August 2019: Cows, Cheese, and Job Offers
Too Much Chile
We carry around a little spice kit. Sometimes it gets funny looks in the airport, bags on bags of white and tan and red powders. It’s mostly oregano, but for those adventurous nights there is a tiny ziplock full of ghost pepper. Not only can you ruin your food if you mistake it for normal red pepper, but you may also start to weep if you have the misfortune of touching your eyes even hours after seasoning a dish.
In this case, though, we are not talking about our propensity for spicy seasonings, but indeed the country of Chile.
We crossed the border of Bolivia at the end of July on foot (the guards seemed quite bemused). Then, we hitch hiked down nearly 3,000m, the temperature rose by 30F, and Tori nearly cried tears of joy.
We only spent a week in the country, honestly just because we couldn’t bear the barren high desert anymore. Although we’d love to return to Patagonia one day, what we saw in the north was a tad unsettling.
Like most places we’ve been this year, the people were wonderful, but the system seemed woefully broken. We hope to write more about our observations, especially about the city of Calama. We felt like the inequality deserved an entire investigative journalism team.
*Update from the future here. Indeed there are horrible protests raging across the country as of November 2019.
As sad as we are, we are not an ounce surprised. Just a week spent talking with the people of northern Chile, buying half a kilo of vegetables for more than their minimum wage, was enough to spark red flags.
If you want to learn more about what’s going on, this gives a good intro.
Leveling with You
We were only in Chile because of, you guessed it, a cheap flight.
Level, a subsidiary of British Airways, flew us all the way into a different season for less than $200. We were stoked.
However, purchasing so many flights is the single worst thing we’ve done this year, and we know it. Uber budget traveling can truly be great for the environment. Not only does it promote international discourse and global understanding, but it puts you in a position where consumerism is nigh impossible.
Order from Amazon? Nope. Nor anywhere else. One change of clothes for us. Drive a car? We barely even take buses. Shower? Maybe once a week.
That’s not to say the way we travel is perfect, nor that travel and tourism itself is without issue. But as the world is bubbling, it’s hard (and frankly irresponsible) not to consider our impact.
Getting the Star
This month seems more full of existential musings than most, but that’s not to say real substantiative things didn’t happen!
Shoutout to Stefan for snagging a job at the only Michelin starred restaurant in Niseko, Japan. (Yes, he has both a wildly untamed beard and exactly no experience waiting).
He’ll be heading to Japan in November to ski Japow 8 hours a day.
Our Favorite Trail… Ever
Well, Tori’s at least. Stefan is a tad more of a masochist.
We flew from Santiago to Barcelona and spent the month hiking the HRP. The long distance trail zigzags through the central Pyrenees on the border of Spain and France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. It’s full of shepherds and cheap rosé and the most idyllic campsites you could ever imagine.
It was gorgeous and unspoiled and so many more adjectives that you’ll soon grow tired of the gushing.
But truly, it was a hike of peace and introspection. Sometimes we don’t take the time needed to reflect on how lucky we are to explore this wide, wild world. This time, it was impossible to ignore.
♡ Stef and Tor