The Dads meet the Lake District-- PART 1

My dad and my best friend's dad landed in Santiago on October 29. From the Santiago airport, we went down south to Temuco to explore the Lake District. After one night in Temuco (we didn't want to force the dads to drive 2 hours in the rental car after 24 hours of traveling), we headed to Villarrica.
On our first afternoon in Villarrica, we visited the Termas Geometricas. Although it was a bit tricky to find these hot springs (read: we drove on a dirt road for 40 minutes and had no idea if we were going in the right direction), the drive was totally worth it! :)
Photo 1: The dads first Pisco Sour in Temuco.
Photo 2: The whole crew at Termas Geometricas. These pictures don't quite do it justice.
Photo 3: This waterfall was part of one of the colder "termas." Needless to say, I did no go into that pool.
Photo 4: Snowball fight in our swimsuits? No, thank you.
Photo 5: Me and Dad at Termas Geometricas. I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM! :)

Villarrica and Pucon

We stayed in the world's greatest hotel in Villarrica. There, I said it. We stayed at Hosteria de la Colina; a renovated home located on a hill overlooking Villarrica Lake and with an INCREDIBLE view of the Villarrica volcano. The hotel is owned by two Americans who fell in love with Chile's lake district 22 years ago and never quite left... We can't blame 'em!
Photo 1: Hosteria de la Colina. On a cloudy day.
Photo 2: The first waterfall... I can't remember it's name! :(
Photo 3: Dad and I at the... first waterfall?
Photo 4: Cascada China. Glen and Bev, the owners of the hosteria, did a great job of recommending day trips for us. We were the only people at the day waterfalls we visited.
Photo 5: The view from our hotel. I wasn't joking around, guys.
Photo 6: Although it was foggy our first few days in Villarrica, we finally got a spectacular view of the Villarrica Volcano on our third day. It was well worth the wait.

Valdivia

From Villarrica, we headed about 100 miles further south to Valdivia. Valdivia is located about 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, but, most importantly, is where 14 rivers converge. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel along the river for two nights. We visited Valdivia's famous fish market, the dads sampled the local beer, and we visited a nearby town on the Pacific Ocean called Niebla.
After two nights in Valdivia, we headed back to Temuco in order to fly back north to Santiago. We had a great get-away with the Dad's. Now back to reality in Santiago!
Photo 1: An eager customer at Valdivia's fish market.
Photo 2: I think this picture sums up our time in Valdivia perfectly. Somehow the waiter knew that the other three of us spoke Spanish. Dad got the special "English" menu. There were SO many typo-o's that it probably would have been easier for him to understand in Spanish.
Photo 3: Honoring the Mapuche Gods of fertility in Temuco.
Photo 4: No comment...
Photo 5: Our final meal in the Lake District. We were the only people at a restaurant overlooking our (least) favorite city in all of Chile.

Vina del Mar -- Dad Edition

After a solid 48 hours in Santiago, we headed off to Vina del Mar for a weekend of relaxation and gambling. If you are an avid follower of my blog (JOKING) then you know that Liz and I went to Vina del Mar with our moms as well. They told us they wanted "the experience" of staying in a hostel. After their first night, they had completely changed their minds. In order to avoid any possible hostel drama, Liz and I decided we should stay in one of Vina's best hotels. Best decision EVER.
Photo 1: Me in front of the Cap Ducal. Their motto: We're not near the ocean, we're ON the ocean.
Photo 2: The view from our room.
Photo 3: We started off our first full day in Vina del Mar with some 10am gambling. Dad and I won 2,370-- pesos. That's about $5. With that money, I bought a new pair of sunglasses.
Photo 4: A photo on our morning stroll. Our FIVE hour morning stroll. The beaches in Vina are absolutely beautiful. I am not actually complaining!
Photo 5: On one of the famous funiculars in Valparaiso.
Photo 6: Me and my host family. On my dad's final evening in Chile, he was able to meet my host family. Unfortunately, Diego wasn't around. Oh well, Dad will just have to come back to Santiago. Diego is that important.

Happy Everybody

On October 28, I celebrated my 20th birthday (once again) at Happy Everybody. Happy Everybody is a fantastically named Chinese restaurant in Santiago with not so fantastic Chinese food. Yes, I chose the location of my birthday celebration completely based on its name.
Photo 1: The whole crew.
Photo 2: Me and Liz.
Photo 3: Showing off one of my gifts-- orange nail polish! I am so bold.

Feliz cumpleanos a mi! :)

Even though my birthday was on a Monday AND I had to teach a two hour English to third graders all by myself AND I had a midterm, I still found time to make my day fun! :)
I invited two friends over to have "once" with my host family. My host parents, two host brothers, and my host brother's best friend also came to celebrate with me.
Best gift: A banano aka A FANNY PACK! I now feel like an authentic Chilean. :)
Photo 1: My host family knows that I don't drink alcohol so they bought me a special beer "sin alcohol"-- without alcohol. Liz thought it was hilarious and proceeded to take about 230498 pictures of me with it.
Photo 2: My birthday gifts with our beverages.
Photo 3: Me with my host mom, Vickie.
Photo 4: Modeling my banano....
Photo 5: The jovenes. From left to right: Pablo (my host brother's best friend), Diego (my host brother), Me, Paige (a Tufts student who is also studying abroad in Chile).
Photo 5: My tres leches birthday cake. Complete with 20 trick candles. Oh Diego... :)

Valle de Elqui

On Saturday, October 9, I left for a weekend trip to Northern Chile. Because I had a three day weekend, I was able to see a great deal of the Valle de Elqui seven hour north of Santiago.
After our long bus ride, we visited Observatorio Mamalluco to stargaze. It was amazing! It was so exciting to see constellations that we can't see in the Northern Hemisphere.
The next morning, we headed to Monte Grande to visit the Gabriela Mistral Museum. We took a short hike up to her grave as well. After that, we cooled off in a nearby river. We were so excited to escape the overpopulation, smog, and schoolwork in Santiago!
From there, we headed to Pisco Elqui where we saw a Dia de La Raza parade. We did some exploring and had a picnic lunch by the river.
The next day we took a hike to the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Vicuna. We had breath- taking views of the entire Valle de Elqui.
We had a beautiful and relaxing weekend! :)
Photo 1: Me and Gabriela Mistral! :)
Photo 2: The view from Gabriela's grave. She's got it made.
Photo 3: Our private river/ swimming hole.
Photo 4: The church in Pisco Elqui's plaza.
Photo 5: Sunset in Valle de Elqui. This was taken on our bus ride between Pisco Elqui and Vicuna.
Photo 6: Mission accomplished! After our hike of Cerro La Virgen in Vicuna, Chile.

Valparaiso Take 2

On Saturday, September 25, I took a day trip to Valparaiso with about 15 other students from my exchange program.
We visited Chile's Naval museum, toured Pablo Neruda's home La Sebastiana, and had a picnic on the beach. It was a beautiful day! :)
Picture 1: The Chilean coast
Picture 2: The whole gang at La Sebastiana
Picture 3: Chile's Naval Museum

Iquique

After two full days in San Pedro de Atacama, we took an overnight bus up north to Iquique. Iquique is a beautiful city known for it's beaches, casinos, and PARAGLIDING.
On our first day, we explored the city, did a bit of shopping, and had a picnic on the beach. On the second morning, we went paragliding over the Chilean coast. It was incredible! My pictures and descriptions really don't do it justice. It was one of the most unreal and SCARY experiences of my life.
Photos 1-2: A beautiful morning in Iquique. :)
Photo 3: The girls in downtown Iquique.
Photo 4-6: PARAGLIDING
Photo 7: ME PARAGLIDING (the other three pictures are actually of Liz and Megan)

San Pedro de Atacama: Day 1 Part 1

On Thursday, September 9, I left for San Pedro de Atacama for three friends. After a semi- miserable 24 hour bus ride, we arrived in San Pedro just in time for dinner on Friday evening.
The next morning we got up at 4am for a tour of the El Tatio Geysers. Although we were extremely exhausted and cold, the geysers were beautiful and well worth the early wake up call. Next we headed to nearby hot springs to defrost. The hot springs were greatly appreciated after our freeeezing cold morning.
Photo 1: Me and El Tatio.
Photos 2-3: Various geysers...
Photo 4: Our beautiful view from the hot springs.
Photo 5: The whole group warming up a bit.