Minakshi Krishnan
When my scheduled winter trip to India had to be put off due to a sharp rise in airfare, it did feel like a downer.
Walking for hours on the neatly cobbled sidewalks was indeed very pleasant, even long past midnight, what with restaurants teeming with revelers and sports enthusiasts! Radha with his love for stories of family connections, did spike our intrigue enough to want to lookup Eva Peron’s crypt amidst hordes of others at the Recoleta.
The mere sight of Puerto Iguazu from our Aerolineas flight appeared to be a great culmination to a fabulous trip to Argentina. Iguazu on the cusp of the 2 biggest of countries in S America – Argentina and Brazil, replete with its dense undergrowth, singing birds and friendly coatis of the Amazon rainforest, gave an overwhelming sense of home, just like my Aima’s village. The resort had adequate resources, all fine-tuned to provide comfort in the midst of nature. Our driver was fluent in English and Spanish and she did all that was necessary for us to cross the border onto Brazil to see the full expanse of the falls from that country. Each of these falls is indeed uniquely and breathtakingly beautiful and the country has taken ample measures to preserve the natural landscape while also providing relief to weary hikers in the form of benches at look-outs and fresh coconut water at the highest points. The glistening waters, the numerous rainbows left an indelible impression in my mind.
Returning back to base, we ventured out at nightfall, walking a few kms to “Hito Tres Fronteras”, witnessing the glorious reflection of lights from 2 adjoining countries, Paraguay and Brazil on the intervening waterbody. The night was interesting too with sound of wildlife and then breakfast with its generous servings of tropical fruits (including mangoes) and fresh juices was indeed a traveler’s delight. The Iguazu Cataratas, hundreds of them on the Argentinian side as well, were each a sight to behold.
Our day trip to the volcanic hot-springs in the arid valleys of the Andes surrounded by active volcanoes, was with our knowledgeable guide Nicole (who had a college degree in linguistics) and a very efficient local driver. We shared our tour vehicle with one happy-go-lucky couple from Los Angeles who taught us a thing or two about being carefree. First stop was for an elaborate breakfast and coffee at the bed-n-breakfast lounge of an avid traveler and master-chef who also happily recounted stories of her travels through India to me.
The spluttering mud pools were each naturally heated to their own unique temperature patterns depending on the time of the day. As I had taken my role of being the official photographer of the day seriously, I simply dipped my feet unto one and looked out to the magnificent mountains, all shining with a wide range of minerals. In the far horizon were desert animals (donkeys, mountain goats, Llamas) grazing or looking out for water to quench their thirst on a warm summer day which also reminded of Siddhu's mention of Coelho and the Alchemist! This trip felt like another heavenly and unmissable experience.
In spite of repeated warnings from my office-folks regarding recent forest
fires enroute to Valparaiso, a port town just north of Santiago, we debated back
and forth, before finally embarking on a bus trip at noon, taking the upper deck
seats in a pretty comfortable "AC-WIFI" Turbus at $5 a seat, so as to not miss the
opportunity of a good view of the Andes yet again. Reached the crowded sea-side
town and took a taxi to our hotel. Valparaiso was impressive and lived up to
its reputation of being a UNESCO Heritage site for Art-preservation.
The evening hours were dedicated to watching big waves come ashore against the rocks, and to photography. I held my breath many a times as the setting sun splashed a kaleidoscope of colors on the waters of the Pacific ocean. As I looked up to see the Moon and Venus appearing in proximity in my breezy dream-like stroll, the area devoid of any sounds but of the waves, I chanced upon a sea-side memorial with hundreds of teddy bears telling the story of a cute little girl whose family must be frequenting this spot. All I wanted to do now was grab a taxi and head to a more familiarly noisy place. As we retired for the night, the porous walls reminded until the wee hours that the night was still young for Latin Americans.
When my scheduled winter trip to India had to be put off due to a sharp rise in airfare, it did feel like a downer.
Walking for hours on the neatly cobbled sidewalks was indeed very pleasant, even long past midnight, what with restaurants teeming with revelers and sports enthusiasts! Radha with his love for stories of family connections, did spike our intrigue enough to want to lookup Eva Peron’s crypt amidst hordes of others at the Recoleta.
The mere sight of Puerto Iguazu from our Aerolineas flight appeared to be a great culmination to a fabulous trip to Argentina. Iguazu on the cusp of the 2 biggest of countries in S America – Argentina and Brazil, replete with its dense undergrowth, singing birds and friendly coatis of the Amazon rainforest, gave an overwhelming sense of home, just like my Aima’s village. The resort had adequate resources, all fine-tuned to provide comfort in the midst of nature. Our driver was fluent in English and Spanish and she did all that was necessary for us to cross the border onto Brazil to see the full expanse of the falls from that country. Each of these falls is indeed uniquely and breathtakingly beautiful and the country has taken ample measures to preserve the natural landscape while also providing relief to weary hikers in the form of benches at look-outs and fresh coconut water at the highest points. The glistening waters, the numerous rainbows left an indelible impression in my mind.
Returning back to base, we ventured out at nightfall, walking a few kms to “Hito Tres Fronteras”, witnessing the glorious reflection of lights from 2 adjoining countries, Paraguay and Brazil on the intervening waterbody. The night was interesting too with sound of wildlife and then breakfast with its generous servings of tropical fruits (including mangoes) and fresh juices was indeed a traveler’s delight. The Iguazu Cataratas, hundreds of them on the Argentinian side as well, were each a sight to behold.
Chile, a long and thin country nestled between the Western
slopes of the Andes and the vastness of the Pacific, was the final destination
for us. Just one visit to my office on the 19th floor in the busy
Santiago downtown of Providencia would have served well for me to tick off this
bucket-list item - I had been longing to feel the atmosphere close-up, since
2011. Modern, hip spaces but with a touch of nostalgia and community! Evenings in
this part I was told, would be teeming with professionals enjoying their happy
hours with famed Chilean wines et al.
The sought-after Patagonia and the Atacama weren’t going to
be part of our trip and the imprints of protestors’ graffiti and teargas
incidents from news circles made sure that my expectations were rock-bottom. I
had heard stories of “lard-laced” butter and hard to find vegetarian cuisines.
To our pleasant surprise, that was hardly the case. I savored the taste of the
fresh mint lemonade every morning. Every dish – from Quinoa burgers, loaded-yet-light veggie pizzas, lasagna, Pad Thai and traditional Indian food, breads
straight off the hearth, guava and cherimoya pastries, pancakes and arepas with
“real” ingredients, a kg of cherries (at 50 cents!), all tasted way better in
sheer terms of originality and freshness. After having been greeted with welcoming smiles and small-talk from affable localities everywhere around this country, I would love to have another opportunity to be there.
Dynamic, cosmopolitan and safe, Santiago charmed with versatility.
Sounds, flavors, colors of the Chilean culture from their music playing in
hotels and taxis, infused a sense of familiarity in every aspect of life.
The Sky Costanera (the tallest skyscraper in Latin America), provided a stunning 360 view of the city and the western slopes of the Andes against the descending sun; and boasted of gigantic shopping malls showcasing every possible brand name. Neatly preserved parks, friendly passersby, pets without leash, hawkers selling
ice-creams, and local crafts stores selling Pashmina shawls and colorful
handbags, everything had close resemblances with my hometown of Bhubaneswar. Our day trip to the volcanic hot-springs in the arid valleys of the Andes surrounded by active volcanoes, was with our knowledgeable guide Nicole (who had a college degree in linguistics) and a very efficient local driver. We shared our tour vehicle with one happy-go-lucky couple from Los Angeles who taught us a thing or two about being carefree. First stop was for an elaborate breakfast and coffee at the bed-n-breakfast lounge of an avid traveler and master-chef who also happily recounted stories of her travels through India to me.
The spluttering mud pools were each naturally heated to their own unique temperature patterns depending on the time of the day. As I had taken my role of being the official photographer of the day seriously, I simply dipped my feet unto one and looked out to the magnificent mountains, all shining with a wide range of minerals. In the far horizon were desert animals (donkeys, mountain goats, Llamas) grazing or looking out for water to quench their thirst on a warm summer day which also reminded of Siddhu's mention of Coelho and the Alchemist! This trip felt like another heavenly and unmissable experience.
The evening hours were dedicated to watching big waves come ashore against the rocks, and to photography. I held my breath many a times as the setting sun splashed a kaleidoscope of colors on the waters of the Pacific ocean. As I looked up to see the Moon and Venus appearing in proximity in my breezy dream-like stroll, the area devoid of any sounds but of the waves, I chanced upon a sea-side memorial with hundreds of teddy bears telling the story of a cute little girl whose family must be frequenting this spot. All I wanted to do now was grab a taxi and head to a more familiarly noisy place. As we retired for the night, the porous walls reminded until the wee hours that the night was still young for Latin Americans.
We decided to trek up and down for most parts of the quaint
neighborhood in the early hours of the next morning, stopping to gaze at the
many, many pieces of artwork on the walls of this hilly town. As is the norm,
Radha took us to yet another cemetery at the end of our walk which provided a beautiful
panoramic view of the town as well as our imagination into the lifestyles of
the quintessential Spanish and English voyagers and settlers who made Valparaiso
their final destination.
Returned to Santiago to spend another glorious afternoon and
evening and decided to take it easy before boarding a flight back the following
day to Miami. All along, I couldn’t but help think of the closeness of our
cultures and our lifestyles, albeit the 2 countries at ~ 17,000 kms are far apart on
the globe. My sub-conscious mind intermittently
raced to my friends from school, who may have brought away even more from
visiting these countries on account of their geographical relevance with what
we learned in our classroom.
Minu, your tantalizing description of your South American travels form a colorful painting in my mind, and has helped to put these places high on my bucket list. Here in the U.S., one rarely gets to hear anything about our most southern neighbors, and that is a real shame, because from your writing, it is easy to see that they hold gems that we should all experience. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDelete