A map

Perhaps you would like to see where I've been.  Here is a very low tech map with all the locations in Chile I have or will go to.  I'll try to update periodically.

Double Lives

We live two lives. As travelers we travel. As workers we work and relax—we are settled. Two weeks passed as workers and it was as if our bodies had forgotten their former lives. What is this movement? What happened to sitting at the table until ten and conquering the invasive thistle menace until lunch? Where are the dishes to be done? The bread to break—so much bread was baked? All that, gone. No we move. Only how?

Leaving Daniel's farm left us puzzled. No bus would stop. One passed, another—no that one's in the other direction. Ten more pass going the wrong way. Now it's been an hour on the side of the highway. We sing songs. Soon we wonder if it's possible. Yes? What do you think Caitlin, should we? My thumb twitches. Soon it even flicks up. She gives me a look—Caitlin must have seen—now there is no choice. Defiant against my churning insides my finger flies. “Oye” a man cries, “he's waiting for you!” And so he was. The truck had pulled over, how strange, did he expect us to get on? Marcelo takes us to Temuco—two hours, 0 pesos, good conversation about how chile is dangerous, “We must be careful.” (Marcelo leaves his car running with two hitchhikers when he goes shopping).Now we are savvy city folk again. A minibus here, some urban hiking there—no problem. We arrive at Santa Isabel, the supermarket.

The next two days we spent with Anji and Danny, two old friends of Caitlin's from her time as an exchange student here five years ago. They expected us to be fun, go out and dance. We performed. Left the house at midnight, danced, came home at five. Missed the earthquake (5.8) thanks to the dancing. Slept until one. Luckily we didn't have to do it again. Here they explain the crazy schedule as a vestige of the dictatorship. As it goes, because of the curfew people would go out, and have to stay out until morning. I think it's more an imitation of Europe than anything else. It's their only hold out against becoming American's (They already have free trade, and lots of malls—we even went four times in two days!)

One pair of shoes and two movies later we left. Now, couchsurfing in Puerto Varas is reaffirming again my faith in our species. This is really a tourist town, complete with the best chocolate shop in Chile, and we know the owner. Vicky Johnson is the consummate entrepreneur, and bizarrely trusting of us—I guess that's a good thing.  As with the nature of this entire trip we going to take the next week by the seat of our pants.  We might stay here a week working in Vicky's B&B or we might leave for Chiloe which promises two or more weeks of work which may or may not include doing something with snails.  

All is well.  We are reading a lot of Steinbeck (me Grapes of Wrath, Caitlin East of Eden), and thinking about the nature of life.  

Thanks for reading and send me notes!   

Internal Logic

So much has happened in a short time!  Gone from Valparaiso—endless travel in buses with Caitlin playing word games and musing about everything (why do we binge on mints while traveling?)—now we have even left Lumaco (read Caitlin's post between-n-betwixt.blogspot.com), but how to speak of it all and not bore you?!  I won't! 

Today I hoed thistle.  It was the start of something good.  I hope.  It was the first of what will be many  days working on the Tralcao Park Farm with Daniel.  Although he no longer has his vegetable garden, or hog farm, or yogurt business, or many other projects he once had for that matter, the place still has the potential to be a fabulous first WWOOF experience.  There will be some work, but as Daniel's many projects have died off over the last 26 years there is less and less to do that is strictly speaking ´farm work´.  But he isn't concerned.  In fact, his demeanor is probably the most interesting thing about this place.  Who knew that when thrust into southern Chile after little more than a week I would be in the company of a chain-smoking-Ohioan-former-hippie with more than an hour monologue on almost any topic?  That of course is not to say that they are uninteresting monologues; who doesn't want to learn a little more about dog training?  Or the end of the world for that matter. . . (both conversations we had late into the night yesterday).  Whether his advice or predictions about the world are sage (be sustainable!) or from a Blade-Runner dystopian universe (The era of robots will mark the transformation of human spirituality, and it will be good) it makes for interesting listening.

As for important Chilean news, the miners are all being saved from the mine in the north.  The news cycle is 24/7 taken up with this story.  The people are all glued to the TV everywhere.  I still don't completely know why.  Daniel blames it on the inhumanity of the former dictatorship (finally the world cares about the little man).  I'm not sure. 

Pictures are coming super soon (maybe even today. . .)

  

And write me!  

Logistics and Tufted Cathedrals

Hello everyone!

It is now five days since I arrived in chile for the start of my yearlong voyage with Caitlin. I realize that I haven't really given a description of the trip, and that if for a couple reasons but mainly it is because all of our plans are fluid. The refrain thus far has been “we're really flexible” and I imagine it will stay that way. But for those of you who might want something more concrete here is a basic and tentative plan for the next few weeks:

6^thoct-8^th Valparaiso (Hostal Casa Aventura)

8^th-12^th Lumaco-Temuco (Old host family and friends of Caitlin's)

12^th-28^th Valdivia (Tralcao park/farm work)

28^th-15^th nov. We will either be on the Island of Chiloe or Couch Surfing in Puerto Montt/Puerto Varas

15^th-7^th dec. Torres del Paine

Also for those of you looking to contact us for some reason by phone we now have a number! It is +56 9 68637288.

Good! Now that housekeeping is out of the way we can get onto the real fun stuff. Well it's actually late and I don't think I will get to much of that that yet. But so far we've had a great time. Nothing too crazy has happened, just the usual spotting of dilapidated, decapitated, and tufted cathedrals. And the occasional street juggler (except here instead of being on the sidewalk, they are actually in the middle of the street. . .) catches our eye. After a wonderful four days spent Couch Surfing with a political science professor, which completely reaffirmed my faith in humanity, we have arrived in Valparaiso, which is a beautiful and very eclectic port town about two hours from Santiago. It is filled with precarious houses and improbable staircases leading up the winding hills of this really colorful city. Other than the murals with pro lesbian graffiti, there is little in common with Santiago, which is a bustling metropolis covered in smog (still worth going to though). But with the idyllic beauty come more tourists and thus more pickpockets. On more than one occasion the inhabitants of one neighborhood warned us to go no further lest we be very careful with our belongings. We did not have to be told twice—this was so eerie it could have been out of a horror film. So we through ourselves down a steep flight of stairs, and five minutes later we were back in the safety of the crowd, shunted through the grand Plaza Sotomayor.

Hope to hear from some of you soon. . . I love getting emails!