A few years I studied Spanish for a summer in Costa Rica, and one of the girls I met at my school has become one of my very best friends. We were in Costa Rica at the same time, for the same amount of time (I definitely think this was fate) and we just clicked right away. We had so much fun over those four weeks but unfortunately lived on opposite coasts so we never saw one another. One day, she messaged me saying she was planning a trip to South America and asked if I wanted to join her. My immediate answer was YES! Hands down yes. Did I care that I already had a big trip planned that year? No. Did I care that it would be a stretch financially? Nope! Did I care that I was a maid of honor in my sister's wedding weeks after I got back? Absolutely not! (Sorry Kier) For months we spent hours on the phone together; a mix of catching up and planning for our trip. Although we hadn't seen each other in 5 years I was so excited to meet up and take on another part of the world together!
On the morning of June 26 I set out for my grand adventure. I arrived at the Miami Airport in the early afternoon, and had a bit of time to kill before meeting up with Lauren. The World Cup was going on so I found a Chilis and had a bite to eat while watching the game. Let me tell you, this was the perfect place to start my trip to South America. Everyone around me was speaking Spanish and it was the perfect transition! Lauren arrived a little while later and it was like no time had passed at all. In no time, we were boarding the plane. "See you in Chile!" I called to her as I took my seat. A hop skip and a jump later we were disembarking in Santiago and anxiously looking around for our ride. One of Lauren's Chilean friends was supposed to pick us up but we didn't have much faith in him since we were arriving at 6 am. But sure enough, Diego arrived and started speaking some foreign language at us. Wait I thought they spoke Spanish in Chile?! I thought I knew Spanish, am I just jetlagged? Well turns out my friends the Chilean accent is one of the most difficult for foreigners to understand, just our luck!
We got to our accommodation and met our host. Lauren's friend Benja had put us in contact with his mom and we would be staying with her for the next few days. We were absolutely thrilled at the idea of staying with a local! As she took us to our room we were blown away by the view! The snow capped mountains in the distance, and the city of Santiago in the foreground. Yep, my 27 hour journey to get here was sooo worth it! We had our breakfast, chugged some coffee and despite the sleep deprivation we were so ready to take on the city!
One of the best things we did on that first day was riding the telefericos to Cerro San Cristobal, a church on the top of a mountain that has a great view of the city. Although I'm a little bit afraid of heights it was a totally unique way of seeing the city and we got to the top right at sunset..amazing!
We spent a couple of days in Santiago, checking out the touristic sights like Bella Vista and went to see what the nightlife was like. Although at first the music was more like a playlist from your stereotypical wedding, they eventually played some good old fashioned reggaeton.
The next day we roadtripped to Valparaiso; a coastal town known for its street art. Luckily we had some local guides to show us around! Lauren even convinced me to do some cultural stuff, like visiting Pablo Neruda's home La Sebastiana. For those of you who don't know, he is a Chilean poet and full disclosure I had no idea who he was until this moment.
Shout out to Francisco and Sergio for doubling as our tour guides AND personal photographers!
On Monday, we flew from Santiago to Puerto Varas. In case you're wondering, no one in Chile takes off their shoes in the airport, and if you do so, all of the Chileans will stare at you like you're crazy. Anyways we arrived in Puerto Varas safe and sound and I honestly had no idea what to expect. Since Lauren had done most of the research I was just happily following along. We checked into our hostel and while we waited for our rooms to be ready we decided to explore a bit. We walked a few streets, turned a corner and OH MY GOD my breath was taken away. Turns out Puerto Varas is at the northern tip of Patagonia, and although it is our summer it is their winter. The beautiful lake with the snow capped volcano in the background was more than I had expected.
The next day set out at the crack of dawn. We were on our way to visit the Saltos de Petrohue and the Volcan Osorno. Again, I had literally no idea what we were really doing but seeing the sunrise over the lake told me we were off to a great start. Such a magical way to start off the day!
Turns out Saltos de Petrohue was inside a national park and had stunning views of the volcano and beautiful walking trail. Our guide emphasized just how lucky we were to be here during the off season because in summer the place is teeming with tourists. So, luckily were were able to get some pretty epic pictures without being photobombed.
Next on the itineary was climbing the volcano. I really like how badass and adventurous that makes us sound, but in reality we climbed most of the way in a bus. We did somewhat risk our lives to trek through snow and get some cool pictures but decided drinking hot cocoa and watching the world cup inside the lodge was a better choice.
Our final evening in Puerto Varas was spent at the Aremko Aguas Calientes, a beautiful lodge in the middle of freaking no where. In the evening we indulged in the hot springs and on our way back to our room saw the most breathtaking night sky! In the morning we saw this sunrise from our room and had a quaint little breakfast before heading out.It was the perfect little retreat before continuing with our tourism.
The next day we set out for Chiloe which was a 4 or so hour bus ride away. Turns out, there is no bridge to the island and suddenly we found ourselves inside a bus on a ferry. The bus driver had a field day with our freak out!
After a long and stressful journey we finally made it to our B&B. The hosts were a Chilean couple who gave us many recommendations. We made the most of our one full day there, hopping from island to island, exploring the famous colorful churches and dancing Cumbia in the streets.
By the time July 8 rolled around we were so sad to leave Chile. It is truly an amazing country, with so much diversity, beauty, and the kindest people We weren't really ready to leave, but were so excited for the next leg of the adventure!
On the morning of June 26 I set out for my grand adventure. I arrived at the Miami Airport in the early afternoon, and had a bit of time to kill before meeting up with Lauren. The World Cup was going on so I found a Chilis and had a bite to eat while watching the game. Let me tell you, this was the perfect place to start my trip to South America. Everyone around me was speaking Spanish and it was the perfect transition! Lauren arrived a little while later and it was like no time had passed at all. In no time, we were boarding the plane. "See you in Chile!" I called to her as I took my seat. A hop skip and a jump later we were disembarking in Santiago and anxiously looking around for our ride. One of Lauren's Chilean friends was supposed to pick us up but we didn't have much faith in him since we were arriving at 6 am. But sure enough, Diego arrived and started speaking some foreign language at us. Wait I thought they spoke Spanish in Chile?! I thought I knew Spanish, am I just jetlagged? Well turns out my friends the Chilean accent is one of the most difficult for foreigners to understand, just our luck!
We got to our accommodation and met our host. Lauren's friend Benja had put us in contact with his mom and we would be staying with her for the next few days. We were absolutely thrilled at the idea of staying with a local! As she took us to our room we were blown away by the view! The snow capped mountains in the distance, and the city of Santiago in the foreground. Yep, my 27 hour journey to get here was sooo worth it! We had our breakfast, chugged some coffee and despite the sleep deprivation we were so ready to take on the city!
One of the best things we did on that first day was riding the telefericos to Cerro San Cristobal, a church on the top of a mountain that has a great view of the city. Although I'm a little bit afraid of heights it was a totally unique way of seeing the city and we got to the top right at sunset..amazing!
We spent a couple of days in Santiago, checking out the touristic sights like Bella Vista and went to see what the nightlife was like. Although at first the music was more like a playlist from your stereotypical wedding, they eventually played some good old fashioned reggaeton.
The next day we roadtripped to Valparaiso; a coastal town known for its street art. Luckily we had some local guides to show us around! Lauren even convinced me to do some cultural stuff, like visiting Pablo Neruda's home La Sebastiana. For those of you who don't know, he is a Chilean poet and full disclosure I had no idea who he was until this moment.
Shout out to Francisco and Sergio for doubling as our tour guides AND personal photographers!
On Monday, we flew from Santiago to Puerto Varas. In case you're wondering, no one in Chile takes off their shoes in the airport, and if you do so, all of the Chileans will stare at you like you're crazy. Anyways we arrived in Puerto Varas safe and sound and I honestly had no idea what to expect. Since Lauren had done most of the research I was just happily following along. We checked into our hostel and while we waited for our rooms to be ready we decided to explore a bit. We walked a few streets, turned a corner and OH MY GOD my breath was taken away. Turns out Puerto Varas is at the northern tip of Patagonia, and although it is our summer it is their winter. The beautiful lake with the snow capped volcano in the background was more than I had expected.
Puerta Varas has alot of German influence, both in its architecture and its food. It was like a little German town, but with Spanish wafting through the air! We spent the day walking around this gorgeous place, just in awe everywhere we looked. We had lunch on an outdoor patio while watching the World Cup of course! Later in the day we even found our bakery, La Gringa!
The next day set out at the crack of dawn. We were on our way to visit the Saltos de Petrohue and the Volcan Osorno. Again, I had literally no idea what we were really doing but seeing the sunrise over the lake told me we were off to a great start. Such a magical way to start off the day!
Turns out Saltos de Petrohue was inside a national park and had stunning views of the volcano and beautiful walking trail. Our guide emphasized just how lucky we were to be here during the off season because in summer the place is teeming with tourists. So, luckily were were able to get some pretty epic pictures without being photobombed.
Next on the itineary was climbing the volcano. I really like how badass and adventurous that makes us sound, but in reality we climbed most of the way in a bus. We did somewhat risk our lives to trek through snow and get some cool pictures but decided drinking hot cocoa and watching the world cup inside the lodge was a better choice.
Our final evening in Puerto Varas was spent at the Aremko Aguas Calientes, a beautiful lodge in the middle of freaking no where. In the evening we indulged in the hot springs and on our way back to our room saw the most breathtaking night sky! In the morning we saw this sunrise from our room and had a quaint little breakfast before heading out.It was the perfect little retreat before continuing with our tourism.
The next day we set out for Chiloe which was a 4 or so hour bus ride away. Turns out, there is no bridge to the island and suddenly we found ourselves inside a bus on a ferry. The bus driver had a field day with our freak out!
After a long and stressful journey we finally made it to our B&B. The hosts were a Chilean couple who gave us many recommendations. We made the most of our one full day there, hopping from island to island, exploring the famous colorful churches and dancing Cumbia in the streets.
By the time July 8 rolled around we were so sad to leave Chile. It is truly an amazing country, with so much diversity, beauty, and the kindest people We weren't really ready to leave, but were so excited for the next leg of the adventure!
Comments
Post a Comment