On Sunday, 26.11, we flew from Santiago to Bariloche via Puerto Montt. The Andes are spectacular. It was cloudy, so we only had occasional views. They are like the Rockies in that they have large peaks. But they are also like Oregon with the volcanic cones. Many of the cones are new. They are unique in that there are spikes of rock at the top of the peaks.
When we left Santiago, it was hard to get cool. Here, we are pulling out our warm clothes from the luggage. It is springtime in the mountains. Santiago was hot summer. From our hotel room we see a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
We had excellent paella last night at a Spanish restaurant (as in a restaurant that serves cuisine typical for the country of Spain). Afterwards, we visited a chocolotateria. Bariloche is known for its chocolate and it did not disappoint. After breakfast and getting provisions, we head north.
Monday, November 27, 2006
student dinner
We had a dinner class at Boris and Lydia´s house. The students gathered. Boris and Lydia administer and teach at the school. They also provide housing and a family environment for students that want more intensive immersion. The preparation of the dinner was an opportunity to listen to lots of Spanish in a realatively familiar environment and hear about the food of Chile. Speaking with the students was fascinating.
on learning Spanish
-Learning Spanish is a great leveler. Socially, "foreigners" don´t seem foreign. In the United States, we have a mixture of people from all countries. "Foreigners" are those with clothing that is different and accents. Even if a person is fluent in English, it´s the accent that makes them sound foreign. Here, in Santiago, I am aware that my appearance is different with my quasi-backpacking clothing and oversized knapsack. When many "foreigners" get together to speak Spanish, we all have accents, the accent of not being able to correctly pronunciate Spanish. Listening to the basic Spanish of an Iranian or Brazilian or Taiwanese doesn´t sound noticably different than speaking with my wife in Spanish. (Although speaking to the Chinaman at the Chinese restaurant was somehow different.)
-a fair number of English words have been imported into Spanish and translate directly, "Internet," "trek," and "camping." Others translate directly, but are difficult to recognize. In Spanish, the English "h" sound is not pronounced. "Shorts" doesn´t sound at all like "shorts." "HBO" is "hacha-baay-ohh."
-it´s easier to make myself understood than it is to understand someone else, especially if the other person isn´t acting out the communication or if if I can´t see his or her lips (telephone).
-to say a few words or expressions is relatively easy. To actually speak and converse is much more difficult.
-learning Spanish can be an ego crusher. I feel like a baby that hears language all around me; yet I don´t understand and can´t express myself. When I do speak and am understood, I am excited. However, my teachers patiently remind me of the use of verbs, consistency of nouns and adjectives, and consistency of verbs and prepositions.
-even if you say the right words, you may not have communicated. I am unsure of my Spanish. Usually I change my choice of words to help the other person understand. But often I find I need to speak louder, pronunciate more distinctly--or simply have the other person look at me and pay attention. As I talk to Dawn in English, I realize she frequently doesn´t understand me, especially the first time I say something.
-the diversity of the Spanish language suprises me. Chileans take pride in their Chiliesmos. Many times I say things and the response from my teachers is, That´s a real word of expression, but it is not common here. My question is, have I learned the Spanish of Spain and that is the problem--or is my Spanish old, bookish, or stilted? I know that Argentinians say things different than Chileanos. Chile: Son diez para doce. Argentina: Son doce moenos diez. English: ten to twelve or eleven-fifty.
-one class, we were looking at cartoon facial expressions that expressed emotions. We were trying to describe them and learn the related Spanish word. A German student said she couldn´t think of the right German word. The teacher said that was not important. It was important to know the meaning of the Spanish word.
-a fair number of English words have been imported into Spanish and translate directly, "Internet," "trek," and "camping." Others translate directly, but are difficult to recognize. In Spanish, the English "h" sound is not pronounced. "Shorts" doesn´t sound at all like "shorts." "HBO" is "hacha-baay-ohh."
-it´s easier to make myself understood than it is to understand someone else, especially if the other person isn´t acting out the communication or if if I can´t see his or her lips (telephone).
-to say a few words or expressions is relatively easy. To actually speak and converse is much more difficult.
-learning Spanish can be an ego crusher. I feel like a baby that hears language all around me; yet I don´t understand and can´t express myself. When I do speak and am understood, I am excited. However, my teachers patiently remind me of the use of verbs, consistency of nouns and adjectives, and consistency of verbs and prepositions.
-even if you say the right words, you may not have communicated. I am unsure of my Spanish. Usually I change my choice of words to help the other person understand. But often I find I need to speak louder, pronunciate more distinctly--or simply have the other person look at me and pay attention. As I talk to Dawn in English, I realize she frequently doesn´t understand me, especially the first time I say something.
-the diversity of the Spanish language suprises me. Chileans take pride in their Chiliesmos. Many times I say things and the response from my teachers is, That´s a real word of expression, but it is not common here. My question is, have I learned the Spanish of Spain and that is the problem--or is my Spanish old, bookish, or stilted? I know that Argentinians say things different than Chileanos. Chile: Son diez para doce. Argentina: Son doce moenos diez. English: ten to twelve or eleven-fifty.
-one class, we were looking at cartoon facial expressions that expressed emotions. We were trying to describe them and learn the related Spanish word. A German student said she couldn´t think of the right German word. The teacher said that was not important. It was important to know the meaning of the Spanish word.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thanksgiving photos
We were in Spanish class during Thanksgiving day. For the morning class we went to a street market. For the afternoon, we went to a cafe to practice ordering in Spanish and drink cortados (coffee specialty drink). The pumpkins (zapallo) were as close as we got to pumpkin pie. There were no turkeys (pavos).
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving
We are still at school at 5.30. People are very friendly. For our afternoon class, we walked around the neighborhood, Bellavista. The teacher asked us questions like where is the school from here and where is Cerro St. Cristobal; he directed us to do things like turn right at the next corner. We entered shops and learned the names of different products and talked with the shopkeepers. Át the emporium, they had pate of ostrich and coffee made from quinoa and another of pinon nuts. We went to an artisans plaza and had a local specialty coffee (a cortado which is half coffee and half milk) while we talked about travel and life. Because it was our class, of course, we only spoke Spanish.
This morning we went to the local street market to learn the names of flowers, vegetables, fruits and different types of seafood. While we talked with one of the fruit vendors, Emilio, he offered us pieces of his fruit. The market was beside the river under some trees. Some local specialties included chirimoya and lucamá. They have a saying here that even the poor eat like the rich. I think it is true; the fruit was some of the freshest, largest and sweetest I have ever tasted--and the price was very reasonable. There is plenty of room for confusion. We know that Spanish for avocados is aguacate from our travels in Mexico. But here, they use an Aztec word, plata.
This morning we awoke and had breakfast with five other people staying at the house, the two proprietors, Boris and Lydia and three students. The students are from Florida, Japan and Iran. We are only allowed to speak in Spanish. Then we walked as a group to the a station where we jumped into cabs to the center of the city where we walked to the school. We visited with a travel agency where they only speak Spanish, paid for a reservation and received some information we had requested.
The student body is very diverse. We have conversed in Spanish with people from: Germany, Iran, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, the States, Brazil, and Australia. The method of teaching Spanish is similar to teaching a child to speak a language. We learn by being around our hosts (mama and papa) and listening to them speak with the older children (more advanced students). We learn in class by looking at photos of objects and listen to the teacher tell us about them. The teacher asks us what we did last night, how we are, etc. We have homework and typically work on it at 11 p.m.
Well, the day isn't over....
People here are somewhat familiar with Thanksgiving, el dia de Acción de Gracias. A turkey is el pavo. However, Santiago is known for its seafood, so we plan to go to the Mercado for our Thanksgiving meal.
This morning we went to the local street market to learn the names of flowers, vegetables, fruits and different types of seafood. While we talked with one of the fruit vendors, Emilio, he offered us pieces of his fruit. The market was beside the river under some trees. Some local specialties included chirimoya and lucamá. They have a saying here that even the poor eat like the rich. I think it is true; the fruit was some of the freshest, largest and sweetest I have ever tasted--and the price was very reasonable. There is plenty of room for confusion. We know that Spanish for avocados is aguacate from our travels in Mexico. But here, they use an Aztec word, plata.
This morning we awoke and had breakfast with five other people staying at the house, the two proprietors, Boris and Lydia and three students. The students are from Florida, Japan and Iran. We are only allowed to speak in Spanish. Then we walked as a group to the a station where we jumped into cabs to the center of the city where we walked to the school. We visited with a travel agency where they only speak Spanish, paid for a reservation and received some information we had requested.
The student body is very diverse. We have conversed in Spanish with people from: Germany, Iran, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, the States, Brazil, and Australia. The method of teaching Spanish is similar to teaching a child to speak a language. We learn by being around our hosts (mama and papa) and listening to them speak with the older children (more advanced students). We learn in class by looking at photos of objects and listen to the teacher tell us about them. The teacher asks us what we did last night, how we are, etc. We have homework and typically work on it at 11 p.m.
Well, the day isn't over....
People here are somewhat familiar with Thanksgiving, el dia de Acción de Gracias. A turkey is el pavo. However, Santiago is known for its seafood, so we plan to go to the Mercado for our Thanksgiving meal.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
made it, Santiago
We made it to Santiago. It was a very long flight. From 10 p.m. from Atlanta, arriving 9 a.m. Santiago. I slept reasonably well. All our luggage made it. We are staying at the teacher´s house from the school. We are immersed in Spanish and Chilean culture. We are learning Spanish naturally, meaning Fernando spent Friday afternoon with us telling us about Chilean history, industry and geography. Yesterday we went on an excursion with other students to the countryside. We traveled by bus, subway, taxi and highway bus. We got to meet artisans making pottery, baskets and chairs. We ate typical Chilean food at the restaurant run by a friend of our hostess.
We are staying in the middle of a city of 5 million people. The house has a courtyard full of fruit trees. Today the students from the school are coming here to go to the market and prepare a meal. The weather is very comfortable. The Andes glisten with some snow remaining from winter. People are friendly. The taxi driver thanked us for the privilege of being the first to drive us in South America. Our hosts are Boris and Liddian. The grandparents of Boris are Russian and German. People are diverse. we met a member of the church of Latter Day Saints. In a country with 16 million peple, there are 18 milion cellphone accounts..
Tommorrow we start Spanish school for six hours per day. We will take the bus and metro to get to school. Class is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. My Spanish has kind of come back If someone speaks slowly to me, I can understand. I say a bunch of nouns and verbs and they understand me. We have students from States, Brazil, Australia and Iran.
We are staying in the middle of a city of 5 million people. The house has a courtyard full of fruit trees. Today the students from the school are coming here to go to the market and prepare a meal. The weather is very comfortable. The Andes glisten with some snow remaining from winter. People are friendly. The taxi driver thanked us for the privilege of being the first to drive us in South America. Our hosts are Boris and Liddian. The grandparents of Boris are Russian and German. People are diverse. we met a member of the church of Latter Day Saints. In a country with 16 million peple, there are 18 milion cellphone accounts..
Tommorrow we start Spanish school for six hours per day. We will take the bus and metro to get to school. Class is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. My Spanish has kind of come back If someone speaks slowly to me, I can understand. I say a bunch of nouns and verbs and they understand me. We have students from States, Brazil, Australia and Iran.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Map: Fishing Zones
We plan to visit each of the three major fishing zones in Patagonia. This region is generally regarded by fly fisherman as among the best in the world.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ready or Not?
Well, I packed today. Everything for two months rolled and folded, in two small bags. Fishing gear, clothes, fly tying kit, books, even laundry detergent. I am sure they won't seem small when I have to lug them all through Chile and Argentina. It has taken an entire month to assemble everything and sift through and pare down, and now it is all ready. 48 hours before flight time. The focus has been on the getting ready. Now, fairly quickly, the energy is shifting to the excitement of the great adventure. It feels like being in the starting gate, all the preparation done, just waiting for the gun, 'and they are off!'
Map: Travel Route
Here are the major cities we plan to visit:1. Santiago
2. Bariloche
3. Esquel
4. Puerto Montt
5. Puerto Natales
6. Punta Arenas
7. Rio Gallegos
8. Rio Grande
9. Ushuaia
The distance from Santiago to Ushuaia is about 1,500 miles. From Charleston to Santiago is about 5,100 miles.
Map: South America
Here's a map of South America. We are flying into Santiago and going south from there. The area we are going to is sometimes called the Lake District, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego; it's collectively called the Southern Horn.
Destination: Patagonia y Tierra del Fuego
In a couple of days, Dawn and I will travel to Santiago and begin our exploration of the "southern horn" of South America. We will be in the southern parts of Argentina and Chile in the areas known as Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
We anticipate seeing the sights, taking photographs, practicing Spanish, hiking the mountains, walking on glaciers, and, of course, fly fishing for trout. Patagonia is one of several international destinations renowned for their trout fly fishing. We anticipate spotting unique wildlife including penguins, large condor birds, and guanacos (like deer).
The climate will be warm and getting warmer as spring turns to summer. Because South America is in the southern hemisphere, November is similar to our May. We expect the Patagonia area to be similar to the western United States (Colorado and Montana) and Tierra del Fuego to be similar to Alaska. When Bonny and Clyde escaped from the West, they went to wild and rugged Patagonia, the land of gauchos and estancias. Chile is about 3,000 miles long; its western border is the Pacific coast and its eastern border, the continental divide running along the spine of the Andes. Chile will be ragged peaks, glaciers, islands and harbors. Argentina will be high desert plateau with crystal clear rivers running from the mountains. Tierra del Fuego, the scene of Darwin's voyages in the Beagle and innumerable shipwrecks, will be cool and windy
The fishing zones are described as northern, central and southern. See post, Map: Fishing Zones. The first two are in Patagonia and the southern is in Tierra del Fuego. The northern and central zones, around Bariloche (or officially San Carlos de Bariloche) are about 40 to 45 degrees south comparable to Colorado and Wyoming in the northern hemisphere. The southern zone is about 55 degrees, comparable to Kethikan, Alaska.
Our travel plans (see post, Map: Travel Route) are to fly to Santiago and spend about ten days tuning up our Spanish. We will be in class six hours per day for five days and stay at the "teachers' house." After that, we fly to Bariloche and will divide our time between the Junin and Esquel areas. Besides fishing, we will take hikes into the Andes peaks. Then we head west over the mountains to Puerto Montt in Chile, where we will embark on a ship that sails to Tierra del Fuego. We land at Puerto Natales where we will enter the national park, Torres del Paine. From there, we head south to Rio Gallegos and Rio Grande (towns and rivers). We hope to go as far south as Ushuaia. Finally, we fly from Punta Arenas to Santiago for the return flight to Atlanta and ultimately, home in West Virginia.
We anticipate seeing the sights, taking photographs, practicing Spanish, hiking the mountains, walking on glaciers, and, of course, fly fishing for trout. Patagonia is one of several international destinations renowned for their trout fly fishing. We anticipate spotting unique wildlife including penguins, large condor birds, and guanacos (like deer).
The climate will be warm and getting warmer as spring turns to summer. Because South America is in the southern hemisphere, November is similar to our May. We expect the Patagonia area to be similar to the western United States (Colorado and Montana) and Tierra del Fuego to be similar to Alaska. When Bonny and Clyde escaped from the West, they went to wild and rugged Patagonia, the land of gauchos and estancias. Chile is about 3,000 miles long; its western border is the Pacific coast and its eastern border, the continental divide running along the spine of the Andes. Chile will be ragged peaks, glaciers, islands and harbors. Argentina will be high desert plateau with crystal clear rivers running from the mountains. Tierra del Fuego, the scene of Darwin's voyages in the Beagle and innumerable shipwrecks, will be cool and windy
The fishing zones are described as northern, central and southern. See post, Map: Fishing Zones. The first two are in Patagonia and the southern is in Tierra del Fuego. The northern and central zones, around Bariloche (or officially San Carlos de Bariloche) are about 40 to 45 degrees south comparable to Colorado and Wyoming in the northern hemisphere. The southern zone is about 55 degrees, comparable to Kethikan, Alaska.
Our travel plans (see post, Map: Travel Route) are to fly to Santiago and spend about ten days tuning up our Spanish. We will be in class six hours per day for five days and stay at the "teachers' house." After that, we fly to Bariloche and will divide our time between the Junin and Esquel areas. Besides fishing, we will take hikes into the Andes peaks. Then we head west over the mountains to Puerto Montt in Chile, where we will embark on a ship that sails to Tierra del Fuego. We land at Puerto Natales where we will enter the national park, Torres del Paine. From there, we head south to Rio Gallegos and Rio Grande (towns and rivers). We hope to go as far south as Ushuaia. Finally, we fly from Punta Arenas to Santiago for the return flight to Atlanta and ultimately, home in West Virginia.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
east of East
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
What's new?
Actually, most of the website is new. It has a whole new look and feel, improved functionality and new photos.
Travel blog (the electronic travelogue)--Now that I am traveling a lot, I wanted the capability to easily update my website from anywhere. I don't anticipate lugging my PC, even my laptop on international trips. Blogger is a reasonable solution; I signed up for their service and modified one of their templates. Now I can update my posts via their dashboard or by eMail. If I can get to a computer with Internet and USB access,
I can upload photos.
The new photo albums are from Newfoundland. You can see them on Flickr. Dawn and I spent a month on the island during September. We went to visit our friends, Don and Diane. My Mom, Pat, joined us for two weeks. Newfoundland is big--bigger than California or Texas. We spent a week in the southeast corner at St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula, a week in Trinity, and a week on the western part of the island at a national park, Gros Morne. We liked the week in Trinity so much, we returned there for the fourth week. There are four albums with eight photos each. The first, Newfoundland--contains photos of us, the house we rented in Trinity and views of St. Johns, St. Philips and Trinity.
Newfoundland Scenics--I took hundreds of scenic photos.
Contains photos of hurricane Florence. Oddly enough, Florence moved from the Carribean due north, missing the east coast of the US (the States) and nailing Newfoundland. Look at the two pictures of the rocks standing like fingers reaching to the sky. Notice the pleasant, blue, amost turquoise ocean in one and the dark, frothy surge in the other. The lighthouse is Bonavista. The cod are drying on "flakes."
Newfoundland GrosMorne--Way back, there was one
supercontinent including Europe, Africa and North America. Over geological time, the continents drifted apart and colllided back together. Gros Morne National Park contains clear evidence of these upheavals. The pictures of the "pond" (a landlocked fjord) show the roots of mountains, the glistening tan rocks are from the earth's mantle, and the stratified rocks show the history of geological time.
Newfoundland Wildlife--Some macrophotography of plants, a caribou and a fine art sea gull. The blueberries were in season while we were there. Dawn cooked many muffins and pies. For awhile, we were eating pie two to three times per day; it was delicious.
Travel blog (the electronic travelogue)--Now that I am traveling a lot, I wanted the capability to easily update my website from anywhere. I don't anticipate lugging my PC, even my laptop on international trips. Blogger is a reasonable solution; I signed up for their service and modified one of their templates. Now I can update my posts via their dashboard or by eMail. If I can get to a computer with Internet and USB access,
I can upload photos.The new photo albums are from Newfoundland. You can see them on Flickr. Dawn and I spent a month on the island during September. We went to visit our friends, Don and Diane. My Mom, Pat, joined us for two weeks. Newfoundland is big--bigger than California or Texas. We spent a week in the southeast corner at St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula, a week in Trinity, and a week on the western part of the island at a national park, Gros Morne. We liked the week in Trinity so much, we returned there for the fourth week. There are four albums with eight photos each. The first, Newfoundland--contains photos of us, the house we rented in Trinity and views of St. Johns, St. Philips and Trinity.
Newfoundland Scenics--I took hundreds of scenic photos.
Contains photos of hurricane Florence. Oddly enough, Florence moved from the Carribean due north, missing the east coast of the US (the States) and nailing Newfoundland. Look at the two pictures of the rocks standing like fingers reaching to the sky. Notice the pleasant, blue, amost turquoise ocean in one and the dark, frothy surge in the other. The lighthouse is Bonavista. The cod are drying on "flakes."Newfoundland GrosMorne--Way back, there was one
supercontinent including Europe, Africa and North America. Over geological time, the continents drifted apart and colllided back together. Gros Morne National Park contains clear evidence of these upheavals. The pictures of the "pond" (a landlocked fjord) show the roots of mountains, the glistening tan rocks are from the earth's mantle, and the stratified rocks show the history of geological time.Newfoundland Wildlife--Some macrophotography of plants, a caribou and a fine art sea gull. The blueberries were in season while we were there. Dawn cooked many muffins and pies. For awhile, we were eating pie two to three times per day; it was delicious.
Monday, November 6, 2006
Now I join the Age ...
Now I join the Age of the Blog. This is my very first blog post. It is 10 days and counting before we take off for Santiago and the great adventure. Excitement mounts! Big focus on packing. Not taking too much, too little, different season, varied activities, 2 months, one duffel bag. The challenge!
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Sunrises come once a day
Sunrises come once a day, but not all sunrises look like this one. This photo was taken near our rental home in Trinity, Newfoundland. It's Robin Hood Bay.
Friday, November 3, 2006
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