It doesn´t get any better than this!

Jamie and I are having PERFECT weather and breathtaking scenery every day down here!!  We have seen mountains, lakes, ocean, and LOTS of green.  We are currently on the island of Chiloé and staying in a gorgeous hostel here.  Today we were spent the day in a very rural part of the country and saw lots of the animals that I have missed... sheep, horses, cows, goats, chickens... it was fabulous! Just loving it!  Going to eat some dinner now.

Having the time of my life!

The pictures say it all!

Biking up Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill) in Santiago with the Pederson Family yesterday :)
It's a hill that rises to 880 m and at the peak there is a church with an amphitheater and a statue of the Virgin Mary.

About 1/2 way up
Billy, Kimi, and Corey

I find myself taking a lot of pictures of green here!

At the top

The statue

Inside the statue

View from the statue

The church

I spent the afternoon biking through Santiago on my own

Winter?

 View of Santiago from the apartment after it rained this morning

I went to Valparaiso today which is a 2 hour bus ride northwest of Santiago

Chile's Congress Building is in Valparaiso

I spent the day climbing the hills and taking in the views

Naval Building

Monument in remembrance of the 21st of May

Paradise

I am currently sitting in my room on the 21st floor of an apartment complex in Santiago and the view is phenomenal!!  So from that, you can tell that I made it here safely, and without any complications!  I am incredibly fortunate to be staying with Dorothy's (my travel companion from the Atlanta airport back in March) daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.  They are spoiling me rotten and I feel as if I am staying in a 5-star hotel.  It doesn't hurt that the apartment is in one of the prettiest sectors of Santiago :) So life is good!  There is a gorgeous park right across the street.  It is going to be the sight of my morning run tomorrow.  This family also happens to be very outdoorsy and I get to join them for a hike on Monday!  Lucky me!!  I did have reservations at a hostel and was only going to leave my suitcases here, but after the third time that they asked me if I was sure I didn't want to just stay with them... I just couldn't resist!  I'm going to tour the city tomorrow, hopefully on bike! 

Who could turn down this for a hostel?

The porch and the view

Wish I could get some good ones of the lights glittering in the night sky right now, but the photos just don't do it justice.  Good night and love to everyone!

Goodbye Antofagasta!

I'm off to Santiago on Saturday morning!  4 days of solo exploration in Santiago and then Jamie Descheemaeker comes!!!  We are hoping to have an incredible time in the Lakes District and then it's back to the U.S.A. on the 4th (arrival on the 5th) of August!  Looking forward to it ALL!  I am a little nervous about the fact that when I asked Veronica what time we would be leaving the house on Saturday (because they are going on vacation in Santiago and we ended up with the exact same flight), she responded that we would leave around 8:45... the flight leaves at 9:35 and the airport is about 30 minutes from my house.  When I gave her a questioning look she explained to me that we need to leave that early because of the flight time.  I explained that I was actually thinking we could leave a bit earlier than that, BUT no one likes to get up early on a Saturday...  so I will get my fill of panicked watch-checking on Saturday morning, but after all, it's just the way it's done in Chile :)

Love to everyone!

Rain!

I woke up to rain this morning!  It isn't raining hard, but I am actually hoping that it doesn't go on too much longer because the houses are not constructed to handle rain, so we will be getting some puddles in the house if it continues.  If I had classes, they would be cancelled for the day, but I still don't have to worry about that :)

On Saturday we had a get together with all of the exchange students at the director's apartment.  We ate the food that was going to be prepared for the anniversary lunch back in June.  The students from Mexico and the student from Peru were the only ones who actually bought their ingredients, so everyone had to miss out on peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and no-bake cookies.  What a shame!

The Mexicans cooking their dish.

The U.S. students

Ready to eat!

The Germans, of course, brought beer.

Almost the whole group (a few students had already left).  Representing Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Germany and the U.S. in this photo!

I went to Iquique with Ale for a few days and got back last night.  Iquique is a city about 6 1/2 hours north of Antofagasta.  It has one of the largest duty-free centers in South America, so it is a very popular place to go shopping.  It also has nice beaches and collects a large number of surfers during the summer.   We traveled in true Chilean fashion in which we waited to buy our bus pass until we got to the bus terminal, and the ticket salesperson told us that there were still seats on the 11:10 p.m. bus (at this time it was 11:17 p.m.), so we bought them ran upstairs and the bus arrived a few minutes later.  I'm turning into a true Chilean :)  We slept on the bus throughout the night, and we arrived in Iquique welcomed by clouds.  Ale and I didn't get too lucky with the weather. Later on in the afternoon, we experienced a sandstorm.  Our plan to travel to another little town the next day was cancelled due to the closure of the pass (sandstorm, rain, and snow!!) Crazy weather for the desert.  Even the sandstorm was the first that they have had in many, many years.  We walked around the city quite a bit, and the plaza was gorgeous!  We also stayed with a family that Ale knows, so we were able to watch the Copa America game (the U.S. is not playing in the Copa America despite me telling someone that, "Yes, of course the U.S. is playing in it."  I need to start paying closer attention to soccer!).  The Monday night game was Chile vs. Mexico and Chile won!  On Tuesday we went to my personal heaven... a gigantic fruits and vegetable market... LOVED IT!  We didn't get any swimming in because it was a bit cold and windy for that, but we packed around our towels and suits just in case.  It was a nice little get away for a few days.

The boats on a gray Monday morning.

Walking in the center.  

A restored tram downtown.

Torre Reloj sits in the city center.

The Teatro Municipal.  It has been hosting opera and theater since 1890.

Inside view of the theater.

Right before the sandstorm.

At the duty-free mall.  

The picture doesn't show it very well, but everything is covered in sand. 

A remake of the Esmeralda Ship that sank during the battle against Peru on May 21st (The pictures I put up from the May 21st parade celebration was a celebration of this battle).   

The family that we stayed with while in Iquique.

The market!

Gigantic grapefruit :)

Adorable little guy at the market.

Please do not be mistaken as I was... the birds on the grass are not real.

The llamas near the beach.

Off we go back to Antofagasta.