A Taste of the High Life

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a Chilean hot spot in the southern gem of Pucon. Pucon has a reputation for being jam-packed with Chilean tourist during the summer months, but in the early spring the village is much more tranquil and serene. The first day we showed up in Pucon was rainy and messy. We went to bed the first night without even realizing that we were sitting on the base of a massive volcano billowing smoke. The eerie quite and cold of Pucon gave it a somewhat haunted feeling.

Of course no trip is ever complete in the world of Brian until I have mounted a horse. On the same rain day we went on an amazing horse back ride up a muddy wet mountain. The horses were sliding all around and our Mapuche guide took a very laissez faire way of letting us ride the horses. Near the end of it I was able to take off in a full on gallop which let me get my heart racing and my adrenaline pumping.

The next day went to some waterfalls about 15 miles from Pucon called Ojos de Caburgua. The area was amazing. An old growth forest with a pond in the middle where two rivers meet forming a 360 waterfall. The old growth forest and waterfalls felt almost mythical.

This stuff alone could have made this the best weekend so far in Chile, and I haven't even mentioned Volcan Villarica yet. I climbed the most active volcano in Chile. The view from Pucon alone blows my mind.

Climbing this bad-boy is a whole different story. This is not your afternoon jaunt, it is a wake up at 6 in the morning, 3 inch steel spikes on the shoes, ice pike to stay upright, calf-burning, sweating to freezing instantly, slide down on your ass kinda climb.

After 6 hours of only uphill walking we reached the summit. It went from so hot I though I would die to instantly freezing. The massive crater of the volcano and the amazing view where we could even see Argentina from the top all made us do one thing... eat. I would normally rule this picture bad since the bottom corner has my finger in it, but I think it clarifies how extremely cold it was at the top and how I had to wear huge mittens just to take pictures.

I can finally cross climbing a volcano of my bucket list. It was all fun because I got to end this adventure with the longest possible sled ride of my life, off a 2900 meter mountain.

Drab Thy Name is El Quisco

Winter time in the sleepy coastal vacation town of El Quisco sucks. It's so dead in El Quisco, when you try to go out to their discoteca located inside of a castle, the bouncer will not let you in. Nor will any locations serving food be open when you would like to eat there. Thus forcing you to grovel around local houses for sandwich (which they will not provide). While El Quisco may not have a lot going for it, its beachfront most certainly does. From the colorful docks to the tide pools, there is a lot to love about the coast there.

The fishermen of El Quisco are friendly and helpful. The bright color of the boats and buildings in the tiny seaport make for great picture taking. Its always interesting though how some things can be bland but amazing as subjects.

Since the bay at El Quisco is rocky and not sandy, the water isn't filled with particles. Thus the water is extremely clear and multicolored. Add that to the fact that it is almost impossible to not take a picture of a pelican and you wind up with a picture like this one.

This crustacean is a member of the Chiton family, but I rather enjoy thinking of it as Georgia O'Keeffe's attempt to design an animal.

Finally, no trip to El Quisco would be complete without a visit to the (not as fresh as you would like) produce market. And with all things Quiscoy, why not take a picture of chili peppers (which are not spicy in the slightest) to use as a metaphor of the potential the El Quisco portrays versus the lasting kick that El Quisco is in actuality.

Conquering Pochoco

Cerro Pochoco is a cliff. It doesn't mess around. If you want to climb a mountain the quickest way possible, take the trail up Pochoco. It's straight up: no turns, no slight down hills, and no solid footing. Its physically a killer, putting Santiago's famed Cerro San Cristobal to much shame. The only thing that is really scary about Pochoco is getting back down. Once again proving to me that hiking boots were a solid investment. So Pochoco brought it's A game - I stared it back in the eyes and conquered it.

I also have to put this picture up, which looks literally like something one would see in an issue of GQ trying to sell [fake] Ray-Bans.

Pictures by Elias

You know you can always Dry-Dock your Freighter to my Mooring

A boat tour of the Valparaiso harbor gave me an opportunity to see shipping infrastructure up-close and personal. Going on a harbor tour with someone from Maine who has an odd obsession with boats is even better.

If you've read this blog in the past, then you have probably thought "Brian is a decent enough photographer and he has some pretty interesting subject matter. I have seen him take pictures of water mammals, of birds in flight, and of shipping moorings; but there is absolutely no way he could do all three at once." You don't even know.

The nicest part of shipping infrastructure is its bright colors. It always nice to have the pictures practically take themselves. Plus a sunny day always helps.

La Rivalidad Entre Hermanos

Mi Familia Chileano le gusta rivalidad. Todos los dias, Lufe, Celeste, y Anibal peleamos sobre subjutos tontos. Me gusta que esten loco para un oportunidad ganar. Por ejemplo:

Fotos de Celeste

Valpo is to Viña as Wicked is to______?

I'm going back, back, to Valpo, Valpo.

Seriously, both Viña del Mar and Valparaiso rock. Its hard not to have a fun time in these two cities. They really could not be more different as well. Valpo has kind of a Favela feel, but much safer. Viña on the other side has a Venice Beach style, giving you the sense that you can't afford to live there.

The streets of Viña are calm and peaceful. I did find out though that if you laugh continuously for 7 minutes straight, the table of people next to you will request a table on the other side of the restaurant because you are killing their Viña vibe.

What pisses me off the most is how insanely photogenic Shep-D is. I took pictures of him with his sand lizard, and literally every single one turned out amazing. On the other hand I made people take 100 pictures of me so I could get a good profile picture, and all I got was like 4.

The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Chile

I mean everyone blogs about the sights, but I would like to talk about the smells for a while. Santiago is a mixed bag. In order to express the smells of Santiago I have made a list of the smells I regularly happen upon, from best to worst.

1.) Panaderia/Cafe - I love bread, so the smell of fresh baked bread rocks. Plus cafe is always pleasant to smell walking by as well

2.) Tide - The washing machine is right outside my room = awesome

3.) Cigarettes - Everyone smokes to some capacity here, and I find the smell pleasing when fresh and icky when old. Break time means you get blasted with it while walking home.

4.) Fried Street Food - While the occasional sopapilla is a treat, it start to wear on me after breathing in empanadas for several hours at a time

5.) B.O. - I walk so much here, its bound to happen

6.) Car Fumes/Smog - A little is okay, but this city was made to make sure you experience the black lung without even one day in the mines.

7.) Fish Markets - They are randomly placed around the city just to remind you that Chile is chuck full of beach.

8.) Sewer - Maybe its a big city thing, maybe its because there are a lot of stray dogs, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you and reminds you that you live in a freaking huge city with a ton of people eating on the daily.