Ode to Eel Soup

One of the joys of travel and embracing each countries cuisine is the surprises you get when you order something that you aren't 100% sure that you know what it is. My spanish is good enough for me to read the description of the menu and take a wild guess and what the dish is. Occasionally I come across a menu item that is out of my vocabulary. In times like these I always choose to let my adventurous side out and if the waiter tells me that it's an excellent choice I'll agree to it.

While visiting Viña del Mar in Chile, i came across a word in spanish that was foreign to me....congrio.  But at the waiter's enthusiastic recommendation combined with my taste for the unknown, I agreed to give my tastebuds their first gamble with "Caldillo de congrio"

When the dish came I knew that I had ordered a fish stew of some sort. It was hot so while waiting for it to cool I googled it on my iphone and in a matter of seconds knew the truth about this dish I had ordered. "Congrio" is the name for conger eel, a species of eel that is common in the Chilean Sea.  The dish is made by boiling together fish heads, onion, garlic, coriander, carrots, pepper. After the ingrediants are boiled stock is poured in.

Caldillo de Congrio is not only one of Chile's national dish but apparently was one of Pablo Neruda's favorites as well. He liked it enough to write a poem about it entitled "Oda al Caldillo de Congrio" (ode to eel soup). Click the link to read the poem as well as the translation into english.


The soup was warm, comforting, nurturing, as if one of the most flavorful sea creatures of ocean decided to have a pool party and invited some vegetables to join in as well. My introduction to this Chilean favorite was time perfectly as fall turned to winter here in South America and I needed something to both warm my body and soul....

Lapis Lazuli Love

 



One of the things that I highly value as a traveller is acquiring souvenirs that both benefit local businesses and enlighten me about the culture and country that I am visiting. A few days before taking off from Buenos Aires and heading to Santiago, I stumbled across a great article on the internet entitled "Souvenirs from Chile"  The article proved invaluable to me in helping me not fall into the trap of spending my money on high priced touristic souvenirs.

I ended up buying a couple of things from the list of things the article suggested. Pablo Neruda memorabilia (in my case a souvenir mug), a copper pan almost exactly like picture of the one featured in the article, and last but definitely not least this beautiful Lapis Lazuli pendant.

A Near Catastrophe on the Island of Chiloe

Magellanic penguins (Photo credit: lexusinabasket)

Dripping wet I hesitatingly walked through the big wooden doors of what looked to be someone's vacation home. Once inside, I was greeted warmly by the owner of Hostal Lluhay, the place that would be my home for the next week. Like every seasoned traveller out there, how I ended up here was story of travel plans gone amuck.  It was my near catastrophe on the island of Chiloe


I had heard and read many glowing reviews about the Archipelago islands of Chiloe and they made it to the list of some "must see destinations".  It also benefited me to read the experiences of people like Stephanie aka "The Travel Chica" who wrote this blog  "Slowing Down in Chiloe"  If you wish to see pics of Chiloe, reading her blog would your best resources because I didn't have the skill and resources to take pics that would have done Chiloe any justice.

Curanto (Photo credit: Lisa de Vreede)

Chiloe has a very different history than the rest of Chile. It is the only place that didn't go through colonization. You can see, feel, taste the difference just looking at the architecture and tasting the food like Curanto, a mix of mussels, clams, and different meats. It used to be cooked by hot stones underground but nowadays restaurants recreate the meal using pots in the kitchen

Getting Nude on a Beach that Isn't a Nude Beach

"DOWN" screamed the surf instructor at the top of his lungs. I quickly obeyed without hesitation  and dove under the water and thus swimming under the wave. On the beach he had prepped me properly and told me that no matter what happens I was gonna be OK. He's got everything under control and everything would be fine as long as I heeded to a few simple instructions. One of them being that if he every gave the word "DOWN" it meant i had to dive and swim underneath the water immediately. Sounds simple but in reality when you are out there you only have a split second to respond before the wave overtakes you.

 I had always joked about going combo on a beach but as it turns out, that is exactly what I would have to do. Change my clothing discreetly but I was in broad daylight nevertheless. This was because the Chilean sea has been and always will be very cold. You can chuck all your images of tanned bodies in bathing suits catching the surf. Here in Pichilemu if you wish to surf you'll be spending at least 15-20 mins trying to get into a wetsuit on a public beach area. Yup, I was getting nude on a beach that isn't a nude beach.

Mucho Ado About Nothing in Pichilemu's Big Wave Competition 2013

Much Ado about nothing. That would be the best way to describe the Big Wave surf competitions. Or better said, the competitions that never were. After leaving Viña del Mar, I found myself at the other end of Chile in a surf town called "Pichilemu". Punto de Lobos is a famous spot where people come all over the world to brave the massive waves.  Waves known to be as high as 7 meters.  Waves this size were desirable for competitions on an international level.

The organizers of the event were working with the very best technology and experts to predict when the next massive swell. Based upon the forecast, the event was given the go ahead to happen.  It was scheduled for 9-5 June 4th.  I got to the beach around 11:30 where a crowd from all over the world had gathered. Still no sign of waves. The announce started to get on the megaphone telling people sorry for the inconvenience but they are still waiting for decent sized waves to show up.  So the crowd kept waiting and wandering around.

A Story for Tomorrow

a story for tomorrow. from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.



Cross-cultural relationships can be without doubt one of the most challenging type of relationships there is. Different languages, different cultures, different worlds.....at times one must wonder why anyone would take on someone who has a completely different language and culture and forsake the ease of going with someone more familiar in your own culture.

The joy of a cross-cultural relationship is that there are actually major benefits and gems to be discovered that you won't have with someone in your own culture. Problems are abound to arise whether you're in a relationship with someone from your own culture or a foreign culture. But where the draw of a cross-cultural relationship is that you won't have the same type of problems that you would have with a member of your own culture. You will have problems but it will be different type of problems.

A Close Brush with Horse Steak

The early bird catches the worm. I would learn the full meaning of that as I was strolling through downtown Santiago towards the presidential palace, right in time for the changing of the guards. I had read about the event of trip advisor, that it happens around 10am on some days.  And that day happened to be my lucky day. To my delight I was able to capture a portion of the ceremony on video.

As you'll see in the video, there are white fences all around. Normally non-diplomats cannot get beyond the white fences. But for the changing of the guard they allow tourist and visitors to be on the front lawns to witness the ceremony. After the ceremony we were all politely ushered off the lawns. I feel really privileged to be able to have gotten as close to the presidential place as I was able to that day.

An Encounter with the Andes

Coming from North American society we are instilled with the idea that faster is better. And in the world of travel, for the most part it is true. If one can cut their travel time in half, then why not?  However there are times when there are hidden gems to be discovered if you are willing to take a slower unconventional path. Like taking a bus from Buenos Aires to Chile instead of flying into Santiago. It may have been a 20 hr ride but that bus ticket gave me a front row seat to see the famed Andes mountain range.

The bus starts from Buenos Aires and then goes to Mendoza Argentina. From Mendoza, the coach takes you directly through the middle of the Andes mountains.   I have heard that the Andes mountains is very diverse but I didn't realize how diverse it was until I sat there glue to the seat my eyes fixated as the sights flashing before my eyes.


The landscape literally changes about every 10 mins. It would go from massive rock formations to seeing snow capped mountains and then to lakes and rivers. The scenery would go from crevices to jagged edges in the blink of an eye.  There is nothing like it in the world.  Seeing the Andes upclose was better than any onboard movie you could ever watch....

Click here to view the full album:


Andes Mountain pics

From One Small Step to One Giant Leap

I've mentioned in previous post the increasing difficulty of living in Buenos Aires due to radical changes that took place after Cristina Fernandez Kirchner was re-elected.  Within the past yr and a half the abuse of political power, inflation, peso devaluation resulted in a large exodus of expats from the country back to their homelands or other places in the world.

Life here is like hanging onto a mechanical bull. The one where you have to cling on to it for dear life as it gets faster and faster until you get flung off involuntarily or you choose to hang your hat and surrender to force of gravity. For many expats, it was a combination of both. They voluntarily left simply because they knew if they were on the verge of being flung off.