After visiting Antofagasta, I continued further south. Hitchhiking and couchsurfing through La Serena, Valle del Elqui (a place you must visit when going to Chile), Viña del Mar, Valparaiso and finally Santiago.
I guess most people know what hitchhiking is. What about couchsurfing? I will try to explain what couchsurfing is, since I think it is a great community and a great way to travel!
I experienced that people have different ideas of what couchsurfing is. Some people use couchsurfing just to have free hospitality when traveling, some to get to know other cultures, practice languages and/or make friends from all around the globe and some even use it for dating, which I find odd though.
So here´s how it works. You make a profile with a description of yourself, your interests, the places you have traveled or want to go and the languages you speak. From here you can start to host people in your house or surf in someones house. You will see if you speak the same languages, have any common interests and if you think you would get along.
I joined couchsurfing in the summer of 2012 when I went hitchhiking in Europe. I thought it would be a great way to make my cheap journey even cheaper. I had heard about couchsurfing, but actually didn´t really know much about it. I thought it was all about living for free in different countries around the world. I very fast realized that there was much more to it.
My first host took me around her city, showed me some of her favorite places and we exchanged cultures. Yes! That is what it is about. Exchange cultures. We talked about our countries, travel experiences and also just about music, movies etc.
Couchsurfing to me is a way of getting to know different cultures and getting the best out of your visit in a city with a local to guide you. You always have a friend wherever you go. Sometimes it might just last for a few days and sometimes they will invite you to stay for longer if you want and are able to do so. I´ve had many different experiences, but no bad ones. Some people just opens their house to you, but don´t have any time to share with you. Others might take a day off work to hang out with you, show you town, meet up with their friends, do something typical for their culture etc.
After every couchsurfing experiences, you leave a reference for future hosts or surfers to read about your impression of this person and to mention if he/she was a good host/surfer.
Even if you stay in a hostel, you can use couchsurfing. There will often be events where you will meet other travelers or locals, go drink a beer, go to the beach, sightseeing or whatever you want. If there is no event, you make one yourself and hope someone will join you.
I could write a lot more about couchsurfing in general, but now I will get to one of my couchsurfing experiences here in Chile.
So I had written a few people in Santiago and one of them, Polo on 24, was able to host me. When I arrived to town I was met by Polo, his parents and his younger sister. Besides getting to know each other, they also took me through town in their car. They pointed out all the important buildings and sights along the way and explained me what they were. A lot better than a sightseeing bus!
We arrived to their house and I was surprised - it was huge! The house had 8 bedrooms and a pool in the garden. I had been used to sleeping on couches in living-rooms, but not anymore. Even though that this is not the importance of couchsurfing, it was not a bad surprise :)
I was introduced to Fausta, the housemaid from Peru and to his two other brothers, a younger and an older brother. After a delicious dinner, I finally got to shave my long beard! I had started to look like a bum.
When trying to hitchhike out of La Serena towards Viña del Mar, I walked along the cars that was waiting for a green light. I had my backpack on and my thumb sticking out. To me it was clear that I was trying to get a ride, but several people started digging into their pockets looking for some change to give me. When I told them that I was trying to get a ride, they were surprised and tried to get rid of me.
Anyway, I shaved and we went out. It was Saturday and Polo had just finished one of his last and most important exams for his engineering studies. A guy from his class had a small house with a huge garden in some suburb and he threw a party. We bought some pisco, which is what everybody drinks in Chile, picked up some of his friends and drove to the party. A great night, talking to different people all night and drinking pisco. Pretty much like a danish private party. People started of by talking and drinking. Then when everybody was drunk, people started dancing and suddenly doing a limbo competition. A party as I know it :)
The following day, Polo took me around the center of Santiago. Even though it was Sunday and everything was closed, I still really enjoyed it. He told me about the different places we went and after a good walk we found some food. A nice cafe was open and he said I had to try some typical food from Chile. So I got a pastel de choclo, he got a Salmon a lo pobre and we shared it over local beer. In the afternoon we went to the park with some of his friends and hung out for a few hours.
Monday was Polo`s birthday. He had some family and friends coming over in the evening and I was invited to join the table. Delicious food and great company. All of his friends were so open and easy to talk to. One of them had been to the famous Roskilde festival in Denmark and it was interesting to hear about his experiences. Wednesday morning I left Santiago.
I had a great time in Santiago. Local guiding, meeting a lot of Polo`s friends and being a part of his every day life. The great thing was, that he didn´t really change his plans because of me, he just included me in them. I couldn´t imagine a better way to visit Santiago!
During my time in Santiago, I had some interesting talks about various subjects with both the family and also Fausta (who was practically also a part of the family). I told them about Denmark, the people, the culture, the climate, the welfare etc.
I will very shortly describe one of my other couchsurfing experiences. It was in Antofagasta where I was couchsurfing on Katia`s couch. She convinced me to stay until the weekend so she could throw me a party where I could meet her friends and try some typical Chilean stuff. The plan was to leave Friday morning, but her idea was much better.
Friday she invited over her closest friends, prepared piscola (pisco with cola), wine with melon (whitewine that you pour into a melon, drinking it with a straw and eating it with a spoon afterwards), sopaipillas with delicious salsa and choripan (both typical Chilean foods). During the night she even demonstrated the national dance of Chile named Cueca.
The following day, we went to her friends house who was a dj. We were 5 people dancing and drinking in the living-room at 1pm to live dj music on huge stereos. Afterwards we brought food, drinks and speakers to the beach, where we camped all day. Besides that we usually had some of her friends over or went out to meet someone or eat at the local marked.
These are the kind of experiences I would not get in a hostel. I took part of every day life with people all over Chile with different social and educational backgrounds. All very interesting. I like staying in hostels as well, meeting people from all over the world and share stories. Everybody has a unique and interesting story in my opinion. But when traveling through South America, I don´t want to just look at the locals, I want to meet them. Couchsurfing is a great and easy way to do this!
I guess most people know what hitchhiking is. What about couchsurfing? I will try to explain what couchsurfing is, since I think it is a great community and a great way to travel!
I experienced that people have different ideas of what couchsurfing is. Some people use couchsurfing just to have free hospitality when traveling, some to get to know other cultures, practice languages and/or make friends from all around the globe and some even use it for dating, which I find odd though.
So here´s how it works. You make a profile with a description of yourself, your interests, the places you have traveled or want to go and the languages you speak. From here you can start to host people in your house or surf in someones house. You will see if you speak the same languages, have any common interests and if you think you would get along.
I joined couchsurfing in the summer of 2012 when I went hitchhiking in Europe. I thought it would be a great way to make my cheap journey even cheaper. I had heard about couchsurfing, but actually didn´t really know much about it. I thought it was all about living for free in different countries around the world. I very fast realized that there was much more to it.
My first host took me around her city, showed me some of her favorite places and we exchanged cultures. Yes! That is what it is about. Exchange cultures. We talked about our countries, travel experiences and also just about music, movies etc.
Couchsurfing to me is a way of getting to know different cultures and getting the best out of your visit in a city with a local to guide you. You always have a friend wherever you go. Sometimes it might just last for a few days and sometimes they will invite you to stay for longer if you want and are able to do so. I´ve had many different experiences, but no bad ones. Some people just opens their house to you, but don´t have any time to share with you. Others might take a day off work to hang out with you, show you town, meet up with their friends, do something typical for their culture etc.
After every couchsurfing experiences, you leave a reference for future hosts or surfers to read about your impression of this person and to mention if he/she was a good host/surfer.
Even if you stay in a hostel, you can use couchsurfing. There will often be events where you will meet other travelers or locals, go drink a beer, go to the beach, sightseeing or whatever you want. If there is no event, you make one yourself and hope someone will join you.
I could write a lot more about couchsurfing in general, but now I will get to one of my couchsurfing experiences here in Chile.
So I had written a few people in Santiago and one of them, Polo on 24, was able to host me. When I arrived to town I was met by Polo, his parents and his younger sister. Besides getting to know each other, they also took me through town in their car. They pointed out all the important buildings and sights along the way and explained me what they were. A lot better than a sightseeing bus!
We arrived to their house and I was surprised - it was huge! The house had 8 bedrooms and a pool in the garden. I had been used to sleeping on couches in living-rooms, but not anymore. Even though that this is not the importance of couchsurfing, it was not a bad surprise :)
I was introduced to Fausta, the housemaid from Peru and to his two other brothers, a younger and an older brother. After a delicious dinner, I finally got to shave my long beard! I had started to look like a bum.
When trying to hitchhike out of La Serena towards Viña del Mar, I walked along the cars that was waiting for a green light. I had my backpack on and my thumb sticking out. To me it was clear that I was trying to get a ride, but several people started digging into their pockets looking for some change to give me. When I told them that I was trying to get a ride, they were surprised and tried to get rid of me.
Anyway, I shaved and we went out. It was Saturday and Polo had just finished one of his last and most important exams for his engineering studies. A guy from his class had a small house with a huge garden in some suburb and he threw a party. We bought some pisco, which is what everybody drinks in Chile, picked up some of his friends and drove to the party. A great night, talking to different people all night and drinking pisco. Pretty much like a danish private party. People started of by talking and drinking. Then when everybody was drunk, people started dancing and suddenly doing a limbo competition. A party as I know it :)
The following day, Polo took me around the center of Santiago. Even though it was Sunday and everything was closed, I still really enjoyed it. He told me about the different places we went and after a good walk we found some food. A nice cafe was open and he said I had to try some typical food from Chile. So I got a pastel de choclo, he got a Salmon a lo pobre and we shared it over local beer. In the afternoon we went to the park with some of his friends and hung out for a few hours.
 |
| In the park with Polo, waiting for his friends to arrive |
Monday was Polo`s birthday. He had some family and friends coming over in the evening and I was invited to join the table. Delicious food and great company. All of his friends were so open and easy to talk to. One of them had been to the famous Roskilde festival in Denmark and it was interesting to hear about his experiences. Wednesday morning I left Santiago.
 |
| The friends at the birthday party |
 |
| The grill at the birthday |
 |
| Singing for Polo |
I had a great time in Santiago. Local guiding, meeting a lot of Polo`s friends and being a part of his every day life. The great thing was, that he didn´t really change his plans because of me, he just included me in them. I couldn´t imagine a better way to visit Santiago!
During my time in Santiago, I had some interesting talks about various subjects with both the family and also Fausta (who was practically also a part of the family). I told them about Denmark, the people, the culture, the climate, the welfare etc.
I will very shortly describe one of my other couchsurfing experiences. It was in Antofagasta where I was couchsurfing on Katia`s couch. She convinced me to stay until the weekend so she could throw me a party where I could meet her friends and try some typical Chilean stuff. The plan was to leave Friday morning, but her idea was much better.
Friday she invited over her closest friends, prepared piscola (pisco with cola), wine with melon (whitewine that you pour into a melon, drinking it with a straw and eating it with a spoon afterwards), sopaipillas with delicious salsa and choripan (both typical Chilean foods). During the night she even demonstrated the national dance of Chile named Cueca.
The following day, we went to her friends house who was a dj. We were 5 people dancing and drinking in the living-room at 1pm to live dj music on huge stereos. Afterwards we brought food, drinks and speakers to the beach, where we camped all day. Besides that we usually had some of her friends over or went out to meet someone or eat at the local marked.
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| The cueca! |
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| Choripan, Vino con melon and Sopaipillas |
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| Food at the market. |
These are the kind of experiences I would not get in a hostel. I took part of every day life with people all over Chile with different social and educational backgrounds. All very interesting. I like staying in hostels as well, meeting people from all over the world and share stories. Everybody has a unique and interesting story in my opinion. But when traveling through South America, I don´t want to just look at the locals, I want to meet them. Couchsurfing is a great and easy way to do this!
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