PATAGONIA

Alrighty folks, this last week has been remarkable!!! So last Wednesday we went and watched the soccer game and it was so insane! The game was incredible, the fans crazy loud and had so much energy. I learned some songs that were for the team and it was cool. It was also great because the team's side we were on (La Universidad de Chile) ended winning 3-2. Such a great game! Walking to our hostal was crazy because the other team Colo-Colo was harassing already (and we went to the wrong gate which was pretty histerical and were yelled at like "you're an embarrassment for wearing that shirt" and much worse). There were coppers every direction and tanks on the entrances of the stadium. Afterward was fine though because we stayed 30 minutes after the game talking with Chileans and singing to our victory. I still don't know all the parts of the song but they were pretty fun/weird. They call the goalie a shark when he makes a great save and one of their forwards a puma porque he is so fast. Then there were some bad songs having to do with the other team's mother. The experience is so different than you expect it; there is smoke of all kinds there and the people mosh and it's rowdy fun. I AM SO BUMMED though because I got an awesome banner for Scotty's present and left it at the hostal in the morning. Sorry Scotty I guess you're out of luck.

After that night, we cruised back Thursday morning and left that afternoon for Puerto Montt so we could catch our flight out Friday morning to Coyhaique. While the group was going to Patagonia, we missed our dear Kate and Adrian while they went up to Santiago, Vina del Mar, and Valpo for some city life. While they were enjoying their life kicking it on rooftops, beaches, and with Starbucks we went soared into the mountain dreamland. . .

Coyhaique was a cute little town where we stayed the night we got in after looking at some rivers and eating. Then the next day waited to a bus (bus system in Chile is horrible) and what was supposed to leave at 9 am left at 6 pm. While the boys and Maddy went to the plaza to get on their facebooks, Allison and I went to the Reserva Nacional Coyhaique and bombed it up a gorgeous trail. The drive in itself to the trail head was amazing. The trail was cool but very wide and not too hard (although still out of shape for backpacking as I'd see the next day). We saw some gorgeous views, birds, a haunted house, lake, and the Edges up eating. Grabbed a snack and chatted with them and then went back down the road to meet the group to ride to the next town Villa Cerra Castillo.

On the van/bus were two guys from the Santiago area going to the same place. Andres and Cristolbol are by far the two of the funniest and nicest guys I've met here. They're doing a cool doctors without borders kind of thing in rural parts of Chile and traveling on the weekends. The bus ride was beautiful, as I feel all of them will be. Once we got into the town we discovered that it was very small with the main restaurant being built in a bus called La Cocina on the side of the road (still good and cheap though), and without service. We talked to some Israelis who'd just been on the mountain we wanted to go up and heard that the Laguna Verde we were planning on going to was beautiful but there were cliffs that people usually got lost on and not possible to do in one day. I was the only one who had a sleeping bag and would stay out so the girls decided the next day we'd go up and try to make it, then if not I'd have my stuff and camp out while they'd turn back (while the boys went fishing and had major success).


The next morning we woke up at 4:30 to leave with our headlamps and start the trail. The trailhead is behind someone's property, through the cow corrals, to the right of a bridge, past a stream and at the end of the rainbow. But we ended up finding the path and the day was phenomenal. We were on top of a mountain in the meadow when the sun came up. The view was breath taking the entire way- the view at the top of Cerro Castillo could see all the mountain ranges, river, plateaus, river basins, and Puerto Ibanez that was 95 kilometer away; pure gorgeousness. Words, pictures, and stories can't describe it because my eyes couldn't even believe it. And then Laguna Verde...I've never seen such contrasting green and blue against a gray rock. It was magnificent. While we ate our lunch at the lake part of the glacier broke off and cascaded down the waterfall and rocks into the lake. Such a powerful sound that was layered with a graceful breeze so it was incredible to watch. It was like a fantasy where only my heart, and sore legs, told me that it was reality.

The hike altogether was about 13 miles (3 of those spent "exploring"). We got back and ate and went out for more adventures again. The foreign night was amazing with the canopy of stars overhead. And the sunsets and sunrises created a time table that kept you smiling from start to end... The next day we woke up and wanted to go to Puerto Tranquilo to see marble caves but found out that there was no bus back the next day (hence making it a possibility to miss our plane ride). I was all for hitchhiking back and I'm still convinced we could've made it back but nobody would go with me so I was persuaded to stay, which was fine though because we went fishing (those caves looked amazing though). The fish was FABulous (I hoped you imagined me saying that in a high voice). Prepare yourself for this video of the fish coming to the top of the river where there wasn't even any vegetation! Don't have a heart attack Papa.

Also we talked to this guy from Detroit in the airport who went on a 10 day fishing excursion and caught brown trout bigger than 20 inches, he lost count in a day of how many 20"ers and bigger that he caught. Insanity. After we fished the hole we ate, read, fished some more, and jumped in to swim. Some funny stories always and Brian dove from above which was pretty good.

We left to go back for an actual dinner, somthing not just pan and pears. Then we went and hiked a couple miles to a Native American site. Sadly it was closed but we weren't going to let that stop us so we jumped the fence to get to the trail anyway (Maddy was still a good soul and left some money under the door). It was called El Paredon de Las Manos. On the way there we saw this beautiful gorge and then this little part where we entertained ourselves with a game of Cowboys and Indians. The rocks there were amazing to look at, painted with history of life. . .

On the way back the sunset was magnificent again. I love the group and got to know them so much more this trip. We played a game of what you'd be with people as:

Mitchell: fish-changed to horse

home grown steak

redwood tree

Brian: bird

rice pilaf

river

Allison: rabbit

fruit salad with yogurt

glacier

Maddy: sea turtle

slice of rye bread

wind

Kate: seagle

white chocolate mocha starbucks

vine

Adrian: beagle puppy

enchilda

pineapple

Me: monkey

chili relleno with cheese

cloud

BUT the last fishing video couldn't load :( sorry (I'll try to do it next time again and see if it works) and there's a thunder storm here we want to go check out before we go to the movies and go celebrating [finished class 2 this morning with a final---AND I got an A in my last class so it proves I'm actually working here too!!!]

Anyways I love you all and I'll get back on here in a couple of days or less to finish my Patagonia stories. Miss you all!