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.