Katie´s Bad Dream

It went something like this...In this dream I was sitting on a bus with my ipod playing softly songs of Jackson Browne or Julieta Venegas or something. From what I remember of it my eyes were sore from coming in and out of sleep and some crazy action film with Steven Segal was on the television. I looked to my left out the window and to my horror, I saw four lane highways. I saw medians neatly trimmed with green grass free of litter. There were road signs made of metal with printed letters on them intead of mile markers painted on wooden slats. In the distance there were skyscrapers and Hyundais, Chevys and Toyotas weaving throughout the lanes. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I thought to myself...my trip is over! How could this be?!? I am back in the United States, back home. This is terrible, this trip was supposed to last for months. I put my fists to my eyes to clear my vision from the sleep. Then I realized that I wasn´t dreaming. This was real life. I hadn´t left South America, just the third world. I said to myself, ¨Oh I´m in Chile now. What a relief¨.

So that´s how it went, this bad dream of mine that wasn´t a dream after all. Turns out that on this 26 hour bus ride into Santiago, I had woken up with dawn and forgotten that I was in the first world again. Chile is indeed a different world from the rest of South America that we have seen so far. Santiago is just like Chicago or New York. The cities around the country are just like the cities in the United States. The development level is almost equivalent and the Chilean middle class is just like the North American middle class. In this regard, Chile is no different from what I know at home. However yesterday, I decided that Chile is the most beautiful country I have ever seen in my life.

Sure Ecuador and Peru are beautiful. Ecuador is beautiful in a raw, natural way. The untouched moutains are impressive and green. You can always see glimpses of the jungle wherever you are in the lush forests seen on the coast as well as the highlands. Peru is beautiful because of it´s ruins and ancient Inca sites. Within an hour´s drive anywhere you can see the most amazing ruins that you don´t think possibly could still be intact. But Chile...is the most beautiful so far. Driving into Chile from Ecuador, the entire time we had the sea on our right and the Atacama desert on our left. The dunes were all one color and rose higher and higher until they turned into big brown mountains. We were able also to see the sun set over the Pacific which is the first time I have seen that yet on this trip. Upon leaving the northern desert region, the hills got shrubbier and the sea disappeared. We were headed inland to Santiago. As I said, Santiago is just a city. A beautiful city, but just a city. It wasn´t until yesterday that Hallye and I got a glimpse of the real Chile.

My friend Adria came to Chile over a year ago to teach in the English Opens Doors Program. During her stay in Angostura just about two hours west of Santiago, she had the pleasure of meeting a family that was not her homestay family. She became great friends with the Señor and the Señora of this house and their three sons. Adria spent the summer basically in the house of this family and kept in good contact with them. When she heard that Hallye and I would be going to Chile, she contacted the boys to let them know we were coming and the oldest boy Gabriel quickly contacted me to find out when we would arrive. In Santiago, I got a message from Gabriel inviting Hallye and I to Angostura to eat lunch with the family yesterday on Palm Sunday. At lunch, Señora Carmen invited Hallye and I to stay at the house for a few nights in order to get to know some of the surrounding towns before continuing on.

Basically, we cannot believe our luck and the generosity of these people. After lunch, Gabriel and his brother Lalo took us on a tour of Angostura on their motorcycles. Angostura is apparently known world-wide for it´s wineries. Later, Gabriel took us to his grandfather´s parcela (farm) where we were then able to climb the hill and see the landscape. This is when I decided Chile was the most beautiful I have seen yet. The bluest sky was set behing the green hills and the brown viñas below. I couldn´t believe that this continent just keeps getting better and better.
Back at the house, Gabriel´s entire family stood around the computer to help us plan the rest of our travels in Chile. Everyone gave his/her opinion on the places they believe to be most impressive.

So today Hallye and I are burdened with the task of deciding which places will make it on the itinerary. We have to decide between the lakes of Pucón, the shores of Viñas del Mar, the glaciers of Torres del Paine and the nightlife in Valparaiso. Not all, unfortunately will make it on the list. But until we decide, we are resting comfortably in the most beautiful place of them all...the house of this wonderful Chilean family.