South America a travel blog by Jamie Irwin My first adventure alone! My trip starts in Santiago, Chile. I plan to explore the south of Chile including the Lake district and Patagonia. Next, I plan to cross into Argentina and work my way to Iguazu falls in the northwest. Next, I'm going to meet up with my mom in Belize for a few weeks, and finally I end my journey in the south of Peru working my way up to Lima where I catch my flight back to the States. view all 16 photos for this trip

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Valparaiso, Chile Valparaiso, Chile Linda and I took a day trip from Santiago to Valparaiso, a port town about an hour and a half from Santiago. The architecture was amazing. The whole valley was filled with multicolored houses of varying age and condition. There were many splendid old houses, old glass windows intact. There were also murals painted all over the city, some political others purely artistic. Linda and I basically wandered the streets all day finding many magical alleyways and nooks that seemed to ooze history. It was a great breath of fresh sea air sorely needed from the metropolitan Santiago. written by  Jamie Irwin on April 13, 2008 from Valparaiso, Chile from the travel blog: South America Send a Compliment 1 comment...

el campo Vilches, Chile My visit to the mountains was more than I ever could have hoped for. I started my journey at Refugio de , about an hour and a half southeast of Talca on the bus. I spent two days at this wonderful hostel run by a french couple who biked through the area and desided to stay. The first day, I took a hike to a beautiful waterfall and spent the day reading and lounging by the river in the sun. The weather was perfect and the sunlight filtering through the trees had a mystical aspect to it, especially since I was the only person for kilometers in every direction. The next day, I went on a wonderful, although slightly tedious, hike with the only other guest at the hostel, an environmental engineer from Santiago named Clavio who shared my love of the wilderness. We had a wonderful time and were both able to practice our language skills, me Spanish and he English. The next day I decided to go to the thermales, natural hotsprings, about 30 km from my hostel. I tryed to catch the one bus of the day, but ended up being a little late. However, a nice couple gave me a ride for 20 km and I walked the rest from there. It was a beautiful walk, and I stopped to draw for a while on the way. Also, I picked up a friend along the way as I passed through one of the pueblos, a beautiful pup who followed me for 7 km to the springs, warding off everything in my path. Finally, I arrived at the springs, exhausted and hungry. Luckily, the only other guests at the springs invited me to have lunch with them. So, after a well earned soak in the springs I headed to the cabinas written by  Jamie Irwin on April 21, 2008 from Vilches, Chile from the travel blog: South America Send a Compliment comment on this...

La vida tipical Vilches, Chile Sorry, I had too much to update and needed to take a break. I'll continue where I left off, which is really the start of a new journey anyway. So, I was invited to lunch unbeknownst of the fact that it would be prepared by an amazing chef. There must have been something in the comida because I just couldn't seem to get enough of Alvaro, a chef from Chile who has been living in Barcelona. So, I joined my new friends in Talca. The next day, we decided to go camping in a local spot near Vilches with Alejandra and Picho some childhood friends of Alvaro. However, when we got there all of the places to camp were closed because it is too late in the season. However, my Chileano friends persuaded the manager of a camping local to let us stay there. So, we had an entire valley to ourselves, including spectatular views, horses, a river and the best company I could have hoped for. written by  Jamie Irwin on April 21, 2008 from Vilches, Chile from the travel blog: South America Send a Compliment comment on this...

A change in pace Talca, Chile My journey to into the wilderness of Chile has turned into something quite different. I don't have much time at the moment, so the following is a synopsis on which I'll elaborate later. Long story short, I fell in love with the chef of that serendipitous meal at the Hot Springs. There must have been some kind of magic in the much needed meal he made for me after I had walked 10 km to the Hot Springs, because we just couldn't seem to get enough of each other. From the minute I met Alvaro, a chef from Chile living in Barcelona, there was chemistry. From then on, the more we found out about each other the more I liked him and he me. I have been staying with Alvaro and his family for the last two weeks and have enjoyed every minute. First, we spent the weekend at a local oasis near Vilches with several of his friends, where we had an entire valley, including horses and river, to ourselves. Next, we came back to Talca and stayed with his family, going to various fiestas of the family and friends. Next we went to Santiago, where we met some of his friends and drove to Colorado, a ski resort about 1 1/2 hours from Santiago. Here we had an entire hotel restarant to ourselves. It was beautiful and his friends were hilarious. Then, yesterday, we returned to Santiago to take Alvaro to his flight to Barcelona, where I hope to visit in August. Now, I am staying with a friend of his in Talca because it is a holiday this weekend, and the buses and hostels are packed. However, I will continue my journey south on Sunday. written by  Jamie Irwin on May 2, 2008 from Talca, Chile from the travel blog: South America Send a Compliment comment on this...

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Jamie Irwin
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I am a biology student from Colorado taking a break from academia to regain my love of learning, somehow lost in too many stifling years in a classroom. So, now I am returning to the invigorating wonders of nature where I have always felt most at home.