We are leaving in about a week and the pleasures of traveling is starting to kick in. Zhaoyang is finishing up her last week of work at the accounting firm and will be starting a new job after we get back. So along with looking forward to a new continent to discover, she will have a new job as well!
We have been watching Youtube videos to get acquainted with the places we will be visiting, the food we may encounter
Time flies. After returning from the Mediterranean trip in May, it seems my tax busy season was over in a blink of an eye. This busy season was also my last busy season at the firm as I found a new job! A trip to South America is a small celebration for the end of my life’s journey through public accounting. Thanks to PJG for spending more than a month carefully planning this trip!
It’s almost 9 o’clock when we woke up. At home, it’s hard to sleep past 7. PJG went down to the supermarket and bought some fresh croissants for breakfast. We plan to go to Mount San Cristobal, which is a hill in the north of Santiago, only 850 meters above sea level, but is the third highest peak here. On the top of the mountain is one of the main places of worship of the Chilean Catholic Church and a symbol of Santiago, Chile. It took more than 20 minutes to walk from the apartment to the foot of the mountain. The two of us who planned to hike up the mountain were defeated by the hot weather and instead bought two round-trip Funicular tickets.
It was another very hot day, so we went out earlier (10am) and went to climb San Lucia Hill – a remnant of a 15 million-year-old volcano, and it is also a famous tourist destination in Santiago. The hill’s present form was designed by the city’s mayor in the late 19th century, who, inspired by French landscaping, decided to transform the volcanic rock into an elegant park with gardens, fountains, terraces, gazebos, many trees and intricate trails and steps.
Today is our last day in hot and burning Santiago. It was a relatively relaxing day. As soon as we left our apartment in the morning, we smelled a strong smell of burning paper. We went downstairs and though the outside door of the community, and saw many fire trucks fighting a fire in an apartment right near us! Smoke was billowing out of an apartment and water was being poured onto the flames! I wanted to go over to take some pictures, but a policeman stopped me, with a very visible “NO” -he wouldn’t let me get nearer. Indeed a burning day! Hope there were no casualties.
We are on the way to our next stop, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. In the morning we took an 20 minute Uber to the airport. Customs went smoothly although it took 30 minutes. The flight to Buenos Aires took about an hour and a half. The plane was a large 787 and the seat between us was empty so I could lie down and sleep. Before I knew it, we had arrived. The customs in Buenos Aires is very thorough: you have to take photos and register your fingerprints and answer many questions, but unfortunately they don’t stamp your passport!
We have a lot of things to do today. We woke up at 8am in the morning and went to the hotel’s “free” breakfast. It is said that PJG uses his Marriott’s points to include breakfast, haha.
In the morning, we went to buy two boat tickets to Uruguay for tomorrow, plus a 40-minute guided walking tour. We originally had planned to stay there for one night next Monday, but after chatting with the ticket seller, and he didn’t think it was worth staying there for the night. After buying the ticket, we took a bus to check out San Telmo, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires.
Today is Thanksgiving in America, and Thanksgiving in the summer is a strange feeling. We got up at the ungodly hour of 6am this morning to catch our ferry. After breakfast, we walked to the Buquebus port and took the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, a small Uruguayan city on the opposite side of the river from Buenos Aires.
Today we went to the Caminito section of the famous La Boca district, a very colorful community. The community started as a bridge over a creek that dried up and was filled to create a railroad, but was soon abandoned and turned into a veritable dump. Still later, Caminito’s flamboyant turn is credited to artist Benito Quinqueira Martín, known for his depictions of the rugged port life around the La Boca district. In the 1950s, Benito Quinqueira Martin began to paint the buildings of Caminito with bright colors, and his tenacity laid the path for this neighborhood to become the brightly colored Caminito, a unique landscape of Buenos Aires.
明天要搬去另外一个区域的民宿完成在布宜诺斯艾利斯旅程的后半段。
Tomorrow, we will move to a new area to complete the second half of our journey in Buenos Aires.
Today will be a very easy day, moving to the Hollywood district of Palermo. The “Hollywood” district is so named for its television studios and film production companies. We will stay here in Buenos Aires for another five nights. So far, this is the area we like more, it is quieter, there are many outdoor restaurants and bars, and there are many places with Asian dishes. We took a bus to the apartment, and walked around the neighborhood to get familiar. In the afternoon, we also went to the Palermo Soho area separated by a large road. At 4 o’clock, we went to a bar to watch the epic battle between Argentina and Mexico. It was a great game to watch. Argentineans are happy!
PJG started to have diarrhea in the middle of the night last night, and it got worse by the morning (was it that pork dish I gave him?). He still insisted that we walk to Western Union to exchange money. Because today is Sunday, there was only one store relatively close to us that was open – the exchange rate was 1:304, not the best. After walking back to the apartment, PJG didn’t have lunch and just went to straight to bed. I bought takeaway for lunch, and then went to the famous Japanese garden, alone.
The progress of the translation work has been very slow, because PJG still has a fever and diarrhea today. Unfortunately, he can only rest in the apartment again today, and it is another day when the little bear and I go out alone. In the morning, I went to the laundromat to get our clothes washed, and will pick them up tomorrow. Then I went to the pharmacy to buy some antidiarrheal medicine and the supermarket to buy mineral water and apple juice for PJG. After that, I went to Chinatown, which is a very small little Chinatown with nothing special, several supermarkets, and many small shops selling cheap Chinese crap. Today it is still scorching hot, and a day for wandering in the sun with my bear alone.
PJG’s stomach troubles continued today, not much better, but his temperature has basically returned to normal. He still is weak and needs to stay at home. I went to the supermarket to buy eggs then went to two Western Unions looking to exchange another 100 dollars. Today’s exchange rate is 1:305. I picked up the laundry at noon, got takeout and went back to make PJG three scrambled eggs and sliced bread for lunch, his first real meal in a few days. After lunch, I went with bear to a cool bookstore called, “El Ateneo Grand Splendid”. This bookstore was named “the most beautiful bookstore in the world” by National Geographic in 2019.
2022年11月30日,星期三,南美洲之旅第十四天 – Day 14 of South America Trip
坏消息,今天早上PJG的泻肚子还是没有痊愈,而且又开始发烧到37.78度,他给我俩的医院打了电话,可惜美国是凌晨3点多,护士说会联系他的医生,今天他又要在家休息了。我去超市买了一小袋大米,给他做了鸡汤粥做午饭,我吃了昨晚没吃完的猪排。吃完午饭我和小熊坐地铁去了女人桥(西班牙语:Puente de la Mujer),这个桥是一座配重斜拉桥,由西班牙建筑师圣地亚哥·卡拉特拉瓦设计,桥梁的设计是一对跳探戈的情侣形象。
The bad news is that PJG’s diarrhea is still not better this morning, and his fever of 37.78c (>100 f) degrees returned. He called our hospital in the US, but unfortunately it was still only 3 am there. The nurse said that she would send an urgent message to his doctor.
We got up at 4:30 in the morning, quickly finished packing, and our 5:30 taxi was waiting downstairs. Today we fly back to Santiago, and then take a bus to Viña del Mar, a seaside town about 120 kilometers away from Santiago. PJG still isn’t better, and he still had a low fever in the morning. The poor man
Well, PJG feels much better today, but still has a lingering cough and diarrhea. Just in case, he did a quick self-test for Covid-19, and it was negative. Strange to say, we have traveled far and near, and we have been to so many places where people gather – we have never worn a mask. The virus has not disappeared, but we are still not infected. It seems that we have established a strong immunity!
I was woken up by the earthquake this morning! I felt the bed shaking and at first I thought PJG was moving. I turned to look at him, but he was still. When I saw the chandelier above our bed swaying, I knew it was an earthquake. I woke up PJG immediately and when we went to stand under the door frame,
Our short South American teaser trip has come to an end so quickly. Initially, we called the trip a teaser because we were traveling to relatively few countries in South America, so this trip would be our first. Well, to be honest, South America was not our favorite place to visit. So, maybe this will be our first and our last trip to South America.