Evan & Camila

This is a powerful yet short love story between Camila, a Chilean stable girl and Evan, a Clark Kent doppelgänger.  Evan looks over the Maipo Gorge just outside a horse stable and stares longingly at the vastness and beauty of the Chilean landscape.  Camila is caring for the horses and thinks she hears a noise outside.  She peaks over the wood fence and immediately wishes she can be the Lois Lane to this Clark Kent who is not even aware of her presence.  Evan now also hears something behind him and turns, but just before he can see Camila, she looks away.

They both now sense each other’s presence, but are currently performing the famous dance of pretending not to be aware of the other.  Camila now confidently exits the stable with two horses in tow and the two lock eyes for the first time.  Superman cracks a smile causing Lois to blush a little.  Evan, in broken Spanish, asks if she is going to ride, and Camila smiles and asks if he wants to join.  Evan answers with a cool yes, all the while not being over-enthusiastic about the opportunity to join her.

Camila leads, Evan follows and they ride for about half an hour with only few words shared.  Eventually, they arrive at their destination.  A fresh water stream glistening over colorful stones making for the perfect ambience for the two of them to share a moment upon its rocks.  Evan’s hand gently passes by Camila’s and they both immediately look towards each other.  Evan pulls his hand back just in time for Camila to reach for it.  Camlia leans in and gives a gentle kiss on Evan’s unshaven cheek.  Evan smiles and they both soak up their surroundings as if they have no other worries in the world.

From here, the story continues just as if the two were in fact Superman and Lois Lane minus the bad guys and the red and blue tights.  The two continue on happily in their Smallville-like existence in the Chilean countryside.

There is no reason why fairytales can’t come true.

 

Raftin’ & Ridin’

On our first full day in Chile, we pack our things and head off to Cajon del Maipo, a stunning gorge that starts just 25 km southeast of Santiago.  We head off early because we have a date with the Maipo River at 10am, and we are not confident that we won’t get lost along the way.

After experiencing the Maipo river at its highest level of the year and therefore at its fastest, we grab a quick bite to eat and continue on to horseback riding along side of the Maipo gorge.

Carreteras de Santiago

To facilitate getting around town and traveling between cities, we rent a Hyundai SUV.  However, we do not correctly predict the difficulty of driving within Santiago.  The aggressiveness of the other drivers isn’t the problem, the fact that we have to drive on the right side of the road only affects one of us, and streets are generally well lit.  The problem is Santiago’s lack of road signs.  We know that we are close because we were tracking our small blue dot using GPS, but turning on the right street becomes the challenge.  There are two moments in particular that we will probably not be soon to forget.

On one occasion, we are very close to our destination and know that we have to exit the freeway soon.  I am driving and am instructed to take the next exit on the right.  Following instructions, I take the exit and we quickly realize that this probably isn’t correct.  We have our Google Maps recalculate the directions, and the new estimated time to our destination is around one hour.  Somehow, we manage to find an exitless and endless road.  We enjoy the fact that we are climbing into the mountains and get a wonderful view of Santiago’s city lights below, but we soon realize that we do not want to continue on this winding, dark, never-ending road all the way to the top before having a chance to turn around.  Although this is technically a highway, the speed limit is only 60 km/hr and I sense an opportunity to turn around.  I can see decently ahead on the opposite side of the road and far behind on my side of the road.  I also spot a turnout on the opposite side of the road, all of which is guarded from a steep cliff.  I slow down and make a U-turn into this turnout.  I stop, wait for a car to pass me, and then merge back onto the highway now headed back towards Santiago and our destination.  First disaster averted, and I hope future never-ending roads are better signed.

The second exciting moment happens when we are driving through the city, and I am making a left turn as I am initially instructed, but then I am confidently asked to make a softer left onto a different road.  I react in time, and we start heading down this street when we soon realize that all three or four lanes of the road have headlights in them and are approaching us with seemingly decent velocity.  Many of these headlights feel the need to let us know of our error and blink their high-beams a couple of times.  We, meanwhile, stay uncomfortably stopped in the right most lane with our flashers on.  We wait for this anxious moment to subside, make a three-point turn on this semi-highway, and again continue on our way.  Second disaster averted, and I hope that future one-way streets are better labeled.

I am not completely blaming Santiago’s poor signage, the navigators within my car, or myself for these errors, but I am grateful that each error ended with no lasting consequences.

Vamos a Chile

To make our unnecessarily long break from school seem more “productive” and to escape colder and colder temperatures that recently caused the Charles River to freeze, four of my classmates and I took off for Chile.  With temperatures in the high eighties and low nineties, with daylight that lasts until almost 9pm, with an outdoor beauty that rivals the best in the world, and with the general laid back Chilean culture, Chile made for the perfect escape.

Since going to Israel and Jordan, I feigned being busy by doing a quick trip to Disneyland, celebrating New Years in LA, giving 110% of my voice in the Stanford win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl Game, returning to the Bay Area for a quick trip to see my sister, brother-in-law, and friends, and then traveling to New York and New Jersey where my time was split between seeing friends, enjoying New York, and most importantly, being a part of the birth and Bris of my new nephew.

After meeting some of the group at JFK Airport, we embark on our eleven-hour journey to Chile, which is always surprisingly more east than people imagine.  As proof, Santiago is two hours ahead of Eastern Time.  After we all recover from our redeye flight, we dare to explore the streets of Santiago.  We hit a couple sights like the Plaza de Armas while walking around, but our stops are generally more food focused.  We stop for lunch/dinner and then continue to find dessert at a fun hipster café called Café The Clinic.

The first day is spent exploring, finding the cheapest shoes we can for the next day’s river rafting, and driving around the many parts of Santiago.

Tel Aviv, Then Cali

Our layover in Tel Aviv is about seven hours, so we decide to enter into the city for a walk and some dinner before continuing on to Los Angeles.  We find a great spot called the Social Club where we split several appetizers and enjoy a couple cocktails.  Upon returning to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, we again get asked the usual questions including the purpose of our visit to Israel, if we have family living in Israel, what synagogue we belong to, if we speak Hebrew, and all the questions about our bags being in our possession since we packed them.

The quick fifteen-hour flight home involves a little more stretching than I had hoped.  I sit on the aisle next to two very friendly Jewish grandparents.  Before we even took off, I see pictures of all their grandchildren and learned what everyone was up to and where they were all living.  The one trait many grandparents share that concerns me is their relatively small bladders, and this fear was realized as I get up over at least a dozen times to let them reach the bathroom.  But alas, I am able to get some sleep on the plane and the fifteen hours don’t last as long as they could have.

I am now sad that the trip has come to an end, but I am also happy that I had this chance to spend time with my dad while exploring a new part of the world.

Jordan Border Crossing, Part II

We enter back into Israel between Aqaba and Eilat, right on this corner of the Red Sea that brings together Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.  Our car is not allowed to cross and thus we do it by foot.  After several passport checks, a couple more security scans, and a lot of questioning, we are allowed to reenter Israel and make our way to Eilat beach front resort.

Along with being a busy port, Eilat happens to be a very popular resort town on the Gulf of Aqaba.  With its attractions, giant IMAX pyramid, and enormous hotels, the only thing the city lacks to make it Israel’s Vegas is gambling.  The view from our hotel room is incredible as we look over several countries just by looking across the Gulf.

While in Eilat, my Dad and I have a fun dinner at Eddie’s Hideaway, and then continue on to check out some of the night life at Paddy’s and later at the Three Monkeys.  Eilat is a city that attracts lots of tourists, but mainly Israeli tourists; thus, although there was a tourist vibe as we walked around the city, the tourist vibe did not detract at all from the Israeli vibe.  The following day, we visit the Aquarium, one of the better-known attractions, before having one last snack and heading to the airport to take us to Tel Aviv and eventually back to Los Angeles.

Wadi Rum

On Christmas day, we visit Wadi Rum, the Wadi made famous by the T. E. Lawrence of Arabia.  In a country only 5% Christian, Christmas is not exactly a major holiday but it is nonetheless declared a national holiday.  In addition, the hotel buffet for Christmas Eve was definitely a step up from the night before, and our Guide Audi wishes us a Merry Christmas all the while knowing that we are very Jewish.

While touring Wadi Rum on the back of a Toyota pickup, my dad and I try on our Jordanian scarves and explore this very picturesque dessert.  We climb sand dunes, share tea with Bedouins, and feast on a traditional lunch before continuing onto Aqaba for a quick tour.

Little Petra

After seeing Petra yesterday, Little Petra, also known as Al Beidha, seems whelming (as my sister says, “if it is neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, it’s just whelming”).  Had we seen it first, Little Petra would seem much more dramatic, but after seeing the masterpiece that is Petra, it is hard for much to compare to that.  That all said, Little Petra was an important suburb of Petra and a stop for camel caravans passing through.  Similar to Petra, Little Petra is also full of sandstone buildings.

As we stand in one of the second story homes carved directly into the sandstone, I imagine a bustling civilization below.  I pretend there are people filling up buckets of water from the complicated water collection systems.  I see people coming and going with their camels and their tradable goods.  I imagine that the camels are overly decorated as a way for the traders to display their importance and wealth.  I know that it’s probably inaccurate, but I picture the TV series “Rome” with its costumes, colors, and dialogue and I superimpose that on this ancient ghost town.

What exactly life would have been like if I had been living a couple millennia ago and arrived at Petra, I will never know.  Archeology is all about trying to come up with our best guess of what happened, but I feel that using my imagination is more fun.

Picture Perfect Petra

There is something about Petra that seems simultaneously both ancient and more advanced than today.  This Nabataean settlement’s stunning rock-cut architecture is unimaginable and would be hard to create with today’s technology let alone over two thousand years ago.  As we pass through the narrow Siq, we eventually arrive at the famous Treasury façade leading to soaring temples and elaborate royal tombs, a theater, and more burial chambers.  After a quick lunch, we go to the Monastery, which is located atop 850 steps built into the sandstone.

Although the tourist economy has turned Petra into something more Disneyland-like with its camel and horseback rides, carriage trips, souvenir stands, and snack shops, the magic of this historic place remains untouched.  This day is full of highlights, and these pictures only begin to tell the story.

No Crowds

It is always nice to travel when there are fewer tourists and shorter lines; however, the circumstances that lead to this trip’s smaller crowds are not happy ones for Israel and the Middle East.  In the second half of last month, well over 1000 Palestinian rockets were fired at Israel.  Specifically, both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were targeted for the first time since the first Gulf War.  In addition, there was a bus bombing near the end of November in Tel Aviv injuring 28 Israeli civilians.

In Jordan, many tourists were probably dissuaded because of the recent clashes over the rise in fuel prices.  Also just last month, people in Amman were calling out for an end to the regime.  Confrontations between protestors and police had led to at least two deaths.

Because of this turmoil, this trip was a game time decision, but because things seemed to have settled down enough in the last month, my Dad and I decided that we would continue forward with our travel plans, and so far, we couldn’t have been happier that we did.  Also, both countries have felt incredibly safe even though we’ve seen our fair share of semi-automatic weapons strapped to the back of soldiers walking the streets.

Hopefully one day, peace in the Middle East will be a reality.  These are beautiful countries filled with lots of stories and so much to see and learn.