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Pucón and Santiago

In Pucón, our group shared a house, giving us the comfort of a home away from home, bringing us together like family as we gathered around the wood burning stove to roast marshmallows. Following a night of homemade chili, our first full day in Pucón, part of our group set out to clime the active Volcan Villarrica—a highlight of our trip and an experience I will never forget. The stormy weather that hit earlier that week created a nice blanket of powder over the face of the volcano.

Cramp-os, ice pick and all, we set foot to a arduous 6 hour trek to the cumbre. Along the way, we lost a few who turned back, 7 of us remaining. Conditions were fortunately very good, which I was grateful for, because the times when wind did pick up, it was difficult to breathe. Slowly and steadily, we followed the footprints of our guide, zig-zagging over powder, ice and steep drops. The last hour up the volcano was when the exhaustion really hit me. Every step seemed like a huge hair step into fresh powder. Never before had I better understood the concept of backsliding so clearly! Pastor Richard alwas says tat you can ener be stationary in your walk with God: you are either pursuing closer, or backsliding. There is no stagnant. This proved true in the pursuit to the cumbre. The wear of the cramp-ons of those in the line before me created a narrow pathin which ensured a sound step, but not necessarily an easy one. Often times when I would stop and feel a sort of security in the comfort of pausing, the snow beneath me would crumble and cause me to slide backwards. The last wind was painfully frustrating…or frustratingly painful, but the proverb

“Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you”

constanly ran through my head. All steps are ordered! Finally, in unbelief, we reached the top and were rewarded with a spectacular view and a rush of excitement! We practically inhaled the food in our backpacks (salami sandwiches and terrible Chilean chocolate never tasted so good) and awed over the fuming sulfur bellowing from the volcano. We rejoiced in our summit down the volcano, 2/3 of which we got to slide down on our butts (talk about the best slide ever)! Though it took us about 6 hours to climb UP the volcano, we made it down to the parking lot in about 1 1/2 hours, ready to go back to the house for a hot cup of mold wine and toasty marshmallows!

Another first I experienced in Pucón was horseback riding! We saddled up and walked, trotted and cantered down dirt paths, into thick vegetation and river rocks and galloped over black sand alongside the white water rapids. I have always been somewhat hesitant and skeptical about horses in general previously, but I genuinely enjoyed the thrill and the beautiful view.

Pucón, for us, was also characterized by one HUGE, continuous dance party. For some reason, we heard the same songs everywhere we went! Lead by Claire’s unparalleled energy, we shared many good memories, belting out old time favorites and making up silly dance moves :)

Oh yeah…Mr. Hanky and grandbabies, not to be forgotten Erin.



Santiago: not really caring about site seeing, but spending as much time with each other as possible before we had to leave!

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Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt, Chiloé Island

We exited the country of steak and wine into the country of seafood and Pisco Sour, arriving at a small city called Puerto Varas where the near-freezing temperatures inside our hostel were compensated by the cozy beds and homemade breakfast. Eggs, yogurt & museli, and cake were a nice break from our typical Argentine desayuno of coffee, bread, white bread, breaded pastries and more bread (later proving to be quite standard in the rest of Chile as well) Our first night, we splurged on our 6 grand seafood diner…pesos that is (550=$1) at a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant  called Donde el Gordito I had the Congrio (a Chilean specialty) topped with crab, assuredly leaving me feeling gordita.



The highlight of our first stop however, was our day trip tour to Chiloé Island. Though Chiloé has a surprising population of over 150,000, they choose to live in a much slower fashion that their fellow mainland Chileans. Most sustain themselves by farming and fishing. It was common to see horses as a primary mode of transportation and cows flooding the dirtroas in front of you.

Out the window of our van we saw green rolling hill after green rolling hill topped with Mark Bryanesque shrubbery and various domesticated animals. With the welcome of Spring feebly stood beautiful reminders of new life—calves, ponies, lambs, seagulls, etc.—always accompanied by an “awww” from the girls in our group.

For a snack, we splurged on deluctable Chilean oysters fro about US$3, and for lunch, Kim, Erin and I shared two huge abalone-like (“local” or “loco” to Chile) empanadas and a plate of salmon and potatoes for less than five dollars each. mmmm.

Our tour guide, Pablo, was a native Chilean and a fountain of knowledge about everything from rare birds to wagon wheels. The cherry on top of my South American experience, however, was seeing the Humbolt and Magellan penguins off the coast of Chiloé. When planning this trip, we had no idea we would even be far enough south to see penguins in the wild, and when we asked our trip leader about them, he said it was too early in the year even if we could! But after driving down a windy path and reaching the “penguin beach,” we were lucky enough to find a couple of fishermen who were willing to take us up close to the tiny islands where the penguins were beginning to congregate!(bucket list #42…check)! Though we only saw about 100 penguins (just males collecting branches for their nests) come January, over 5,000 penguins—males, their mates and their new chicks—would gather in the same location. Of “penguin season” our group was the second boat out this year!

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Bariloche

The stormy weather from Buenos Aires followed us south into Bariloche upon our arrival, now colder, allowing for snow. We greeted this Patagonian gateway and new people in our tour group with our ski jackets, leggings and 2 for 1 Hall Hansen wool socks. Besides its amazing chocolate and dulce de leche, this small, snowy town is known for the magestic mountains, comparable to the Swiss Alps at certain view points. One stormy day, a few of us braved the wind and rain to visit he Llao Llao Hotel and Cerro Campareño—recommended viewpoints. Our view of the mountains was often inhibited by looming clouds. However, with time, the wind picked up and pushed the clouds aside for a moment, giving us a clear glimpse of the mountains.  When we could see through the clear patches, I was in awe of how close and how big the mountains actually were! My camera could only capture lackluster images of what could be seen, and images could not replicate the mere presence felt by standing next to these mountains!



Thoughts on mountains, fog and clouds: In A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God, he writes about “the close-woven veil of the self-life,” made up of “the hyphenated (self-sins) of the human spirit.” Tozer clarifies that “they are not something we do, they are something we are, and therein lies their subtlety and their power,” explaining that they are innate, often unspoken of and lethally obstructing the view of our completely self-less, perfect God. “Self,” Tozer writes, “is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us.”

My experience at Llao Llao, and the clouds that covered the face of the mountain, confronted me with such thoughts and the underlying, daily struggle of my selfishness. Though, Tozer reminds us, the imagery of a veil may be poetic and “almost pleasant,” there is “in actuality nothing peasant about it,” because the veil

“is made of living spiritual tissue…of which our whole beings consist, and to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. To tear it away is to injure us, to hurt us and make us bleed…because [ripping] through the dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross did to Jesus, and it is what the cross would do to everyman to set him free.”

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put s to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for the righteous person—though perhaps for a geed person one would even dare to die—but God shos his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” —Romans 5:3-8

Uruguay and Buenos Aires

Uruguay: people who go out of their way to get to know you, help you and make you feel at home, quaint, artsy. Love to drink mate, a type of tea, all hours of the day out of this little cup and a spoon/straw/filter thing. Simple, yet full of charm.

Buenos Aires: too much for me to soak in besides the touristy stuff. Nevertheless, greatly enjoyed learning a simple tango, watching the tango show and a tender steak. Saw a Frida Kahlo at the malba art museum and had heated conversations over McDonalds in Recoleta. Hit up a drum and bass club and talked with some nice Argentinians…or more like shouted. Packed and ready to leave for Bariloche.

A good chunk of our group left now and we are starting a new leg of our journey. Today we are headed to Bariloche, which according to our new tour leader is like Argentina’s Lake Tahoe![gallery]

Be Still and Know That I am God

Earlier this week, we spent 2 days at Iguassu Falls (from the Argentine side and the Brazilian side), one of the “7 Natural Wonders of the World.” Above the falls, the Rio Brazil, spanning over 1 K wide, overflows like the drop of an infinity pool, creating 2 shelves of hundreds of waterfalls over 80 meters tall. The most fierce section of the falls,”Garganta del Diablo,” creates overspray that can be felt from both countries, and when seen from above looks as though the water rushes without an end. We took the boat ride of a lifetime up to the falls, and walked along the pathways above them. Such a site verged on a strange contrast between power and serenity, fear and peacefulness. This “natural wonder” in its power and beauty calls for silence among its visitors because one only fumbles for words to describe, left in awe.



Here, I was humbled witnessing God’s beautiful creation. Hundreds of uniquely designed butterflies danced along our feet. Tucans and other birds chattered in the diverse vegetation. The towering falls mimicked a sliver of His power and beauty. He holds together every droplet, all orchestrated into an enduring roar. Even the throat of the devil and all of his power are under the sovereignty of God. Rainbows stretched over the waters from every angle—a reminder of His everlasting covenant with every living creature of all flesh on earth. My lack of words to describe the falls are many compared to those of our indescribable Lord. Resting in such wonderes reminded me that even the mountains will shout and the rocks will cry out if we don’t praise His name, for He alone is worthy to be praised.

A couple of nights ago, while on a nightbus from Brazil to Uruguay, I had a very strange dream. Time stopped and I was put in an unknown place where I though I was to be tested in some way. I floundered to sputter out attributes of God, but was quickly silenced for a lack of substantial words. Then, I heard a voice that I assumed to be His telling me to “Be still and know that I am God.” I could not move, I could not speak. There, I waited in the presence of the Lord.

Strangely enough, the morning we arrived in Uruguay, I opened a message from Steph and she quoted the same verse. Reflecting upon this series of events, this is what I saw and learned at Iguassu along the rest of my journies so far:

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Ilha Grande

Rio de Janeiro

Today is Kim and my last day in Rio before we head off for Foz do Iguaçu!

Highlights:
-Watching the sunset over the city from Cristo Redentor and Sugar Loaf, seeing the city transform into a sea of twinkling lights

-Stumbling upon an exhibition (Virada Russa) of the most iconic and famous works of art from one of my favorite art movements, Russian Constructivism (after the Russian Revolution) up close and for free, when I thought I would have to travel to Russia to see them. Works included: The Black Square, Kadinsky’s Compositions, Tatlin’s sculptures and so much more. Simply amazing.

-The food: Sucos (juice drinks) Fruta de Graviola (Soursop), Feijoada (the national dish: beans, sausage, pork, garlic and a dash of orange stewed together), guava juice, delicious fruits
-Beautiful beachs with soft, golden sand and deep blue waters

-25 degrees Celcius, everyday!

-Hippie Fair: a big market of artisan crafts made by locals

-Arcos de Telles: a quaint alley in all sorts of colors, kind of like New Orleans Square in Disneyland

-Trolley ride through Lapa, Gloria and Santa Teresa

-Meeting sweet people at our hostel and friendly Brazilians who helped us get by

The most amazing experience I’ve had, however, was taking a tour through the favelas. Millons live in Brazil’s favelas, literally separated from the wealthy sometimes by nothing more than a freeway. Drug lords have power over all but 4 favelas in Rio, and while the drug industry is a multimillion dollar a month production, those who live in the favelas live in extreme poverty, realing in about R$300 a month (R$1= about $1.8 USD). Those involved with the drug industry are not expected to live past 18 years old; basically, a 23 year old drug lord has complete power over the entire community of people living within that favela. Though Brazil has the 8th largest economy in the world, the gap between the wealthy and poor only continues to grow. One percent of Brazil’s inhabitants own HALF of the land. In favelas, any land is free to settle on, as long as you get there first. Many sell their roof space so others can build on top of their houses. Within the favelas, we walked into this grafitti studio, where a program was initiated to teach the kids to paint as a way of making money (as an alternative to begging or falling into the drug industry). Also, we walked into a daycare center, where food, clothing and child care is subsidized. There, we saw one of the girls who was staying at our hostel for a few days volunteering her time! Volunteers from around the world come with broken hearts for the population and serve there. Regardless, the people we encountered seem to glow with joy, especially the little kids, as we saw many flying kites and splashing in little kiddie pools. There is a strong sense of community and internal protection.

A couple of the locals Kim and I ran into taught us a few phrases, unique to Brazilian Portuguese. One of them is saudade (pronounced sal-dodge-e), which is a melancholic feeling of deep nostalgia and longing for something or someone. I can now understand how this word originated in Brazil: Brazil’s community holds close together, fueling every Brazilian’s intense identity in their country.

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Hasta Septiembre Estados Unidos!