I am obviously not cut out for the blog world. I haven't made a post in two months but I promised I would about Chile. I am warning you beforehand that this is super long. So if you want to skip it, pictures will be up soon!
Chile was absolutely amazing. Last Saturday night we flew into Santiago, got settled into our hostel, ate dinner at the restaurant next door and had the most delicious hamburger I have ever eaten. It was mouth savoring. (I think it only tasted so good because we were hungry) Sunday we took a tour called la bicicleta verde where we rode around the city on green bikes. It was so fun! We got to see more of the local and bohemian part of the city rather than the big touristy stuff. After the tour we took a glorious nap under a tree in the park. The park was beautiful. Everything was so green and clean. It was a great Sunday afternoon. After our nap we went to an art museum and later that night we climbed this death of hill called Cerro San Cristobal. At the top there’s this huge statue of the Virgin Mary. It was so hard to climb. It took about an hour and it was uphill the entire way zigzagging its way up and around the mountain (or I guess VERY large hill) I think I developed asthma just trying to climb the thing. Despite the hard climb it was a beautiful view at sunset. We got up there at sunset but didn't think about it being dark on the walk back. Yes. Pitch black. Downhill slope. I fell. A lot. I have a huge bruise on my knee to show for it. About 5 minutes into our walk this man started yelling at us to go a different way. It was kind of scary. From then on out we were paranoid. Hailey thought someone was after us. BUT a dog started walking with us from the top of the hill all the way out of the gates at the bottom. I have no doubt in my heart that it was Jesus in dog form. As silly as it sounds I believe it. It was such a comforting and peaceful feeling that came over me with the dog there. It was great. We ended the night with some yummy froyo, oh how I miss is. Monday we took a bus to Vina del Mar to visit our friend Jay from Harding. The ocean there is beautiful! It was so much prettier than Montevideo beaches. I'm jealous of Harding's study abroad program. They get to go everywhere! We got to meet all of Jay's friends from Harding, all of whom are so nice. We instantly became friends. I miss them. We ended up hanging out with them the entire time we were there. Tuesday we went to the sand dunes with them. We didn't have anything to slide down so it was kind of a fail but it was super fun to run down the dunes. Oh and some idiots drove their car in the dunes and got stuck so all the boys had to help them try to get out. Since the dunes were unsuccessful we went to the beach to lay out. We had a nice chat with the girls while the boys played frisbee and attempted doing back flips. Wednesday we went to a neighboring city called Valpraiso and just walked around. I wish we could of stayed there longer but it’s apparently dangerous at night. That night we had to say goodbye which ended up being super sad. I would have loved to stay longer. Thursday we went to the mountains! It took forever to get there but totally worth it. It went like this - bus, subway, subway, bus, taxi - total of 4.5 hours. No bueno. Anywho..we ended up meeting these Norwegians at our refugio that were at the same hostel as us in Santiago. Small world! They were so great and we hung out with them the whole time we were there. That night we had dinner..oh. my. goodness. We had spaghetti. I had the small porcion. It was the size of my dinner plate stacked about 3 or 4 inches. And yes I ate every single bite. I was a bit disgusted with myself but it was good :) Afterwards we played Phase10 with our Norwegian friends. I also learned some Norwegian words! Friday we hiked a mountain. A seven hour hike actually. As we started out I thought I was going to hate it but I actually ended up loving it! Who would of thought..me..the hiking type? It was the most incredible day. The entire time God was by my side. I felt God walking with me every step of the way pushing me further and showing me more of his beautiful creation. It was incredible. It was one of the best days I have ever had. I was apparently a really fast hiker according to Hailey. I wasn't afraid of falling or anything so I just kept on trekking. I knew God was with me so there was nothing to worry about. It was a lot of fun. After our day long hike I ended up eating the same huge plate of spaghetti. And yes..I ate every bite. But this day ended perfectly..we went to look at the stars. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. A million times better than the stars I see at camp. I could see the milky way so clearly. God's creation is so wild. The complexity of it all. It amazes me everyday. Saturday. I woke up SO sore. Every muscle in my body hurt. I’m still recovering. We travelled back to Santiago and just pittled around looking at markets and relaxing. The whole day was pretty chill playing cards and talking. I met a guy from Ireland in our hostel. He disappointed me with the news that Ireland only has 10% redheads. I was hoping for more. That's my people. We're dying out. That night we thought someone stole from us because Hailey woke up hearing someone moving around the hostel who wasn't staying there and another girl counting money saying "it's all uruguayan money" We’re from Uruguay..hence the scare. Luckily they didn't steal from us but we did worry for a bit. Sunday we climbed another hill. It was the hill where Santiago was founded. I signed my name on a brick there..to forever be in Santiago. We decided to go back to the delicious burger place from last time. Disappointment. It wasn't as heavenly as the first time. I have found out that everything tastes so much better when you're starving. We followed it by getting ice cream at this famous little place. Orange ginger ice cream is delicious. After we just sat in the park til it was time to go to the airport. We saw a commercial being shot while we were there. It was so amusing! One of the extras was awful. He was supposed to run into this table while looking at a beautiful girl but he kept knocking it to the ground. It was really fun to watch! Overall it was a fantastic week but by Sunday I was so ready to go back to casa. Now I’m back and I have school. In two weeks I’ll be in Brazil. Can’t wait! I think this is long enough and I’ll try to post more often!
Chau!
