Sand everywhere!

Well, it’s mid-April and I’m a little over a third of the way through my program.  It’s crazy how fast time is flying by, but it’s so exciting that I can say I still get 3 months in Chile. The weather is still incredible (knock on wood) and I’ve enjoyed running to and from the gym I joined and also on the boardwalk by the ocean. I’d like to think I’ve settled down a little bit, but I don’t think I will ever experience the feeling of being settled here. There’s always so much going on, and as soon as I sit down, I’m planning somewhere new to go explore. 

On Sunday a large group of us from ISA took a day trip to Boca Beach, Horcon, Zapallar, and the sand dunes in Con Con.  At Boca Beach we relaxed and some of us went horse-back riding.  Horcon was a very small sea town, full of artesanias and restaurants with really good empanadas. It was on a pelican beach with beautiful clear blue water.

Next we headed to Zapallar which is a white-sand beach.  The wealthiest of wealthy in the area live in Zapallar.  The beach is located in a cove, and these huge houses overlook the beach/ocean from the hills that surround the cove.  The houses were fun to look at because they were so big, but each one was different.

After swimming and laying out for a few hours we headed to the bus again and they surprised us by taking us to the sand dunes over Con Con for sunset and some sandboarding. Sandboarding is like snowboarding minus the nieva (snow) and with arena (sand). We got to see an incredible sunset and had a great view of Vina and Valpo from the dunes.

My friend Ryan clearly has natural talent for sandboarding.

I’m about to head to my dance class now. Last time we learned the salsa and samba, and the moves came in handy when we went out to a salsa club this weekend! I just finished my first real homework assignment, a 4-page essay on some place in Valpo or Vina. I went to the Cerro Concepcion in Valparaiso because of the beautiful/colorful architecture, graffiti, and miradores (viewpoints).  We found a great art store/coffeshop where my friend Carrie and I ate torta and café (cake and coffee) and talked to the owner for a long time about the area.

I’m hoping to head to Santiago this weekend and maybe catch a futbol game if Colo Colo is playing! You will hear again from me soon! 

THE PATAGONIA!

I just got back from the one of the most incredible experiences of my life, the Patagonia! There were seven of us who went, five boys and two girls.  Needless to say the girls had a workout keeping up with the boys and I have the blisters and battle-wounds to prove it. We did the “W” trek, which includes the southern portion of the Patagonian circuit.  It usually takes people about 5 days to complete the whole “W”, and we did the majority in about 3.  We hiked/camped from East to West, starting the first day out right with Torres del Paine.  The hike was absolutely beautiful, and sort of difficult, so we were glad we left our packs down at the camp.  The last portion of the hike involved climbing up loose rocks (of course) that would have made my mom freak out if she saw me climbing it.  But we finally made it to the top and were able to spend some time in total and complete serenity in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.  We later made our way down to camp at the base of Torres for the night, where we built a great fire and stargazed at the best night sky I’ve ever seen. 

The next day we woke up to the sun shining again! (We really lucked out with perfect weather the whole trip.)  The plan for Day 2 was to pack up our gear and hike through the Cuernos to the middle of the “W” and camp at Campamento Italiano.  The hike was HARD, especially with our packs.  Some of the uphill treks never seemed to end, but the scenery kept me sane, and every hilltop became more and more gratifying. We made it to Campamento Italiano which sits on a glacial creek at the base of Paine Grande and the Frances Glacier and the Cuerno Principal. We made it with enough daylight to lay out on the rocks and relax with the view for a few hours.



 The next day, Nate, Ivan and I set off for Refugio Grey while the others did a day hike up to Campamento Britanico. It was a short hike of about 2 hours to the campsite at the tip of Lake Pehoe with our bags, which was a relief from the previous day.  We set up camp, grabbed lunch, and set off for our day hike up to Glacier Grey. The trip is a 3.5 hour hike, and we made it in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The guys were definitely getting me in shape.  The glacier was amazing, I couldn’t believe it was so blue.  Glacier water is a whiteish-blue too, so it made for some incredible sightseeing.  It was super windy, but the strange thing was the wind was really really warm!  Contrary to what I had thought about the tip of South America…near glaciers…but I guess the world is full of funny things. We made it back down in two and a half hours with water stops at natural glacial springs – by far the best water I’ve ever had in my life! We met up with the rest of the group there and had a great night sharing pictures and stories, and meeting other travelers, including two guys from Israel.  Nate, Ivan and I headed out the next day by catching a ferry across Lake Pehoe and busing it back to Puerto Natales where we settled in a hostel and hit the same restaurant 3 times in 2 days for really good and cheap food. 

The next morning we spent time in a coffeeshop/bookstore/souvenier-shop that was owned by a couple from Colorado.  They opened the store early for us and made us specialty coffees and let us use their internet  We were lucky to meet great people on such a biting cold morning.   Later we bused to Punta Arenas where we hung out in various restaraunts, pubs, and internet cafes to pass the time before our flight. Although I was extremely sad to leave the most beautiful place, my body was grateful for a break and to enjoy a free weekend home in Vina with my family.  

Pisco en La Serena y La Valle Elqui!

This post was written last week, but I didn’t have time to post before I took off!

 

Last weekend, five friends and I traveled about 6 hours north to a city called La Serena.  It’s the second oldest city in Chile, and it was really beautiful.  There was a church on every street corner, and all of the streets were either cobblestone or tiled.  We went over la Semana Santa and Pascua (Easter weekend), so there were a lot of people in the church town and just about everything was closed.

We took a bus an hour inland to the Valle Elqui which is famous for its Pisco (Chilean brandy) and its incredible scenery.  


 We went Pisco tasting at the Piscaria, early at about 10 a.m., so I opted for the pisco called “Cola de Mona” which is like Bailey’s in the states. It was yummy!  We also went to an observatory that wasn’t actually that cool because the moon was so bright. However, I took this amazing picture of the moon through the telescope.

We found two great hostels during the trip and met people from all over the world including Germany, Argentina, and Australia. Everyone was really nice and we got some great deals too!

I’m leaving in about 4 hours for the airport to go to the PATAGONIA with some friends for a week! If the weather cooperates, I will hopefully have some incredible pictures to post soon!