Of my final days in Valdivia;

I arrived in Valdivia, Chile in the end of March and Left mid July. Since it was the city where I was living and studying I got to know the city pretty well. On my bike I saw just about every corner of Valdivia and the surrounding countryside. I met many great students at the university and I got to know a few great professors at UACh. And I can never forget about how caring and friendly my host family was.

From Chile W16

In my last few weeks I was busy writing papers, preparing for finals, and getting ready to travel. One day the skies were all clear and it wasn't too cold (this was just before the winter solstice) so I went down to Niebla on the coast to write one of my essays.




  I got a bag of clam empanadas from the market and found a nice place on the beach to write about South American literature. I didn't really want to write so I spent a good amount of time taking photos on the beach.







Part of the empanada making process.


The market at Niebla. Most of the booths are selling empanadas, shish kabobs, or chicha.


This is apple chicha which is like apple cider.


Before Chile's first football game in the Copa America all the flags came out.


There were still plenty of protests going on in the city. For last few weeks my classes were held in buildings outside of the main island campus since the Chilean students took over the school. For about a month the university professors were not allowed to hold classes while the students blocked off the entrances and held a camp out on campus. This is a photo I took from my bedroom window. Most of the student marches would end at this university administration right next to my apartment. Over the months I saw lots of demonstrations with banners, megaphones, and noisemakers.



They have trolls in Chile too.



A statue next to my apartment.



Mi casa. I lived on the 3rd floor in an apartment with my host mom and brother.



My favorite empanada spot in town. I don't think it even had a name. But when ever there was a fresh batch ready they would put up a big sign saying 3 empanadas for 1.000 pesos. This is about $2 USD for some of the biggest empanadas you could ever eat.

Film Feature: Valparaiso

From VinaValp Scan

I love looking at the old maps of South America.   This one is a stained glass map at the Valparaiso Maritime Museum.



A street in Valparaiso with its odd curb bumps. I'd imagine those would be very annoying if you aren't looking where you are walking.



Plaza Sotomayor and a lone woman ranting about something in front of the building of the navy. Since it was my first few days in Chile and getting used to their Spanish I have no idea what she was saying. But, no one else was paying attention to her, so I guess I didn't miss much.



Looking out over the city from the properly named Artillery Hill.



The base of the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique. It is probably a safe guess that if there is a guard watching the monument all day then it must be important.



The top of the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique. It is remembering the death of Arturo Prat, one of Chile's naval heroes, and the other men who died in the battle of Iquique during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883).



A naval guard in Plaza Sotomayor.



Another big gun from the Maritime Museum.




Not all of Valparaiso is old buildings, monuments, and museums. It also has a number of newer tall buildings packed into its twisted and narrow streets.

Film Feature: Santiago

After my flight got into Santiago, Chile last March I had a few hours before needing to be at the bus station so I explored a small section of the city.


This was the first picture I took in Chile. It isn't anything exciting, I just need to make sure my camera survived the ride in my checked luggage. I took my free time to walk around the Park Quinta Normal, but it was still the morning so none of the museums were open.



Then I came across this cool building. It is the Artequin Museum. I later found out that it was built in France in 1889 to represent Chile in an expo. The whole pavilion was then shipped by boat to Valparaiso, Chile and then overland into Santiago in 1893.


The same building in France; 1989





Along with the street dogs of Chile there are always street cats.

Of the Territorial University of Washington;

150 years ago today the Territorial University of Washington opened its doors to students for the first time. It was opened on a donated section of land from Seattle pioneer Arthur Denny in what is now downtown Seattle. The university moved in 1895 to its current location. Not much remains from the original building other than a hand full of photos, 4 heavily restored fluted columns, and a a leased tract of land downtown. Today the students and graduates of the University of Washington celebrating the great history of this school and 150 years of higher education.


I've collected a few photos which show the original building of the University of Washington in the young city of Seattle. The links to the archives lead straight to their respective records pages where you can find links for larger original copies.



The Territorial University on opening day November 4th, 1861.
UW digital collections




An early shot of Seattle looking over what is now the downtown core and waterfront showing the Territorial University and Elliot Bay
Washington State Archives - Digital Archives




A southern view over 1870s Seattle from the original University of Washington location.
Washington State Archives - Digital Archives




A section from a photo of Seattle's waterfront.
Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection




One of my favorite old maps of Seattle

Film feature: Valparaiso

From Scanned photos Chile W1

A view of Valparaiso, Chile from Ascensor Artilleria, one of the few still functioning funiculars in the city. A funicular is the proper term for a tram that makes its way up a hillside through the use of rails and cables. This funicular is from the turn of the last century and for a few pesos will slowly take you the 80 meters to the top of the hill.



Two standards of Chilean cuisine: the pisco sour and a bowl of seafood.



Looking down the old city streets of Valparaiso filled graffiti on all the walls and the occasional gringo with the Chile guidebook out.



It could be a window or it could be a door. I'm not sure, but I love those sorts of architectural elements which Valpo has a lot of.

of analog photograhpy; of my first week of film in Chile;

In my months in Chile and traveling people saw me carrying around my camera and shooting a photo here and there. When I wanted a photo of myself I'd have to get someone else to snap it. One of the first things people would notice is that there is no display screen. Then I would have to explain (in spanish) that it is a film camera and that they only have one chance to shoot a great photo with it since I don't want two shots of the same thing. A lot of people were excited to take a real film photo and interested in the camera since has all the classic mechanical sounds of a reflex camera when you hit the shutter. It was also a lot of fun for me to line up shots, put more thought into my photos, and to have the surprise of seeing my film developed. So far I've had 8 rolls developed, I have 2 more ready to go to the photolab, and one roll half finished still inside my camera.



My Minolta Maxxum my sister found for me on craigslist before I left for South America.


I've been playing around with the scanners at the UW trying to find the right settings for my photos. I'm not sure if I like the vintage look where there is dust on the scanner or if I want be a clean preservationist and dust down the photos/ scanner to give a clean copy. But either ways, here are a few photos from my first week in Chile.

From Scanned photos Chile W1

An old city bus in the coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile




A shot of a crumbling wall in Viña del Mar, Chile



A large araucaria (monkey puzzle tree) in a plaza in Viña del Mar, Chile



The view of one of the hillsides from my hostel in Viña del Mar, Chile

Of my return;

I have been back home in the States for three months now and I feel it is time to continue this blog. I still have a lot of photos, stories, and other interesting fact to share from my travels. I haven't been posting because of how busy I've been. In my last few weeks in Valdivia, Chile I was busy with finals, planning my next travels, packing, and also just spending my last days in Chile with all the new friends and awesome people I've met. While traveling Argentina and Uruguay I had no time to post because I was busy going from city to city and having the time of my life. Even after getting back into the US in the start of August I was still busy traveling. I only had a few days to rest and start unpacking my stuff before leaving to spend the next two weeks between the Leavenworth/ Lake Wenatchee area. Then university football season started. I spent the next few weeks busy with music and marching rehearsals and going to UW football games. After having been in the US for about 6 weeks I counted and figured out that I had only slept in my own bed for less than 10 nights. But now, my schedule is normalizing. My bags are all unpacked and have settled back into my home. And since I now have free time during the day, I hope to share more stories and photos of my travels and just what I've been up to through this blog.

I have a collection of photos from my last weeks in Chile, traveling Argentina/Uruguay, and scanned copies of the 35mm photos I shot abroad. For now, I have a small selection of photos from the last several months to give you a taste of what is soon to come to the blog.

View of the Pacific fron Niebla, Chile



The Andes and Patagonia



Snowboarding at Cerro Catedral, Bariloche, Argentina



The canals of Tigre, Argentina



The historic town of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay



Montevideo, Uruguay



My rasta friend in Buenos Aires, Argentina



Buenos Aires, Argentina



Partying in the BA



Returning to the US and camping near Leavenworth, WA



Vacationing at Lake Wenatchee



Photos from my Minolta Maxxum 35mm film Camera



Nebraska? Yep, I went there too.



Husky Marching Band



Go Dawgs!