Whoo okay so I got up early just to get a spot on the hostel computer so I can leave you guys an update of what has been going on!
Colin and I have just returned from Parque Nacional Torres del Paine where we hiked and camped out for the last 5 days. And man, it was INTENSE! So much hiking and moving around it wasn´t even funny. BUT, we ended up completing the W trek, a very popular trek that takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of the park in 4-5 days. You can see a map of the full circuit and the W here: http://www.i-needtoknow.com/paine/maps/index.html. Anyways, it was an absolutely spectacular and challenging experience for me and I´m so glad I did it. Honestly, the first two days were so rough for me with my body getting used to the weight of my pack and walking all the time that I almost gave up. But I didnt and we made it!! Such a big accomplishment for me. And man, was it GORGEOUS. Such a unique and beautiful landscape. The lakes are all a beautiful crystal blue with super green valleys and huge snow capped glaciers. I cant wait to show you guys pictures!
Other than that, Colin and I spent our first few days in Santiago just sort of touring around. I took him to see a few things that I had already done like Cerro Santa Lucia and a few museums. I also took him to the two hippest neighborhoods and we spent some time walking around them. Other than that we just took it easy and found things as we went. Colin stumbled upon a cool little museum while we were walking near the Plaza de Armas so we went in there and looked around. We also visited Pablo Nerudas house in Bellavista: La Chascona. So now I can officially say that I have seen all of his houses in Chile.
Then we flew down south to Punta Arenas where we hung out for a day and a half mostly just to rest and ready ourselves for the park. We did some walking around and found an awesome little restaurant downtown that served amazing seafood. I´m not usually a seafood lover but I was converted here! And, we also went on a day tour to Las Pinguineras, a nearby farm that is situated near the coast where you can go and see Magellanic Pinguins. They were so cute!! But there weren´t that many and overall I thought the tour was too overpriced. But, whatever.
We just got in to Punta Arenas once again last night and we will be leaving this afternoon to go back to Santiago. We still need to go to the grocery store and do our laundry before we head off so I´m going to get going now. Next up: Easter Island. This should be interesting . . . can´t wait to tell yall about it!
Love you guys!! Be well. Have a very Merry Christmas!!!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The time has come . . .
We've finished our exams, packed our bags and said our goodbyes. My school days in Chile are officially over!! Its been a very fun and emotional couple of days trying to spend time with Sara and Nathalie before they left. They've been such wonderful friends to me and they were a huge part of making this trip so memorable for me. I am very happy to have met them and I look forward to seeing them again soon!!
Meanwhile, Colin arrives tomorrow! I've gotten a transfer all set up to take me to the airport bright and early. Needless to say I am super excited to see him. Being away from each other has been a little hard at times (even though I think we've both managed it super well). Skype is awesome but seeing him in person will be even better!!
I've got some pictures from the last couple of days here in Santiago. They are from our goodbye dinner that we had last week.
Group photo: our Track 3 class and our awesome professor, Jaqueline
Me, Sara and our buddy Tim
The girls and I with our Spanish professor, Jaqueline
The girls and I with our friend Maya
Vino!! :)
Also a couple photos from Algarrobo the other weekend:
We made friends with the owner of the restaurant and he wanted to be in our group picture haha
And one more from an asado a couple weekends ago:
Like I said before, I will be doing my best to keep ya'll updated on our activities. We will spend the first few days in Santiago visiting the museums, markets and all of that. Then we will head south on the 15th and thats when the fun really begins!! I don't think I will be able to share pictures though since I won't have my computer with me. But I will post them when we get back.
I hope you all are well! Love & miss you all lots!!
Meanwhile, Colin arrives tomorrow! I've gotten a transfer all set up to take me to the airport bright and early. Needless to say I am super excited to see him. Being away from each other has been a little hard at times (even though I think we've both managed it super well). Skype is awesome but seeing him in person will be even better!!
I've got some pictures from the last couple of days here in Santiago. They are from our goodbye dinner that we had last week.
Group photo: our Track 3 class and our awesome professor, Jaqueline
Me, Sara and our buddy Tim
The girls and I with our Spanish professor, Jaqueline
The girls and I with our friend Maya
Vino!! :)
Also a couple photos from Algarrobo the other weekend:
We made friends with the owner of the restaurant and he wanted to be in our group picture haha
And one more from an asado a couple weekends ago:
Like I said before, I will be doing my best to keep ya'll updated on our activities. We will spend the first few days in Santiago visiting the museums, markets and all of that. Then we will head south on the 15th and thats when the fun really begins!! I don't think I will be able to share pictures though since I won't have my computer with me. But I will post them when we get back.
I hope you all are well! Love & miss you all lots!!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Almost done!
Day 1 of exams done, only one more to go! I'm soo ready to be done and start preparing for Colin and I's big vacay. He will be here in FIVE DAYS aaaaaah!! I'm so excited!!
Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to get pics from the lovely Nathalie from our activities over the last few days, but she did share some pics with me from our desert trip that she took. I'm going to post those now and post the rest later this week.
Hope ya'll are well!
Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to get pics from the lovely Nathalie from our activities over the last few days, but she did share some pics with me from our desert trip that she took. I'm going to post those now and post the rest later this week.
Hope ya'll are well!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Things are wrapping up here . . .
Hola de nuevo mis gringitos!! Como estan?
Everything is going pretty well here. I only have one more day of school and then I am free to prepare for my finals exams (which are all on Mon and Tues). I've only got one more little essay to complete and then its really just study, study, study!
I had a great time in Algarrobo with the girls last weekend. The town itself is absolutely gorgeous. And, its still low season there so there wasn't really too much going on. We stayed in a really nice residencial (a mixture between an inn and a hostel) and we had a good time. We ate, read, relaxed and drank wine. Pretty good if you ask me!! I absolutely love Chilean wine. It is so cheap and delicious. Plus, they have a type of red wine here called Carmenere which is native to Chile. Its so delcious!
Meanwhile, the girls and I went out last night as sort of a going away dinner. The 3 of us met with our friend Maya to go and check out a really awesome Spanish restaurant here in Santiago. We drank some Sangria and ate delcious Spanish tortillas- yummm! Tonight, there is a cena de despedida (going away dinner) being put on by the study abroad program. Pretty much the whole group of us is going to be there. There will be all the usual eating and drinking, plus a picture show, nomination of superlatives and maybe some talents too! Its going to be interesting . . . Then, tomorrow we are having a party in my Spanish class complete with food and drinks. We've also each selected un amigo secreto (pretty much the same think as secret santa in the US) and we are getting each other little gifts! Friday night the girls and I are having a wine night with our Chilean friend Daniel. We are each going to pick one of our favorite wines and spend the whole night drinking and talking :)
So, I've got a lot going on right now. And pretty soon Colin will be here (only a little over a week) and we will be heading off on our adventure!! I've going to go ahead and put our itinerary on here so you guys can see what we have planned. I should have internet access throughout our trip (except when we visit Torres del Paine) so I should be reachable through email and I will be trying to blog with our experiences and pictures.
Dec 12- Colin arrives in the morning. We will go to the hostel and spend the next two days touring around Santiago.
Dec 15- Flight to Punta Arenas arrives in the afternoon. We spend the next day touring around Punta Arenas.
Dec 17- Early morning bus to Puerto Natales. This trip takes roughly two hours. Then, we will take another bus to Torres Del Paine National Park. There, we check in and spend the next 5 days in the park.
Dec 22- Leave the park in the late afternoon/evening and catch a bus back to Punta Arenas.
Dec 23- Flight to Santiago. We will arrive in Santiago in the evening and spend the night in the airport.
Dec 24- Flight to Easter Island in the morning. We spend the next 5 days exploring the island.
Dec 29- Flight to Santiago. We will arrive in the evening and stay in a hostel.
Dec 30- Early morning bus ride to Valpariso. We spend the next three
days celebrating New Year's and relaxing in Valpo.
Jan 2 - 5: Early morning bus to La Serena. We spend the next three
days touring around the coast.
Jan 6- Back to Santiago where we leave for the US!!! I will arrive in RDU around 12:30PM on Jan 7th.
Thats all for now! I will post pictures sometime this weekend so keep your eyes peeled. Love ya'll!
Everything is going pretty well here. I only have one more day of school and then I am free to prepare for my finals exams (which are all on Mon and Tues). I've only got one more little essay to complete and then its really just study, study, study!
I had a great time in Algarrobo with the girls last weekend. The town itself is absolutely gorgeous. And, its still low season there so there wasn't really too much going on. We stayed in a really nice residencial (a mixture between an inn and a hostel) and we had a good time. We ate, read, relaxed and drank wine. Pretty good if you ask me!! I absolutely love Chilean wine. It is so cheap and delicious. Plus, they have a type of red wine here called Carmenere which is native to Chile. Its so delcious!
Meanwhile, the girls and I went out last night as sort of a going away dinner. The 3 of us met with our friend Maya to go and check out a really awesome Spanish restaurant here in Santiago. We drank some Sangria and ate delcious Spanish tortillas- yummm! Tonight, there is a cena de despedida (going away dinner) being put on by the study abroad program. Pretty much the whole group of us is going to be there. There will be all the usual eating and drinking, plus a picture show, nomination of superlatives and maybe some talents too! Its going to be interesting . . . Then, tomorrow we are having a party in my Spanish class complete with food and drinks. We've also each selected un amigo secreto (pretty much the same think as secret santa in the US) and we are getting each other little gifts! Friday night the girls and I are having a wine night with our Chilean friend Daniel. We are each going to pick one of our favorite wines and spend the whole night drinking and talking :)
So, I've got a lot going on right now. And pretty soon Colin will be here (only a little over a week) and we will be heading off on our adventure!! I've going to go ahead and put our itinerary on here so you guys can see what we have planned. I should have internet access throughout our trip (except when we visit Torres del Paine) so I should be reachable through email and I will be trying to blog with our experiences and pictures.
Dec 12- Colin arrives in the morning. We will go to the hostel and spend the next two days touring around Santiago.
Dec 15- Flight to Punta Arenas arrives in the afternoon. We spend the next day touring around Punta Arenas.
Dec 17- Early morning bus to Puerto Natales. This trip takes roughly two hours. Then, we will take another bus to Torres Del Paine National Park. There, we check in and spend the next 5 days in the park.
Dec 22- Leave the park in the late afternoon/evening and catch a bus back to Punta Arenas.
Dec 23- Flight to Santiago. We will arrive in Santiago in the evening and spend the night in the airport.
Dec 24- Flight to Easter Island in the morning. We spend the next 5 days exploring the island.
Dec 29- Flight to Santiago. We will arrive in the evening and stay in a hostel.
Dec 30- Early morning bus ride to Valpariso. We spend the next three
days celebrating New Year's and relaxing in Valpo.
Jan 2 - 5: Early morning bus to La Serena. We spend the next three
days touring around the coast.
Jan 6- Back to Santiago where we leave for the US!!! I will arrive in RDU around 12:30PM on Jan 7th.
Thats all for now! I will post pictures sometime this weekend so keep your eyes peeled. Love ya'll!
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