English summary: Adventure, the greatest teacher of all

So many friends asked me to finally write something in English. I tell you something: putting few months in a blog test is not an easy task, nor did I find time previously to write. My main purpose of the blog was finding and easy way to inform my family and relatives that everything is fine in this side of the globe, as well as writing down memories for later use. I'm happy I got so much positive feedback and so many relatives of relatives who I didn't even know are reading my blog. Anyway, I'm trying to put something down in English.

Let me tell first the principles: I came to South America with poor knowledge of Spanish and I was to start en exchange semester in Buenos Aires in a university that is entirely taught in Spanish and it wouldn't be easy for me.  Instead of taking an expensive Spanish course I decided to do something else - go traveling around the country, meet people, do little discoveries and learn the language "on the street". So I arrived in Buenos Aires after a memorable farewell week in France to discover that this wouldn't be easy - I was confronted by 35 degrees and an approaching thunderstorm, I was nearly dead by the weight of my backpack and countless hours of traveling, in a World that was new to me, in a language that I had only been studying for a while and practiced even fewer. Now this all this seems like a distant memory.

I left half of my belongings in Buenos Aires and decided to start discovering the continent from the southest point - Ushuaia. The plan was basically this: Go from Ushuaia to Santiago, the budget is 800 euros, I have 6 weeks, how I will do it... that will be improvised. Basically I counted on my dear friend Couchsurfing.org to solve my problems. And that's how it was: I got a host in Ushuaia who didn't speak any English and my Spanish started to slowly build-up, word by word, being surrounded by the natural beauty of Ushuaia.

This is Ushuaia, the World's southernmost city.

The word "improvised" came to it's real meaning when I figured out my budget is definitely not enough to cover all these kilometers, which would be around 4000, and then I should make it back to Buenos Aires somehow, which is 1500 km more. So what happened was definitely not planned beforehand - I ended up hitch hiking up north. Basically the idea was me, my backpack and my tent, let's go! After 5 min of waiting this became the true adventure. I met countless nice people, who took me thousands of kilometers; who shared dinners with me; offered me accommodation; taught me Spanish and much more. What happened between Ushuaia and Santiago in 6 weeks.. is not a secret, but too much to tell, as you can see from this blog which has been filled with weird Finnish words trying to express something. I tried to capture some of my favorite moments in form of pictures.

I was sitting on the deck in Ushuaia waiting for the sun go down, when it was almost midnight. Someone else came sitting on the same deck with me and asked: "I'm sorry but I had the exactly same idea as you. If I don't say anything, do you mind if I sit here too?"

Mate - this wonderful drink. This is when I tried it first time and I was taught how to properly make and enjoy it. Also in Ushuaia. 

Everyone who's been hitch hiking knows the feeling..

Alejandro took me 800 km from Ushuaia to Puerto Natales in his car. We were driving along this lonely Ruta 40 seeing only 3 cars during a 5- hour drive. In the middle the car broke. Eventually the trip continued. He taught me Spanish and I taught him English.

One of my life-challenges  - Torres del Paine in the extreme south of Chile. I hiked total 100 km in 4,5 days.  After this picture I made a stupid decision and left hiking alone the last 12 km when the night was already coming and ended up struggling for every single step, climbing up and down canyons and ladders, actually a bit horrified if I will ever make it to the camp site, surrounded by a deadly nature : a wide glacier on the left, spiky mountains and powerful streams on the right. That was.. great!

Few days after I could enjoy the piece of nature with my private beach along the trek..

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the next great moments because I broke my camera.. I cannot either explain how it is to sit 4 hours on the side of Ruta 40 (see pic above) hoping for a car to come and pick me up, and then hoping the person is actually not going to kid nap me (or "Finn nap like my friend Jeremie told). It was a wild and free moment, spiced with a healthy sense of fear.

I slept one night in slum- like conditions and caught a salmonella which took me down for almost 4 days. Then I met at the camp site a French couple who took me in their car 3 days across the border of Chile to a place which was not as brutal as Argentinian Patagonia, where nothing grows. Now when I listen to "Rodrigo y Gabriela", whose CD we listened through many times in the car, I can remember the feeling of salvation when I was finally getting away from the dead part of Patagonia.

If you have been almost two weeks in a nature that is constantly trying to kill you with it's winds and constantly changing weather, thanks to our close proximity to the South Pole,  a Chilean Patagonia felt like a true paradise. Oh, and it is a paradise. The nights might be so cold you need 3 huge dogs to warm you up, but after all you might even use a T-shirt during the day. Chilean Patagonia became a place that must be visited again. The green-blue colors of the lakes and streams, the snow-capped mountains, the picturesque little villages, hundreds of flowing waterfalls and of course the Aysen people, listed it one of my all-time favorites, no matter if the summer might not be actually any warmer than in Finland, actually a bit colder. Oh, and black sky that has so many stars I had no idea before... This place I miss.

What comes to the picture above.. It was taken 3 minutes before Oscar took me in his car and brought me 3 days back to Argentina. Unfortunately that time I didn't find in Argentina (I was in El Bolsón and Bariloche) what I was looking for and another adventure brought me soon back to Chile. Basically what thrives and shapes my adventure are the people. And the decision was not regretted, I was soon admiring the gorgeous Valley of Cochamo with a group of Chileans, who soon became my good friends.

 Most people find Chilean accent very ugly, but in my opinion there's something very cute in it, whether I completely understand what they are trying to tell me or not.

After somewhat crazy days with a plenty of Pisco in Cochamo and Puerto Varas I found myself in a truck going to Chiloé island which was never part of my travel plans. The truck driver was trying to prove me I definitely need a Chilean boy friend, like him. The invitation was surprisingly not accepted and I left to check the tranquil island of Curaco de Velez.

Our Fiesta de la Luna in Chiloe

After few days I was back in a truck to Puerto Montt, and after admitting that it's the ugliest city of Chile I headed back to Puerto Varas wondering if there's still some Pisco left. No, I continued to Santiago.

In Santiago I was hosted by a Chilean guy who was in exchange in Finland and we shared some crazy "teekkari"- memories along Terremotos. Good times.

I found my all-time favorite city, Valparaiso, which smells so bad and is partly too dangerous to walk at any time of the day, but oh I felt so connected with the city. 

Now it is 6 weeks since I left Ushuaia and I was hosted by a young Spanish- teacher Diego who approved that my Spanish could be called "fluent". How did it happen that I just happened to hitch hike, camp, couchsurf and do silly things 6 weeks and suddenly I have a fluent Spanish? well, that's basically how it happens... I was ready to return to Buenos Aires.

Between Santiago and Buenos Aires there's just one last stop - Mendoza, where we were so bored that at 1 o clock at night we 4 decided to drive up to the mountains and make a fire, so we weren't that bored anymore.

And then I was back in Buenos Aires ready to find out that my Spanish skills are one of the best of all my class and I'm many times mistaken to be a Spanish girl thanks to my accent. This blog text is missing a lot of great stories that should be told.. but it was a great example how traveling can be a great teacher and a girl can definitely travel solo even in South America.

Now I'm living a boring regular life in Buenos Aires (oh, there's plenty of irony, I'm trying to live a regular life but it's not possible) and waiting for my next big adventure..