Monday 28 November 2011

Chow Santiago

Route 115 to Argentina


Pichilemu, Chile's surf capital
The old clutch with about 8000 extra km's

We have our vehicle once again and its better than ever! The clutch cost a third of what it would cost in Canada and was fix in half the time. Today we found maps of Chile and Argentina, we bought Argentinian auto insurance for one month at two bucks a day, and picked up the final paper work for the Trooper. We are cleared to cross into Argentina and are going to take the route less travelled to get there (Ruta 115).  Tomorrow we head to Pichilemu to build our bed frame, organize our truck and, of course, SURF.
One damn good look'n Trooper
 


Sunday 27 November 2011

New Clutch=Dollar Bills

We're stuck in Santiago--still! Turns out our new car had a very old clutch. It's currently being replaced and expect it back on Monday night. It's actually a miracle that we noticed that it was acting funny here, in a big city, rather than the middle of nowhere. In addition, we're extra lucky that we met a young guy sitting across from us at supper one night that worked with cars, had an American girlfriend and was very eager to help us with our car needs. We were able to take the car to his shop yesterday and are pretty confident we wont be overcharged. The downside is that we can't build the bed or drive...so we are hanging out and really hoping to leave Tuesday.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Vacation? What Vacation?

Trooper, car salesmen and us

Wow. These past few days have been jam-packed with long wait times, hunger, one small earthquake and a lot of cars. It took us 8 days to finally find a car. After the last post and the subaru hunt, we back tracked back into the world of SUVs. Neither of us were really digging the the low clearance and in general lacked enthusiasm for those subarus that met the criteria. Back to the drawing board we went, and FINALLY ( THANK YOU LORD) bought a 1989 Chevy Trooper. We saw over 2000 vehicles and took the metro across this city. Pretty much covered the entire thing... I'm so glad it's over. Here's a picture with us and Leo, our car salesman. He was so stoked to talk to Iain about surfing and obviously, Iain made a new friend.

The trooper with our bed building supplies
Once we found a car, we thought the rest would be fairly straight forward. However, as we've been learning, things don't really happen fast in Chile. Actually quite the opposite--painfully slow. The banking took forever, since we ended up needing a Chileano to come with us in order to take out cash from our visas. The Chileano was necessary only because it is way more convenient for the bank to say no to a foreigner than a Chilean. Once all of that craziness was dealt with, we thought it would be a good idea to go to a hardware store to gather supplies...another poor idea without eating lunch first since Chile has a way of making a simple purchase take about 4 hours. You can't simply pick it out and pay... there are multiple numbers and receipt scanning and waiting....and waiting more... eventually we got the stuff to build a bed frame after both of us almost died from hunger in the all day process. Iain reported that his vision was going he was so hungry... and lord help us, Iain needs to eat. The picture below is Iain sawing our wood purchases to fit inside the vehicle.
Nothing comes easy...
especially when your last clean T-shirt is a long sleeve
and it's 36 degrees


I am praying that tomorrow will hopefully be our last day in Santiago. It is time to leave this place for awhile. It is busy, smoggy, loud, and lacking in fun. It is taking so long to run errands because 1) we are terrible at understanding Spanish directions 2) our map is ripping and for some reason can not find another one anywhere 3) there are no street signs and driving is insane (apparently multi-lane highways do not need lines...) 4) most things occur at a snail's pace.





On a positive note several awesome things have happened in the midst of the chaos: a) We had two really great Spanish lessons with an electrical engineer that needed to learn English that we randomly meet on the metro and got some really interesting info about Chile's history b) Yesterday we hit up the mall and got almost all of the things we need to live independently in our troop and we both found ripcurl wetsuits on sale. c) we still love each other d) we ate lunch today and it was revolutionary and fantastic.

Iain drinking his fresh squeezed fruit juice at lunch


Saturday 19 November 2011

Say Yes to Subaru!

Is it Saturday? The last few days have been a blur. It took around 17 hours to arrive finally in Chile! Iain has become an expert in a few areas: 1) using the Santiago Metro 2) finding car lots 3) looking for faults and leaks in every vehicle he sees. The last few days have been a lot of work. On Thursday, we both got a Chilean identification called a RUT and have searching for vehicles for the last two days. We have found a few cars of interest: blazers, pajeros, gallopers...but nothing beats the late 80's subarus. The greatest highlight has been the Subaru Loyale, 1989. Its a good thing Iain knows about cars because there have been problems and leaks....most travellers think we are a little loco to buy a car in Chile (pronounced Chil-eh), but mainly because you have to know the system and have a little time and perseverance.

I am hoping we will buy something sooner than later so we can get out of the city and into the fun. Santiago is a pretty nice city, but trying hard to be 'first class' and losing authenticity in its efforts. We have both found the American vibes fairly cheesy and we think we spotted a Montana's in Bellavista last night.

Fingers crossed for a Subaru tomorrow! Many of them, and hopefully an abundance of parts if they are needed. Other highlights include: fig, nut, and honey ice cream, friendly people that offer English lessons in exchange for Spanish, not much English and a lot of Spanish, warm weather, and wine!

More soon. Hasta Luego!

Monday 14 November 2011

It All Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the beginning of our trip and Iain and I have been busy getting all of our last minute errands finished and packing. Being selective with all my stuff has turned out to be easier than anticipated, but there are so many details to consider for such a long trip. Luckily and surprisingly, we are organized! Organized on unconventional terms maybe...but still, I'm impressed!

Our epic flight to Santiago, Chile starts in the morn with a flight from Whitehorse to Vancouver, with another to Toronto, and finally Santiago! Thankfully we have our first stop taken care of--we are staying at the the Eco Hostel for the first 3 nights.

The plan is to buy a vehicle in the city, and then be on our way out of the city. Originally we head planned to head to the coast, but with some many attractions in every direction we will have to reassess when we arrive. Penguins to the south, vineyards and spectacular food to the east, and ocean/surf to the west...some tough choices to be made.



Tidy and Organized 
  We have gotten some great tips from friends that have done similar trips and I am excited about getting such great advice. Some tips that stand out are bringing a universal sink plug (bathroom laundry station), taking Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, salomon trail runners and using lavender essential oil to smell great and ward off mosquitos.

I've discovered some interesting financial related advice in the process of preparing for this trip too. For example, having a TFSA is a great place to store funds that are not accessible or visible from an ATM and are accessed online. This is making me feel really good to know that all my eggs aren't in one basket so to speak. If I'm speed robbed, they wont get it all! Also, I have a travel rewards visa and when I called today to tell them I'd be away, I found out I have 'lounge access.' Not totally sure what that means, but a sweet sounding deal nonetheless. I will be exploring this bonus later on tonight.

Next stop Santiago. Must clean, compile, and finish essay for Psychology 406 immediately!