Trip to Chile 2017

Once we were done with the tour we decided to get some lunch at Café Tapiz, a nearby cafe. The food there was great and we decided we’d be going back soon. After lunch we decided we needed something else to do. Joey found us a nearby museum called Museo Nao Victoria, a museum about the great navigators of the past. They built a full size replica of the HMS beagle which was one of the most impressive things we’d ever seen. We got to go up on the ship and look around. Next we went to the Nao Victoria , a Magellan ship. It is amazing to think that these life size replicas were built so quickly. Compared to building a ship in the age of exploration, the replicas must’ve seemed swift. Once we landed on the island we started on the blocked off trail and the guide took us to a common penguin burrowing spot. Our guide explained the blocking off of the trail. Apparently, baby penguins, also known as chicks, when handled too much develop a stress response detrimental to their healt...

We started off our day with a good breakfast from Restaurant Viva La Vida. Breakfast was simple, but it was decent. We ate what we would consider “normal” breakfasts- eggs, juice, and other foods you could find in America. Once we had finished our breakfast we returned to our hotel to watch Chilean television. After about an hour of brushing up on our Spanish we went to the road to hail a taxi. We were going to the airport today, this is because we had decided we wanted to see all of Chile, not only Santiago. We were in total agreeance when we decided that we would all definitely come back here in the future. The ride to the airport wasn’t very long in the taxis. Once we arrived at the airport, we did what we were used to, dropping off our bags at the arrival point while taking our carry ons with us. The only problem was that when we went through security, Russell caused the security machine to go off, which was a little frightening.  Russell was pulled aside, and the s...

Today was our day of relaxation, we all slept in until mid morning, where we decided we had eaten enough of the hotel breakfasts, and googled where to find breakfast in Chile. We all had settled on a small cafe by the name of the Wonderland Cafe. This was a cozy dinner with all sorts of foods from sandwiches to great coffee. We didn’t pick that restaurant for the normal food though. We went there for the dessert. Online, we learned of something called Chocolate Torte, a cake without flour that kind of looks like a giant brownie. Supposedly, the Chocolate Torte at Wonderland Cafe was amazing, and it didn’t disappoint. We finished the entire cake in under ten minutes, and debated about ordering a second to take with us. The cake was chewy on the inside with a kind of crunchy slim outside layering. It tasted like a giant brownie without a specific hint of a doughy taste.   After breakfast, we finally decided on where our destination for the day would be. After a short period of a...

We woke up late after our night of festivities and traveled to the hotel’s free breakfast. We relaxed and enjoyed our breakfast, excited for our day ahead after the excitement of yesterday. We walked around the city and looked at the aftermath of the party from yesterday. Russell bought a bottle of Pisco to take home with him, which was the Chilean national alcoholic beverage. Once we had finished shopping we returned to our hotel where we prepared a dinner and snack with items we bought while shopping. Once we had prepared our bags we started our walk. It was a short distance from our hotel, barely more than half a mile, and took only a mere twenty minutes. While we walked we passed many shops and stores and got our first good look at the mountain ranges in the distance. We arrived at our destination the Chilean Nation al Museum of Fine Arts and entered. It was established in 1880 and the building was beautifully built with 17th century fre nch architecture and is the oldest art...

“Beeeeep! Beeep! Beeeeeep!” sounds a chorus of alarm clocks, ringing from all of our rooms at once, due to the fact we had set them all to the same time. We awoke early today, and for good reason too. Today was the Chilean National Independence Day! This day celebrates the break off from the Spanish rule, and the birth of Chile. The independence day is celebrated on September 18th, when the war for independence from Spain began. This is also the day when the first Government Junta was established. We decided to head out to see the celebrations going on. Outside, the streets of Santiago were filled with people, all boasting the red, white, and blue of the Chilean flag. The streets were beginning to fill, although they were not as crowded as it would be later that day. People were preparing, there is a parade today, and people were already reserving spots along the streets to watch. Being in Santiago, the capital of Chile, we were treated with a front-row view of this party. Everybody...