Pucon

Volcano
thermal bath outside
river that we crossed on the canopy tour


food!
waterfall

beautiful weaving
Mapuche- he came over to the cabanas and hung out with us for Halloween 
Laguna verde

Inside the cabana
Soaking up the sun
This weekend I traveled to Pucon with CIEE. It was about a 10 hour bus ride south on the boarder of Argentina. It is right next to an active volcano and many beautiful rivers and staggering green mountains. The weather could not have been more perfect. We stayed in 5 star cabanas which were unbelievable-pool, hot tub, sauna, tennis courts, you name it. On Friday we got in around 9 a.m. and had breakfast in this building that was built like a castle and then chose the activities we wanted to do the next day. Then we went to a Mapuche community (Mapuche are indigenous people from Chile- the name translates as 'people from the land') and spent the afternoon with a family learning about their music, dance and traditions and sharing some of ors as well. Then we had a wonderful meal outside around a fire. The food was all traditional and everyone scrambled for seconds! After eating they taught us a game that looked similar to field hockey and we soaked in the beautiful views of the rivers and countryside. 

Since it was Halloween we grilled out and had a little costume party in our cabana which was the size of a house. We made grilled chicken and veggies, guacamole and chips and white wine blended with strawberries and sugar... yum! 

On Saturday I did Hydrospeed (which is going down rapids on a thick boogy board with flippers and a helmet.. just a little bit more adrenalin pumping than rafting! hahah) and a Canopy tour which were both really fun. I was going to stay until Tuesday and climb the volcano, but since I didn't feel too well I ended up going back with the group--volcano will have to wait... :(

On Sunday we went to a waterfall and had a picknic by a pretty lake and then spent the afternoon at a thermal spa. We went back to the cabanas for dinner and then back on the bus for a long uncomfortable nights ride getting home just in time for classes Monday morning! It was a great trip and I hope I will be able to go back someday- I'm really excited to get to travel more in the south!

Pichilemu

Punta de Lobos

George, Claire and Jackson!
BIG waves

Last weekend I went to Pichilemu which is a surf town with a bohemian feel. It was about a 3 hour bus ride from Santiago, but it took us almost 6 to get there because we were on a local bus that made countless stops along the way. I stayed at a family-run hostel with the friends I went with and met a few really cool people there as well!

On friday we went out to Punta Lobos where the waves are bigger for the more hardcore surfers and then went back to la Puntilla to surf ourselves. I rented a wet suit and board for about $12 and tried to get some waves... tried being the main word here- there were a few times I almost did it, once really close... but it was fun just to be out in the water.

Other then that we just ate, drank, and chilled with friends- good conversations with good people-what more could I ask for? :)

Rock climbing near Reñaca

Rocks perfect for bouldering
Pato- one of the deportes de montaña instructors who took us here
Javier
Javier's dog Bushie


Beautiful day! First time I climbed and got sprayed by the ocean at the same time!

Setting the rope

My camera ran out of battery, but the top of the rocks had a great view of the cost and many pretty flowers! We're going back next week so I'll take more photos

Before
After



About a week and a half ago I went diving with one of my chilean friend's Ricardo, his friend Enrique and Ruthie. We went to a small beach a little bit north of Con Con and they gave us a lesson. They both were in the Navy seals and work as divers so we were in safe hands and they went through everything before we got into the water. We dove only about 4 meters, it was cloudy but still looked really cool under the water and we saw some starfish and really big crabs! We had an underwater camera so we took a lot of pictures and then came back to Viña. I absolutely loved it!

Eating Thai with some girlfriends at Samsara-- YUMMY!

Katherine and Emily

Lauren and Marissa

Very sleek place! Dad you would really love it! And mom would really like the food- I still have to try the Tom Kha sometime

Mil Tambores- Carnival in Valpo!

My friend Angel doing tricks in the streets

This weekend there is a carnival in Valparaíso and last night was the parade called Mil Tambores. There was body painting ,music and dancing and thousands of people in the street singing and having a good time. I went to the parade around 4 p.m. and it was still going strong when I left to go home for dinner at 8. I had a blast and it reminded me a lot about Afro-Cuban dance back in Iowa City because some of the same music was being played and the dancing was similar. Everyone just let loose and had a good time!