First weeks in the Machu Picchu Town

After being 10 months in Urubamba I decided to have a little change and move to another town here in the Sacred Valley. I got a job teaching English in the hotels in the Machu Picchu Pueblo also called as Aguas Calientes. The first weeks have gone fast but I have to say that this is definitely the most isolated and rainiest place I ever lived in! But I'm still enjoying it. :)

The town of Aguas Calientes is build around the famous ruins and therefore the location is also in the middle of nowhere. There are no roads to this town as it’s surrounded by big mountains and the nature reminds more of a jungle than a valley. The only transportation to this town is by train unless you want to hike about 3 hours to the next town. Before moving here I thought Urubamba is small but now I know that I was wrong. In my new hometown it takes about 15 min to walk from one side to another and therefore there’s no need for cars.

My new job is to teach English to the workers of one hotel brand. The hotel is a five start hotel and the area of the hotel is bigger than the whole town! I only have 4 classes a day so therefore I also have a lot of free time. The people I've met are all very nice and I feel welcome to the hotel. I can also eat at the hotel every day and also take part of their tours. I've already done a bird watching tour, saw bears that the hotel also has in captivity but which are rescued from other places and took part of the excursion which the hotel organizes to the local children. With the children I had a change to visit a local Inca museum and visit Machu Picchu again. Even that it was my second time at Machu Picchu, the place is always so amazing that I probably will visit there again.

On my free time I've done hikes to the surrounding areas. I hiked to the mountain called Putucusi to where you need to climb hundreds of steep stairs but the view was definitely worth it! From this mountain you can see Machu Picchu as well and it doesn't cost you anything! It’s definitely my favorite place over here.Teaching in the hotel has been fun too and the students are lovely people. I already got another job offer from a local hostel so it seems that I will be settled down well to this town. J

Day trip to Valparaiso

When visiting Santiago one of the must visit places is a city nearby called Valparaiso. This is a harbor city which is also famous for a neighborhood on the hills where the houses are full of colors and paintings. What 's special about this place too are the lifts that people use to go to the top of the hills instead of walking up the stairs. In this city there's no need for a map and it’s better to get lost on the winy little alleys and admire the artist works on the streets.

Valparaiso is only one hour and half away from Santiago and it was easy to travel there by bus. After wondering around the city I wanted to visit also the next city called Viña del Mar which was only 20 minutes away by bus. In this city was also a beach and lying on the beach was the perfect ending for my day trip. 

New Year's Eve in Chile

I had planned to travel to Chile already a long time but finally I had the time and money to make the visit there. However, I only had a change to visit the capital city and the surroundings of it so I definitely have to go there again to see the other sides of Chile too.

That week I stayed at my friend Ari’s home who I knew from travels in Australia over 5 years ago so it was also great catching up with him after all those years. He had a nice apartment in a good location from where I could walk everywhere and that’s what I mostly did during that week – walked. I walked to the look-out hill, to the various green parks, to the massive shopping centers etc. That was a great way to see the best sights of the city.

In Chile it was much hotter than I was imaging so I also ended up spending a lot of time in the pools of Ari’s friends´ houses which was a nice contraction for all that walking. I also had a change to visit many parties with Ari and his friends and I met many nice Chileans who were really keen on practicing their English with me. I was really surprised how many Chileans speak such good English but that suit me perfectly as I couldn’t really understand much of the strong dialect of the Spanish they speak in Chile. Actually I never had heard such a funny accent of Spanish before and the way Chileans speak and what kind of slang they use made me smile. Every Chilean also kept telling me that they have the worst accent of Spanish in the world and I wanted to agree with them. J

(Cycling around the city)

The actual New Year’s Ever I spent together with Ari and his friends and family. I was supposed to have dinner with Ari’s family but as I’m really bad with directions I couldn’t find the right house so I missed the main dinner! Luckily I could join the others before the midnight so I didn’t have to welcome the New Year alone. There were not many traditions during that evening but as they do also in Spain some people eat the 12 grapes during the last 12 seconds of that year. Also what many Chileans believe is to wear yellow underwear during the New Year´s Eve as it will bring luck for the next year. Also if you wish to travel next year you should carry your suitcase and go around the main plaza. I don’t know how many times you should go around the plaza but I decided to skip this tradition anyways as I thought that I probably will travel next year in any case without doing the ritual.

(12 grapes to bring luck for the next year)

In Chile it’s not allowed to shoot fireworks at all so the only shows were done by the city itself. The fireworks were shot from a hill and the show was beautiful! We had a great spot witnessing the show from a balcony and you could also see the city in the horizon. Around one o’clock it was time to move to the actual party and me and Ari had bought tickets to a private pool party organized by one family in their garden. The surroundings were beautiful and the party well organized. There were 2 DJ’s, free snacks and a bar where you could order different cocktails, a pool and shisha pipes. It was a great party and the people were nice. We ended up staying at the party until the sunrise before it was time to get some sleep. New Year´s Eve in Chile was a great way to welcome the new year full of new adventures.

(My host Ari)