Chile tastes good :

Chile, Day 18

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The dogs were fairly quiet last night. Just a couple of ?soft bursts? of barking at around 1:30 and 4 a.m., but nothing too irritating. Since I?d arranged to take another tour today, I had to wake up at 7:30, shower, eat, and prep what few things I?d[...]

Chile, Day 11

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It was nice waking up today under a cool, cloudy sky. All the more so after getting a night?s sleep that wasn?t interrupted by guests, receptionists, traffic, or loud sea birds. I grabbed a quick breakfast, which the hostel owner provided, and she[...]

Chile, Day 17

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The dogs were at it again last night. From midnight to one a.m., and again from four to five a.m., the neighborhood dogs erupted into continuous barking. Why no one tries to shut the dogs up is beyond me, unless most of Castro is deaf. I took a[...]

Chile, Day 21

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Women on the corner of Santiago's Monjitas and Mosqueto streets, celebrating their new president. Well, as many of you probably know already, Chile elected a new president today: Sebastian Pinera, a Harvard-educated billionaire who,[...]

Chile, Day 20

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Sleep. I need more sleep. Last night some kind of disco near the hostel where I was staying started blasting dance music at midnight and didn?t stop until 5 a.m. Then the drunks came out, singing loudly, followed by a chorus of dogs barking at them.[...]

Chile, Day 19

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Osorno Volcano looking out over Lake Llanquihue. Today I left Castro, in Isla Grande de Chiloe (it?s South America?s second-largest island), rather reluctantly. I really liked Chiloe, but I felt like I?d seen much of what there was to[...]

Chile, Day 10

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Valparaiso from a restaurant perch . Today I traveled by bus from La Serena to Valparaiso. Since the bus was scheduled to leave at 11:35, I woke up at 8, took a shower, and headed a block away for breakfast to Café Colonial, which I knew[...]

Chile, Day 15

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Today was spent traveling: by plane, taxi, and bus; from Valparaiso, to Santiago, to Puerto Montt, and finally to Castro. Altogether I was traveling for 13 hours, and by the time I arrived in Castro it was 10:30 p.m. (and barely dark outside).[...]

Chile, Day 14

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After yesterday?s long trip, and getting too much sun without quite knowing how, I woke up in the morning feeling more tired than I had felt before going to bed. After breakfast and a shower, neither of which woke me up, I decided to lay low for the[...]

Chile, Day 12

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For some reason I like this piece of graffiti-art . I got a late start today, mostly because I was dreading the hills that awaited me. Also, my feet were sore and tired and I didn?t have a lot on my travel agenda today. When I did leave ?[...]