kate! It is seriously such a small world, she is also studying in Santiago at my university for the year. Basically we were friends instantly.

So "me"

Most of the time when people think Colombia they think drugs and danger, but in all honestly, Colombia was the country where I felt the most safe. The people are just really cool and don't seem like they are out to get you (ehhmmm, Peru!). That being said, it wasn't that smart to wander around certain areas of Bogota at night, or really during the day, so we stuck to the well-lit areas.

In terms of sightseeing, day one was all the standard stuff: The central plaza, the biggest cathedral, and the government building (which are generally all in the same place). In Bogota that place took the name of Plaza Bolivar. Ohh and finding the grocery store is also vital. One major bonus for the grocery store in Bogota: doughnuts! They had like a legit selection. Grocery stores are really fun in other countries, seeing what they have to offer, Colombia was killin it in terms of a "global" variety of goods. We found Kraft Mac and Cheese...!!!! Nearing the end of the trip meant also nearing the end of our budgets, eating in was a must. Colombia surprised me with how expensive it was. It was still way cheaper than the US, but coming from Bolivia/Peru/Ecuador is seemed super expensive. The one absolute MUST-SEE in Bogota is el Museo de Oro (The Gold Museum). So much gold! It was really beautiful stuff too. An incredibly huge collection of ancient gold artifacts from latin america, I was blown away. Colombia also has some really awesome artesania, so a gander around the markets is definitely worth it.

















March 1st eventually rolled around and that meant it was finally time to go back to Santiago. Summer vacation was over and it was back to reality. Hands down, the best summer of my life. To sum it all up: November/December- Patagonia, Santiago, Home; January- Argentina (Buenos Aires, Iguazu), Bolivia (La Paz, Salar de Uyuni, Copacobana and Lake Titicaca), Peru (Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Lima); February- Peru (so many ruins along the north coast, Huaraz, Trujillo, Huanchaco), Ecuador (Guayaquil, Puerto Lopez, Quito), Colombia (Cartagena, Taganga and Tyrona, Bogota). What a freaking awesome trip!!!! To top it all off, when I got back to Santiago I had to go to the U.S. consulate to add pages to my passport because there was no more room for stamps :)

The end of a great vacation.

Taganga and Tyrona

Taganga :)

That's a fun title. Anyway, February 24th, my journey along the Colombia's Caribbean coast continued. The trip East started with the sketchiest cab ride of my life. I don't know why I was so paranoid but I was just on edge the entire time. Nothing bad even happened, but I was just running through all these scenarios in my head. What was I most worried about? My camera, obvio. Photos>Personal safety. I would have been pissed if my camera got robbed with all my photos on it. Nothing happened in the end and we made it to the bus terminal, but Briana had the same sketchy feeling the entire time too. Afterwards we laughed about it, but in the moment I was contemplating ways to escape from a moving vehicle.

 6 hours later we arrived at our final destination. Lot's of people told us that staying in Taganga was better than staying in Santa Marta, the nearby city, and I think they were right. Well, I actually never stayed in Santa Marta, but the small fishing village had a lot of character. Life there was just so relaxed, people were definitely not in a hurry and had a pretty laid back lifestyle. The next day we were heading into the Parque Nacional Tayrona, so while we were still in town we needed to load up on non-perishables. Standards: bread, jam, tuna, doritos, WATER and of course lots of toilet paper. Later that evening, at around 7p.m. the power went out, in the entire town. Another bummer: using the water requires and electric pump, so that was down too. It was kinda fun, but I was happy when the electricity came back on 2 hours later.

Not our boat, but ours looked like this

Sleeping accommodations in the park

In the morning we set out for Parque Nacional Tayrona. We had heard nothing but good things about the park, everyone just raved about it, so I was really excited. To get into the park we took a boat, it was another crazy boat ride on the Caribbean sea. The driver said that we should put all of our valuables in the storage part of the boat because a lot of water enters. I wanted to have my camera in a plastic bag, but the driver disapproved, thank god I listened to him. We got SOAKED, head to toe, it was like endless drops down the Log Ride. I was cracking up the entire time, which only increased the amount of salt water that I swallowed. I just found it hilarious every time water hit the boat, I don't know why, but I am giggling just writing about it. It wasn't what I expected and I wouldn't say it was "fun" but it was a great moment. I was pretty glad to dig my toes into the sand when we finally arrived. Welcome to paradise.

A look to the right

The park conserves the pure beautiful coastline and has some scattered campsites for visitors to stay. There are lots of trails which lead into more jungle-like surroundings and obviously there are the gorgeous beaches. First things first, we picked out which hammock we would be sleeping in for the 2 nights we were there. Soon after we headed to the beach. It was really nice because there were a lot of people staying at Cabo San Juan, but it was easy for everyone to find a secluded spot on the beach. So peaceful, the waves splashing on the shore drowned out the conversations of the closest group of people, so it really felt like you were on a private beach. The entire day we were on the beach, reading, and dipping in the water, and napping and going back into the water. First night in the hammock was fun. I actually found my hammock quite comfortable and did not mind sleeping in it at all. The thing that got me, the mosquitoes! They attacked my entire face. Both nights, it was slightly out of control. I was covered neck down, so those little buggers went for the only exposed part of my body. Such a low blow, even for blood-sucking insects. I got lots of "well the mosquitoes sure do love you" comments.

The next day Briana and I hiked up to Pueblito, which was supposed to be an indigenous village. We thought it was still populated, but no, it was just empty. The hike to and from was worth it though because the scenery was gorgeous. I really liked how as soon as you left the sandy shores you were in the middle of dense jungle. There we so many cool animals and insects! We even saw an anteater!!! The one we saw is of a special species and is small and lives in trees, way cool. The butterflies were awesome too! So many pretty wings, I think I counted 11 different ones in about an hour. Unfortunately this entire beautiful day was not captured by cameras because we heard reports of being robbed, and like I said earlier, I cannot afford to loose my camera. I kind of like it though, because in my head the images are still pretty close to perfection. We completed the hike's loop and ended up on the beach, a nude beach just btw. Plenty of people embracing their "free spirits." We headed back to the campsite, changed into our bathing suits, and set off for the sandy shores once more.

The morning of our last day in Tayrona we packed up all our stuff and set off for the trail that leads to the entrance of the park. We decided to backpack out to save some money and to see a little more of Tayrona, apart from our little piece of beach heaven. Just breathtakingly beautiful. We got about halfway and then we saw horses. Obviously we were all about them, so we hopped on, with our huge backpacks, and continued towards the entrance. This is not ay mythical as it sounds, we didn't find wild horses and commander them and start galloping away into the distance, it was more like a guided trot through the dense jungle. Gorgeous. Sidenote: I do not recommend wearing shorts while riding horseback.

Once out of the park we headed back to Taganga, a 40 minute drive, only to be welcomed by no electricity. All I wanted to do was shower, but I couldn't, it was sad. So what do we do? Go to the beach, of course! It was so flipping hot that day, I could only be out of the water for about 8 minutes before I needed to go back in again. The electricity did not come back on until 10pm but by that time we were passed out, that sun really tires you out. Although I really loved Taganga and Tyrona I wasn't too sad to leave. I could have stayed there forever, and that is the problem, I still need to be productive with my life. I realized I can't spend all my time sprawled out on beaches if I want to see the world! I'll just do that every once in a while ;) We said goodbye to the Caribbean and headed into the heart of the cordillera.  

A little more visual stimulation:

We stayed until there was no more sun to be soaked up

Backpacking out of the park

Birana's backpack riding a horse

Attempt at a photo of Taganga Bay as we drove away