From South Korea to South America: Where It All Began

It was March 2011 and I had just signed my second contract to teach English in South Korea for another year. After a 14 hour flight I was dreading another 4 hour bus ride from Incheon airport to Gwangju, the city I was heading back to teach in but I was more prepared as this was my second go at it. Just like last year I imagined the somewhat tedious bus ride to be full of Korean nationals and me being the solo foreigner which meant another couple hours of more playlists on repeat.

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The buses in Korea are quite similar to the buses in South America (Bolivia doesn't count). Their wide, reclining seats help make for a comfortable journey and all would be wonderful if the said country decided against playing an old movie in their native language and blasting the sound through the speakers above our head. Even if we could understand the dialogue I don't know who thought that was a good idea. 

Originally, Adam and I weren't planning to include Chile in the itinerary but somehow, we ended up staying in a colorful, eccentric, bohemian old port city called Valparaiso. Graffitti is an honored art form here and every corner you turned a story was told through creative and beautiful spray paint and decor. Getting lost in that city was something you hoped for- it made for a very interesting, colorful and unique day to say the least.

Street art on an apartment in Valpariso

Our last adventure in Bolivia was the Salt Flat tour which consisted of driving in a four wheeler over desert, mountains and miles of frozen salt flats. The tour was three days of some of the most incredible landscapes I've ever seen and what made it even more special were the other four people in our jeep (and the fact that our tour guide was sober the whole time). We had met a group of travelers along the way and all decided to join forces. We spent our first night sleeping in an Salt Hotel (the fabric of the hotel is pretty much self explanatory) but to paint a clearer picture for you I asked Adam to lick the inside wall of our bedroom wall to prove it really was all salt and based on his facial reaction, the hotel was indeed made solely of solidified salt- tables, chairs, bed frame, ceiling and even the walls! Our friend accidentally spilt red wine on her sweater and 15 seconds later she was rolling around on the salty floor gathering piles to bury the stained patch in. The following morning the red wine stain was no longer and our team moved on to the next activity- watching flamingos be flamingos. Sounds boring but these pink, stoic birds all gathered together by a lagoon and the reflections of the mountain and the water created a fascinating real life painting right in front of our eyes. It was one of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen. Too bad I can't paint if my life depended on it. Fortunately I took some pretty pictures.

The beautiful red lagoon

 The tour began in Bolivia and ended by crossing over the border to Chile. So low and behold we had now added another country to the itinerary. I can assure you, neither of us were disappointed  about this. My American friend Beth who I met while teaching in Korea recently moved to Valpariso in a beautiful house on a hill overlooking the city and generously offered to put us up for some time. She lived about a 24 hour bus ride from where we got dropped off in San Pedro but instead of enduring a dreadfully long journey to the other side of Chile to meet her, we joined another three day tour that drove us much closer to Valparaiso and also stopped at view points and national parks along the way.

View from our tent

We camped on a beach, had BBQs each night and toured Valle Elqui- Pisco county. We made a pit stop at Cejar Laguna - a gorgeous little body of water in the middle of the desert that has such a high salt quantity, tourists and locals all go to float above the water just like in the Dead Sea. On our last night the tour took us star gazing at an observatory where we got to see Mars, star clusters and other galaxies through the lens of a telescope. We saw a lot more of Chile (and our Universe) than we would have if we just took an overnight bus to Valpariso. Good thing our coin landed on heads! Flipping a coin has been the main factor in our decision making and so far fate seems to lie on our side. No complaints yet!

Cejar Laguna

Horse back riding in death valley, Chile

Once we arrived to Beth's house it felt like we had re-entered the first world. Chile actually has paved roads, stop signs, toilet seats and drinkable running water! It even has McDonalds. Yup we were back in the real world and it felt (and tasted) so good! The fact that we could now brush our teeth with tap water and not always be thinking about where we can steal the next toilet paper role (okay maybe that was just me) made us feel a bit more... "normal" - not the dirty, hippy travelers we've become. After almost three months of backpacking I feel more comfortable wearing the same outfits most days and showering only when necessary. Adams face hasn't seen a razor since we arrived (neither have my legs for that matter...apologies) and I try to avoid any reflections when possible.

 It's funny actually- if I knew what I know now I probably would have packed a lot differently! I have a whole makeup case that is just taking up space in my bag, I would have replaced that with a healthy bag of drugs, ie: Imodium, peptobismol, dioralyte, Vitamin C and so on. I would have definitely included more tissues, an endless supply of hand sanitizer and probably stolen an extra blanket from Air Canada for the cold nights. The weather in South America has been so bipolar it really starts to mess with your mind. The salt flat tour is a good example of hot and sunny days yet freezing cold desert nights! I've never in my life packed for one trip where I've had to prepare for all four seasons! I guess it just adds to the ambiguity of our trip as a whole. Either way it makes for a good adventure and something to write home about.

We really enjoyed our time spent in Chile beyond what we would have reasonably expected. Beth was a wonderful host and showed us a different angle of Valpariso, where she's been living for six months. We spent time admiring this whimsical city, the graffiti filled streets, colorful houses and observed the grumpy sea lions on the beach in their natural habitat. 

A group of sea lions chilling by the water

More incredible street art

Beth and I at a brewery in Valpo near her house

We cooked a feast almost every night and were invited to a BBQ at one of Beth's students houses- all you can eat and drink. From there we went out to see a Spanish band perform at a club who basically defined South American stereotypes. The band was scheduled to play at 10pm and didn't come on stage until 130am! Fortunately we didn't arrive till midnight and had been previously warned about Latin punctuality (or lack of). Saying goodbye to Beth was bitter sweet. We don't know exactly when we´ll see each other again but we're both travelling and enjoying life at the moment so I'm sure our paths will cross again soon. 

After about a week of living like locals in Valpo, we were just starting to get comfortable (we even had our own butcher!) which is typically our cue to move on to the next- a country Adam and I have been waiting eagerly to explore. It's filled with beaches, grapes, the Atlantic Ocean, filet mignon and some very passionate football fans. Argentina, its amazing wine and beautiful landscapes have been enchanting to say the least. Our first stop was a small city in the country where we spent the day riding bicycles around vineyards in Maipu, Mendoza passing by the massive Andes and tasting some of the local produce. We started off riding in an organised, sober fashion cycling in a straight line with all the proper biking equipment. As the day progressed and the wine quickly flowed, the bike path became blurrier, our lips were stained a dark shade of red and our original, rented bikes were nowhere to be found. At the end of the day we cycled back to the rental shop a little confused and hunched over on two children's bicycles that we can only assume were swapped for ours. At least I hope that was the case. 

The glorious border crossing from Chile to Argentina...

Our original rented bikes

Maipu and the Andes behind

We came, we saw and we thoroughly drank our way through Mendoza (hopefully didn't scar any bicycle-less children in the process). Afterwards we stopped in Cordoba, a lively little Argentinian city surrounded by mountains and riddled with history - most famously known as the city closest to where Che Guarvara grew up.

Adam and Che

We spent two days touring the city and stumbled across a hidden little lake behind a patch of trees. It was like a secret gem. We felt like we struck gold and spent most of our last day tanning by the water until the sun began to set and it was time to head back.

Once again we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with hardly any busses passing us by. So we did what we seem to do best... we hitchhiked as far south as we could get (sorry Dad) just in time to catch our long awaited final bus to the capital of Argentina, the city we've been dying to see - Buenos Aires!

"Don't cry for me Argentina"- Evita

We now have just over one week left of traveling and a lot more beaches, tango shows and steak to get through. Our "extended" honeymoon has been an amazing, eye opening adventure. An unforgettable trip of a lifetime, really. Going home will be bitter sweet but at least I won't feel guilty throwing toilet paper in the toilet or being misunderstood 90% of the time I attempt to communicate. It will be nice to eat dinner again at a reasonable hour (most restaurants don't open until 9:00pm...my grandparents would be appalled) and I won't feel on edge every time we turn a corner and hear dynamite going off in the streets. Almost every big city we've visited there has been a demonstration at least once for some reason or other. I've come to the conclusion that South Americans thrive off a good protest. 

We will spend our last few days in Uruguay where we've heard the beaches are stunning, the sunsets are like a colorful box of pastel crayons in the sky and the marijuana is legal. Enough said. So for now i'll put down my pen and paper and just enjoy the last of what this amazing continent has to offer.

Happy Holidays! From Punta Del Este beach, Uruguay

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Waiting to board the bus at Incheon airport and preparing for a long, quiet journey to Gwangju, I felt a light tap on my shoulder which prompted me to remove my earphones and see who required my attention. Following the friendly tap was a sweet, masculine British accent and now standing infront of me was a tall, slim brunette twenty something year old male foreigner who kindly offered to place my luggage under the bus. As we were the only two non Koreans about to board we decided to sit together and chat about what brought us to the South. Four hours of conversation felt like four minutes of getting to know each other and we still had another twenty odd years to get through! As the bus pulled up to the Gwangju terminal I realised I hadn't even asked for his name. "Adam Hess" he said. I took out my iPod, opened the notes section and just to ensure I remembered who it was I had been sitting next to, I typed "Adam Hess- English Bus Boy".