Marci Soifer

I am no longer traveling solita, or alone. Mollie and I embraced and began the adventure in one another´s company Wednesday morning, around 8 AM, through immigration in the Santiago Airport. I was a little delirious, primarily because I had not slept and had been waiting for a few hours for her, and also because I was still trying to understand why Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and Australians (ONLY) need to pay an astronomical amount of money to enter Chile (US citizens need to pay $100 upfront, before even going through immigration). Anyway, I was in a daze, and Mollie came...and that was extremely exciting. After Mollie handed off her fresh, Brooklyn black and white cookie (my favorite) and exchanged many hugs, we got on a bus to get into the city. As we began only speaking to one another in Spanish, we hauled our packs onto the bus, through the subway, and to our hostel.

Since we had not seen each other in months and had never traveled to Santiago before, we spent the day wandering through the streets, navigating with the help of Lonely Planet. We enjoyed a nice vegetarian lunch, found the beautiful, palm tree lined central plaza, and spent time laying in the grass of a few of Santiago´s many green spaces (aka-parks). Santiago is a totally different South American city than any I have ventured to thus far, as it is clean, without stray dogs, full of fancy establishments, and lined with people wearing business attire and clothing that resembled that of New Yorkers...almost. I had forgotten what it looked like to be in a first world country. I am not finding Chile is anywhere near the third world, thus far. The city was nice, but we did not find it so spirited.

After about 10 neighborhoods, 8 hours of walking, much exploration, and of course, some good eating, Mollie and I decided that we had pretty much covered Santaigo in one day. Actually, we really liked it...but, in our first day together, we opened up the Lonely Planet and discussed what we wanted to do for the next month, and realized that Santiago was not really where we wanted to pass lots of time. We want to head south, into Patagonia.

Before we got down there, however, we had heard that Valparaiso and Viסa del Mar (a little north of Santiago) were not too miss Chilean cities and thankfully, Mollie´s friend of friends lives with his family in Viסa del Mar. Alas, on Thursday morning, Mollie and I got up, said goodbye to Santaigo, and took a 2 hour bus ride north to meet Alex, the friend of friends. He picked us up at the bus station and brought us back to his house, on the top of a beautiful Andean mountain overlook with a view of the entire city. We stood in awe for a short while, sipping juice and enjoying the fact that we were in a gorgeous Chilean home (remember, I have not been in an actual home in about 4 months).

This is a very kind, generous, special family of people who are Chilean, but once lived in Brooklyn. They speak English in the home, German on the side with family members, and Spanish in their daily life. With children living at home, we have people to spend time with. In fact, Mollie and I spent our first day with Stephanie, Alex´s 21-year-old sister. She took us on a 4 hour walk through the city, along the Pacific ocean beach, through the bustling, small town downtown, over to the enormous racetrack, and down the Andean hills meeting the city. It was gorgeous, and very quaint. The streets are varied with cobblestone and pavement, and the entire city has some kind of ´20´s meets 2006 feeling. We even stopped for some deliicious empanadas and cookies called alfafores, which are cookie sandwiches filled with dulce de leche, dipped in chocolate. You know nothing tops a good day of exploration in a Chilean city better than delictable Chilean snacks. Ah, yes.

I must have some kind of immunity to South American parasites already, because unfortunately, Mollie caught a little bug on Thursday night. This meant that we were destined to lay low for a few days. Lucky for us, we were situated in the best place ever for laying low. Mollie and I slept, relaxed, ate, and did not really leave the house much for the weekend, and we spent lots of time laughing with our hosting family (who we adore).

Finally, after a few pills, some bread, and lots of naps, we ventured out to the local sand dunes with Alex. These dunes are large, for a city, and are located on the outskirts of Ruñeca, a neighboring town adjacent to Viña del Mar. We ran and jumped and played, and then emptied the sand out of our shoes for 10 minutes. At this point, we knew Mollie was ready to move.

Sunday, we hit Valparaiso. We did not really know what to expect, but heard quite a bit and look forward to seeing another piece of this country. This city a part of Chilean history, as the former largest port city in all of South America. We found it to be quaint, with delicate and detailed architecture, winding roads, large portside docks, and hills that are reminiscent of San Francisco. We wandered into Pablo Narudo´s home, which was a beautiful, intricate, and interesting, located at the top of the city (with a phenomenal view). The day was complete as we traveled down in the local elevators, which really are elevators on the mountainside, and you know, visited the local grocery.

Last night, in the interest of really moving now, we caught a bus to Pucon. From our arrival in this place early, early this morning, we have found that Pucon is a charming place. Mainly for skiing in the winter and some kind of vacationing in the summer, the city is in the fall transition and is a little less crowded (so we hear). The main street bustles, in a rustic, cabin-like, people wearing wool hats kind of way. The side streets are lined with tourism agencies, trying to push their local tours to the nearby volcano, rafting trips, or national park.

We were snowed...and, also excited, and decided to ambitiously jump on the bandwagon today. Horseback riding, something that I am not really known to do, but can find myself randomly enjoying from time to time. Mollie had the idea that we should go, and since I am traveling with her now, I listened. It was amazing. Picture this...four hours, me and a black horse named Polka, wandering through the fields and the clearest, flowing river (and riverbank) situated at the foot of an enormous volcano, pitched against the blue, fluffy clouded sky, and Mollie doing the same at my side. We had a wonderful time. And, if it did not hurt a little to sit down right now, we would be even more happy.

Time passes quickly when I am traveling, truth be told, and Mollie and I are already preparing to say goodbye to Chile. We are going to relax tomorrow in Pucon (as we heard rain is coming) and Wednesday morning (early...the same way I came into this country), we are heading into Argentina. It is a race...a race to Passover now...and we have to get to where the Jews are for a seder. We found out that the Israelis are flocking to Bariloche in Argentina, and since we were planning to get there eventually...it looks like it will be sooner than later, in the interest of being Jewish and all.

So, plans are happening. More to come, as always. And, chag sameach to those celebrating Passover.