Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, and home to BA!

Hello all my faithful readers! Picking up where I left off, I believe I arrived to Santiago, Chile! During the trip, stop at customs, and arrival, I met a girl from Ohio named Alex Moore. She had a friend in Santiago and just so happened to be on Couch Surfing--what are the chances!? (Well, pretty well, because there are currently 1,338,006 people in the network, so not too bad :p I decided to join up with her. We arrived to her friends house and I immediately left for the futbol match that was that afternoon! Colo Colo was a team in Santiago, but they lost to S. Morning :( Nonetheless, the event was a lot of fun! I met up with Oscar, the guy from CS, and we had a terremoto, or a very famous drink in Chile with Piña and ferment. There was another ingredient but I forgot what it was...we chatted and finally I headed back with Oscar. I hit the sack tired but content!

Sunday was a relaxed day. I got up and spent some time doing devotions (with the Bible on my iTouch) and was ready to see some sites! I met up with Alex and her friend and we wented to the Palacio de la Moneda--a very important building! Unfortunately, the main building was closed so I couldn't see the inside, but a nice museum was available underneath. We spent some time there and then went to eat dinner. We later met up with friends, spent some time, and before we knew it it was 1 a.m. Alex and I were planning to go to Valparaíso (the 2nd largest city in Chile) the next day), so I slept at the friend's apartment so we could get up and go!

Monday we got up, got packed, and headed out! We arrived to Valparaíso in 2 hours in the early afternoon. We saw some sites and stopped at a cafe for a snack and to rest. I called a CS friend and we met up with him. He and his friend (both were from Germany, spending 8 months in Valparaíso for school) invited us for dinner, so we obliged! We spent the evening at his apartment enjoying Chinese food (a funny thought--2 Americans and 2 Germans eating Chinese food in Chile) and conversing. I was supposed to stay elsewhere, but due to a complication stayed with Hannes.

I met up w/ Alex to explore Valpo Tuesday! We met at a cafe for breakfast, and headed out through the city. We spent a good amount of time walking and exploring, and found La Sebastiana, the house of Pablo Neruda (Chile's most famous poet) in the afternoon. It was a very interesting house with many funny details about it! We headed to the bus station because Alex was going to San Pedro de Atacama (driest desert in the world, 24 hours north of Valpo) and got her ticket options figured out. We then decided to head to Viña del Mar, the illustrious glitzy sister city to Valpo. We saw the famous flower clock and headed to the casino for a little Roulette! I got back to Valpo and after getting lost stayed with Hannes again.

Wednesday I was changing CS venues to a lady across town. I headed out around 10 and found her place without any problem. There were also 2 Colombians and a Peruvian guy there surfing as well. We relaxed and had lunch, and then headed out to see some more of the city--some local spots if you will. We came back and had dinner, and then went to the CS Viña del Mar meeting :) I met some fun people--a girl from Reunión, a French island off the coast of Madegascar (Coach Durbin didn't teach us about that place, did he Hannah? :p) as well as a girl from Galicio, a northwestern province in Spain! Of course there were Chileans there too. After conversation and drinks we headed back.

Thursday I decided to head back to Santiago, see some things, and leave on Saturday. I got back around 6, but Oscar had some complications, so I had to find another CS fast! I got on and almost immediately found someone. I met up with Christian, got to his place, and met 2 other CSers from Thailand and Germany. We had dinner, hung out, and I talked to my wonderful girlfriend Laura before going to bed!

Friday I went out with Thy (the Thai girl) around the city! I took my things because I was staying with Oscar and leaving Saturday. We saw some more cool sites, a nice artesan shop, as well as Santa Lucia lookout point. Very pretty :) I got to Oscar's place, and hung out for a while, before watching Gladiator and The Godfather Part II with his roommate. I went to bed with plans of heading to Mendoza, Argentina for a day, then returning to Buenos Aires by Monday morning. However, the weather didn't find that to be a good idea..Saturday I woke up with cold Santiago rain, but didn't think anything about it. I got to the bus station and was told my trip to Mendoza was delayed until further notice. So I returned to Oscar's, hung out a while, and went out to lunch with him and some friends. We had a wonderful seafood lunch! I came back, watched some Harry Potter, and took a nap. Later I went out with Oscar's roommate for drinks, and went to bed.

Sunday we called and the people said the pass was closed, but it would be open Monday. Yay! I hung out with Oscar, watched tennis and had some pasta. I went with Oscar's roommate Cristian, to another Colo Colo match. They won this time 3-0! I got back and relaxed in the house. We watched Gladiator and Godfather II before going to be. Monday I headed to the bus station, only to realize that the Mendoza pass was closed--probably for a week. 6 feet of snow stopped us from crossing. Sheesh! I hit an internet cafe and searched solutions, and after a while found a ticket for a good price. It happened that the round trip ticket was cheaper than a one way flight..go figure! I called up Christian and stayed with him that day, because he was closer to the bus station to take me to the airport! I hung out that afternoon, reading and taking a nap. I spent the evening talking and relaxing..I skyped with the aforementioned wonderful girlfriend Laura and went to bed!

Tuesday I got to the airport without problems, got my ticket, and flew out! Aerolineas Argentinas is probably the best airline I've been on. Sandwich and beer all included for a 2 hour flight. My baggage was waiting for me when I arrived at the claim. And the bus to Retiro was easy. I did some stuff at the university, got back to my apartment, worked my college schedule to perfection, and got ready for the next day! I'll be in Buenos Aires for a week or so, so for now the travels will be put on pause. It's been a wonderful 5 week travel, and I'm looking forward to a lot of weekend travel during the semester!

Sorry for the super long post, but thanks for reading! -Benjamín