A Life Abroad

View of the city from my Providencia apt

I apologize for the absence of posts for more than a few weeks now…Unfortunately, life tends to get in the way of some of our extracurricular hobbies and it has certainly been a busy one for me as of late.
But now, after beginning to find a balance and routine, I have finally begun to feel a bit more settled in a new life abroad.



Backtracking a few weeks, I was so privileged to be part of the Wanderlust Chile festival in mid- February.  3 days filled with yoga, music, nature and community in the beauty of Termas de Chillan (in the South of Chile). The yoga was blissful, the music vivacious and the energy contagious and, fortunately for me, I made some very dear friends from the experience.

Wanderlust Chile

In addition to new friends, I had the opportunity to experience a traditional Temazcal ceremony during the festival. Temazcal in Spanish refers to the small enclosed structure where hot stones are introduced, over which is poured an infusion of medicinal plants and water to produce steam. This creates a type of "sweat lodge" or sauna in which people are gathered inside for a ceremony led by a spiritual guide who uses chants, visualizations and meditation exercises among other tactics that serve to guide the emotions and group dynamics. The Temazcal is recognized as a place of ritual ceremony that improves the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual being.  Percussion instruments and songs help participants release and express emotions, while assisting in the focus of the true purpose; connecting with mother nature. I am fascinated with learning about new spiritual activities and, this one in particular, was so impactful for its ability to open my heart, connect with the energy of the people around me and connect with mother nature. A few weeks later in Santiago, we were able to reunite with a Temazcal in Cajon del Maipo. I feel very lucky that I have been able to take part in this ritual both times amongst the majestic beauty of mountains and greenery.

Temazcal in Cajon del Maipo

Also in February, I had a wonderful visit with my mom who traveled over from the States. We spent two jam packed weeks touring Santiago, enjoying very fine cuisine, escaping to the Atacama desert for the weekend and relaxing along the coast in Valparaiso. It was so special to share my Chilean life with family from home and have a familiar face around. Definitely bittersweet to say goodbye at the end, but I have the excitement of looking forward to another family visit from my sister very soon.

Me and mom in Valparaiso

Now, back in Santiago and finding my groove, I have spent the last few weeks balancing a full time job with meeting new friends, taking advantage of the still-summer weather with outdoor runs and al fresco dining, teaching and practicing yoga (more on that later), planning some upcoming travel and even filming a commercial that will run in the USA in the spring!

Summer nights in the city

So it seems, the gypsy has found a state of being, staying in one place and creating a "normal life" at least for the moment….

Where I rest my head: Valparaiso, Chile

Ever since I caught a glimpse of Valparaiso during my trip to Viña del Mar a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to return to explore more of what the beautiful coastal city had to offer. A friend at school, Anna, said she´d be up for joining me so we set out after classes on Friday for the 90 minute bus ride towards the ocean. Upon arrival we managed to navigate the public bus system and Ascensor up to the neighborhood of Cerro Concepcion where our hostal was located. Alas, the real adventure started when we tried to check in and there was no record of our reservation. When I pulled it up on my email, I realized I had actually booked us for Monday-Wednesday of the following week, perhaps it had been a late night before....regardless, they had space for us for the night in a mixed dorm room, which we happily took. My friend Will, who had previously lived in Valpo for a few years, had given me another recommendation for a hostal in the area, so we set out to find that one and ensure we had a place to stay on Saturday. Lucky for us, Will´s recommendation turned out to be this fantastic little place made up of all private rooms with balconies overlooking the harbor, we were ecstatic to have an awesome bed booked for the following night.

Where I rest my head:
Location: Hostal Casa Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile. This was a very adequate hostal in a perfect location on Cerro Concepcion. The staff is super friendly and helpful and we met up with a lot of like-minded travelers who wanted to explore the city and the nightlife together. The free breakfast int he morning is the best I´ve seen at any hostal, including scrambled eggs and juice!
Length of Stay: 1 night

Outside of view of Hostal Casa Valparaiso

Dorm room in Hostal Casa Valparaiso

Location: La Maison du Filou, Valparaiso, Chile. A very quaint and comfortable hostal with just 5 guestrooms also located on Cerro Concepcion, this was the perfect place to get a little more quiet and a really nice room while still on a budget. The manager was a bit odd at times, but super friendly and helpful all the same. It wasn´t social at all though, so we were happy to have made some friends the first night that we could hang with for the remainder of the weekend.
Length of Stay: 1 night

La Maison du Filou room with a view!

Aside from our hostal mishap, the rest of our trip continued perfectly. The weather was perfection and we spent both Friday afternoon and Saturday day walking though the city, exploring the amazing winding roads and spectacular street art, taking in the impressive views at the top of the Cerro´s and even setting out on a short boat ride around the harbor with some of our new hostal friends. We also had the pleasure of visiting one of Pablo Nerudo´s houses up in the hills of Valpo which they´ve turned into a bit of a museum complete with audio walking tour. Of course being next to the ocean ensures some delicious and fresh seafood meals. On Friday night, we treated ourselves to an awesome fish dinner and a bottle of wine at a restaurant we had read about in Lonely Planet, Caruso. The staff was friendly and the fish, baked in foil with tomatoes and onions was muy rico! On Saturday afternoon, we stopped for, yet, some more fish for lunch at a recommendation in one of the plaza´s near the Port. Saturday night, we really wanted to try to eat at this super trendy spot, Pasta e Vino, but being a budget traveler, and the fact that it is super popular and had no available reservations, ensured we didn´t blow our whole weekend´s $$ on the meal. Instead, we asked if we could sit at the bar for a glass of wine and entrada, which was perfect since we were able to chat with the bartender, take in the ambience and have more than enough to eat on a budget! Following dinner, we met back up with some new friends from our first hostal for a night on the town, which was a blast and I ended up being the only American in the group which was certainly a first, it was like the United Nations with friends from Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Chile all together... and like Santiago going out in Valpo means dancing until well past 4am....it was wonderful to have a lazy day Sunday to rest and enjoy some sunshine before heading back to Santiago for my final week....I can´t believe it, I´m so sad to leave but I know there are some amazing adventures upcoming!

winding streets filled with graffiti art

a fun boat ride around the harbor

out on the town!

Where I Rest My Head: Viña del Mar, Chile

To escape the often brutal summer heat in Santiago, me and a group of new friends decided to venture towards the coast for an ocean breeze in Viña del Mar, a beach town about 90 minutes west of Santiago on the Pacific. The weekend was filled with relaxing days at the beach, beautiful sites and of course some fresh fish. Luckily, because the sun sets no earlier than 9pm, we still had time to hit the beach when we arrived Friday afternoon. This beach, La Playa del Sur, was packed with families and young people on their summer vacations. In general, Viña is comparable to a smaller, Chilean version of Miami Beach crossed with Atlantic City. Many wealthier Chileans have condos here that they use on the weekends and in the summer and the city itself is very commercialized. Nevertheless, it was amazing to get a break from the city and dip our toes in the Pacific. I say dip with complete literal meaning as the water was freezing, more so than I´ve ever felt the ocean in California, or even Lake Michigan. My teacher told me that it is due to the glaciers in Antarctica moving up through the ocean, or something similar to that effect, who knows.. I might have gotten things really confused in the translation...

Playa del Sol 

Looks like Miami Beach, no?

The rest of our weekend was filled with nights on the town, a trip to Renaca, a different beach about 15 minutes by bus (which was beautiful!) and even a trip to the sand dunes, which was my favorite part! Of course my camera died at that point, so I´ll post pics later of me sandboarding down, it was a blast. In Viña, we stayed at a hostel where we had a chance to meet other young travelers from Israel, Chile, Brazil, Australia and more....This is "where I rest my head":

 

Location: Viña del Mar, Chile
Accomodation: Kalagen Hostel, a clean and comfortable hostel located on busy Valparaiso street, this was an ideal location to call home for the trip. The staff was friendly and helpful, there were other like-minded travelers also staying there and "breakfast" was included. Our group all took spots in one of the 8-room mixed dorms and because there were 5 of us, we nearly filled it entirely. It was an excellent and affordable accomodation for the weekend and I would recommend it to other budget travelers looking to stay in Viña.
Length of Stay: 2 nights

Me and Lori

It was also a treat in Viña to meet up with a new friend I had recently met in New York before I left, Lori. She is traveling around South America for 2 months on a career break as well and it was so fun to cross paths for the weekend. I´m sure she was even more excited to see me since I ended up accompanying her on a quick trip to the local hospital clinic due to a reaction she had to some medicine given to her in Argentina. It was certainly an adventure and luckily she felt better later on to enjoy the rest of our weekend!

On our last day in Viña, we took a day trip over to Valparaiso, a neighboring city, which I would love to go back and spend more time at. It is a really vibrant city filled with so much character and incredible street art. We didn´t have too much time, but we were able to ride up one of the ascensor´s that takes you up into the hills where you experience a great view of the city. We also had lunch at this amazing little spot, thank you Lonely Planet, where I had fresh fish and salad for about $5 US, can´t beat that! 

Riding up the ascensor

Spectacular street art

At the top, a view of the city

This week, I´ll be practicing my Español, touring other neighborhoods in and around Santiago and visiting a winery outside the city. I think I´ll be staying in town for the weekend as well, more updates soon!
Besos xx

Sunset in Viña del Mar