Continuing my midterm adventures (we had a couple of weeks for midterms only, but all of mine were project-based, so I essentially had 2.5 weeks off), I traveled to Santiago, Chile. I had been wanting to visit for a while, and this trip was especially exciting, because it was my first solo trip. I have always had someone to meet at my destination or gone with travel companions, so this was really exciting. I only spent three days in Santiago, but it was well worth it. My first day I spent taking a guided walking tour around the city and climbing up to the Cerro Santa Lucía, a hill in the middle of the city with Spanish architecture atop. I had a 360 degree view of the city, including the backdrop of the nearby Andes. I could also see the Cerro San Cristobal, an even higher hill recommended by the guide, so I put that on my list to visit too. Once of the nice things about solo traveling is that you can do exactly what you want at your own pace. I didn’t need to worry about inconveniencing or coordinating with anyone, which was quite liberating.
The next day, I went shopping at a cute vintage store near my Airbnb. I ended up getting a cute red leather jacket. I also went to an amazing Peruvian restaurant I stumbled upon, which served a delicious stew and yucca (even though yucca gives me the hiccups, I eat it whenever I have the chance— fried yucca is better than French fries, and I will die on that hill).
Later in the day, I wandered around the city center admiring the architecture and doing some shopping at craft fairs before visiting the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Museum of Memory and Human Rights), which documents the horrors of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. Similarly to the Argentine junta, many were taken as political prisoners or even just disappeared outright. I had learned a bit about this in a Latin Culture class I took last semester, but this was a much more in-depth look at it. It was very sobering, and I stayed at the museum until closing time.
The final day was more of a half day because my flight was in the late afternoon, so I took the funicular up the Cerro San Cristobal, one of Santiago’s highest hills. The view from the top was even wider-reaching than the Cerro Santa Lucia, and there was a statue of Mary at the very top too. The hill was quite large, so walking around took a fair bit of time. Once I made it around the hill, I took the cable car down, where I was treated to some of the best views in Santiago (which unfortunately did not photograph as well as I would have liked). Then it was back to Buenos Aires, but for only a day.
The day after, I set back out for Bariloche, a town in Patagonia. It’s known for being a popular skiing destination in the winter months of June and July, but we were a bit early for the slopes to be open. Nevertheless, there was already snow and the temperatures were quite low. We spent our days hiking around Bariloche’s world-famous lakes (along with the mountains, this is why it is referred to as the Switzerland of South America) and heading to lookout points in the mountains. We also go to know the town itself, including the very interesting Museum of Patagonia and delicious Mamuschka chocolate company (I brought an entire build-your-own-box home, of course).
Unfortunately, Bariloche was also the site of one of my less exciting milestones: my first time getting sick this semester. Thankfully, it was just a 24 hour bug, so I only lost one day out of five. Nevertheless, feeling terrible and being stuck at home while everyone else had adventures sucked. It made me appreciate being at home while sick a little more. I found myself wishing I could have my mom’s soup and tea to feel better. I was glad I packed medicine, though. I definitely would recommend doing that!
In just a few weeks, I will have my next adventure to Rio. I am very excited for it, as Rio has been at the top of my list of places to visit since I got here. Stay tuned!
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