Week 2 or so of Chile...

The days are blurring together but in a really good way. Luis and I have forgotten what day it is several times, so since I can't exactly remember all the dates that's why it's Week 2 "or so"... 

Wow! Can I just tell you that I LOVE Chile! The country is basically consisted of beaches and mountains. Two of my favorite things and wherever I choose to live it has to have at least one of those requirements. Chile has both! 


So we spent another week in Viña del Mar driving around the small coastal towns, going to a museum of Easter Island (we got to take a picture with a real Easter Island head/Moai!), going to the beach, and meeting Veronica’s daughter and husband, Berenice (Luis’s cousin) and Luis #2. We had to come up with a way to differentiate between the two so my Luis became either Luis Estuardo (his middle name) or Lucho, a  nickname Luis had before. 

After Berenice and Luis #2 got there we went to Karaoke that night around 12:30am... 

So let me explain something... Chileans live almost like vampires, nights don’t start until 1:00am and don’t end till 5:00am. They then get up around noon, eat lunch, head to the beach at 2:00pm, stay there til sundown which isn’t until 9:30pm, go home, shower and get ready for the night, eat dinner around 10:30 or 11:00pm, find a club, and start dancing or karaoke around 1:00am! That is a typical summer day for a Chilean! Although even when it’s not summer, clubs still don’t get going until 1:00am.

Apparently karaoke is huge in Chile. No matter what club you go to you will find karaoke any day of the week! Even though I like to sing I have never done karaoke. So we went and I wasn’t going to do it but the DJ of the club said (in spanish) after learning we were from the U.S...

 “What better place to do karaoke? No one knows you!” I couldn’t argue with that statement so I got up there and did it. Karaoke in a Margarita bar, in a beach town, in Chile :), and I was the only one that sang an English song.

Another night hanging out at a restaurant with Veronica, Berenice, and Luis #2.

A funny mini adventure. We jumped down a 10 foot wall to get better pictures of some sea lions and realized it might be a little difficult to get back up again. Luckily there was a piece of wood sticking out of the wall. Luis #2 decided to photograph me getting up. This is when Luis ripped one pair of his jeans!

Reloj de Flores... Clock of Flowers.

We also went to a fair/market where Luis and I purchased a copper plate. Two of the things that Chile is most known for is copper and leather (wish we had room for some nice leather jackets but we are full to the brim in each suitcase!). Our copper plate has an imprint of Easter Island Moai. 

We also celebrated Valentine’s Day in Viña. We started it by walking on the beach the night before and looking at the stars. I got him something inexpensive but cute (seeing as all our money is going towards getting back home!). I got a deck of cards and wrote a reason I loved him on every one. I gave it to him at midnight on Valentine’s Day and the next morning I woke up to flowers and chocolate! Seeing as we were going on a 5 hour bus ride the next day I used one of the flowers in my hair. We then spent the night watching the sunset on the beach. Life could not possibly get better right?! 

Us with Talca in the background.

After Valentine’s day we said goodbye to Viña and the beaches and headed to Berenice’s home in Talca, a 5 hour bus ride from Viña del Mar. Even though Talca is southern, it is farther from the coast so hotter. The temperature soared to the 90’s while there. Good thing we only stayed 2 days!  Talca is one of the towns that suffered the most from the earthquake 2 years ago, so everywhere we looked in Talca was ruined or under construction. We went to another club in Talca, well a Casino, and danced the night away. Then headed on another bus to Concepcion where Veronica lives, a 3 1/2 hour ride from Talca. 

Most stuff ruined from the earthquake were in various stages of repairs. 

Us on the top of the double decker bus! 

*Travel tips, bring a travel pillow! Luis doesn’t like mine but there are different shapes and sizes and it will save your life... and your neck. And if you have a choice of a double decker bus, do the top level. Such a cool way to see the country you’re traveling. On our first bus from Viña to Talca, Luis and I sat in the very front of the second floor and we had an unobstructed view of the Andes and other gorgeous sights. 

Veronica, Berenice, Luis, Me, and Isidora
                   (Berenice's stepdaughter)

We were welcomed to Concepcion with our first rainy and chilly weather, in Chile (no pun intended). We were driven to Veronica’s home in Bio Bio and what a gorgeous place! She actually lives right next to her old home and can see it through her windows! The apartment has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a closed in porch, a living room, dining room, and a state of the art kitchen. Seriously gorgeous! We are so lucky that Luis’s family was willing to take us around here in Chile. We spent a day in Concepcion driving around and seeing the sights. Concepcion is also a city that suffered greatly from the earthquake. The city has so many different types of buildings, you have the old buildings that survived the earthquake, the old ruined buildings that didn’t, the new modern buildings that have been built after the earthquake, and the construction everywhere. We walked around the city and the University. 

Us at the University in Concepcion.

School is cheap here. For the good universities it’s only 5,000 dollars a year! Also prices of homes are ridiculously cheap. The food, clothes, electronics, are all the same prices or more expensive than the U.S. However, minimum wage is 360 dollars a month. So even though houses are cheap, it’s harder for Chileans to pay for them. 

Have I mentioned the conversion rate yet? Chilean dollars are called pesos and 1 U.S. dollar is 480 pesos! Luis and I made our first million just coming to Chile! We’ll pretend it’s in dollars and not pesos ;)... 


After our one day in Concepcion we are headed to their beach house in Cocholgue (Co-chol-whey) which is 30 minutes from Veronica’s apartment. Cocholgue is the town next to Dichato, which was the epicenter for the tsunami after the earthquake. It was hit first and the worst. Berenice’s brother was at the beach house when the tsunami hit and saw the whole thing happen! Made me a little apprehensive to go there but they said because of the shape of the bay and the island in front of the beach house, we wouldn’t be hit if there was another tsunami.. uhm..... wish us luck!!