Chile!!!

Wow, Chile is SO different than Guatemala! When we got off the plane in Santiago I felt like I was in Salt Lake City, Utah! The mountains surrounding us where not the tall Andes but smaller and looked barren with a few green bushes. You COULD see the Andes in the distance though. However the weather here is fabulous and the weather in Utah in February is definitely NOT! Since Chile is on the other side of the equator their summer and winter are opposite ours. We stepped off our plane into 80 degree weather! 

Our overnight flight was very long and we waited for 2 hours in the airport for Luis’s Aunt to arrive from Concepcion, Chile. I couldn’t fall asleep on the plane but for some reason I was able to fall asleep in a restaurant booth all curled up very awkwardly and it was less comfortable than the plane! I woke up after 40 minutes with both my legs and one arm full of pins and needles.. miserable! 

20 minutes after that I met Luis’s aunt Veronica, well it’s his Mom’s aunt so I guess it would be Luis’s great aunt. She is the trendiest 70 year old I have ever met and does not look anywhere near 70! I think Luis and I need to move to Central or South America, whatever they do to age so well I hope it would rub off on us. Veronica dresses fabulously and to the nines every day. Clothing, jewelry, shoes, and hats all matching and very fashionable. And since we’ve met her it has been a constant stream of very fast Spanish. I thought Luis talked fast! She LOVES to talk! She asks a question and doesn’t even leave time for Luis to answer. She asks me a question and doesn’t bother waiting for Luis to translate and tell her. She usually tries to speak broken english and with my broken spanish we can usually have a conversation when she has the patience to wait for my answers ;).

After meeting up with her we got on a bus and drove to Vina del Mar, the famous beach town of Chile, like South Beach is in Miami, Florida for the U.S. We arrived at Veronica’s  “beach apartment”. Basically looks like a hotel and her apartment (on a huge hill) is on the 10th floor. We have the most gorgeous view from our room and the balcony of the beach and the surrounding towns. Luis and I walk down a huge set of stairs every night to enjoy the sun setting on the beach. Our lives are terrible right? No fun at all ;)...

We have spent the past week going to the beach and the surrounding towns like Renaca, Valparaiso, Zapallar, Chachagua, Con Con, and Maitencillo. Towns that are basically beach towns but not much history. 

Our time so far in Chile has felt like a vacation from our vacation! In Guatemala we got to know Luis’s amazing family and see the fascinating history of the Mayans. Here in Chile they do have history but it’s more like the U.S. in that the history gets overshadowed by all the modern stuff. 

We spent a day in Santiago, took an hour and a half bus ride and Luis and I walked around the city by ourselves! This was also the day we bought our tickets home (happy and sad) and our tickets to Isla de Pascua.... Easter Island!!! I’m so ridiculously excited! Because of the expenses of our Easter Island trip we have to come home earlier, plus Chile is a more expensive country. And I’m actually really sad to end our trip!

You know those people who go to one vacation spot their whole lives? They spend all their time pining for one place, saving money for one place, and not even thinking about any other vacation spot, which would almost feel like a betrayal on your vacation home. Well, I was one of those people. My family and I would go to the Thousand Islands (on the border of New York and Canada) every summer. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE that place and loved every summer up there and miss it when I don't go. However, Luis and I have traveled a bit and I realized I was seriously missing out! I haven’t given any tips in a while so here is one. TRAVEL! This world we live in is amazing and has so many different things to offer that you could just end up loving. We have had so much fun and have learned so much about ourselves and the world around us and we’ve only visited 2 different countries! So for those very reasons I will be extremely sad when our trip comes to an end. I want to travel more, experience more, live more... Part of me feels like when we come back to the States we’ll never do any traveling again. But Luis has promised we will, just smaller trips :). Plus our adventures will turn from world traveling to trying to start and raise a family, that alone is scary and exciting! 

Well, our travels aren’t over yet. We still get to go to a southern area of Chile and see the other climates of this extremely long country!

Here are some pictures of our first week :)...

Veronica's apartment building. We are on the 10th floor!

See!

The view from our balcony :)

Luis on the balcony enjoying the view. The sun looks red because there was a forest fire 40 miles away and we were getting all the smoke and ash from that fire. You can see all the smoke!

Renaca Beach!

A Playstation advertisement.. Us with a bunch of video game characters. My favorite of course was Drake from the Uncharted video games :).. He's on the far right holding the big gun.

Look at the size of that corn!

                         What happens in Chile stays in Chile.. good thing these tattoos are temporary!

On our way to Santiago on a bus!

Veronica's friend and driver. He was a Chilean equivalent of a U.S. Navy Seal that retired and started a taxi business! 

Vina del Mar in the background.

Me and Luis watching the sunset :)