It has been a whirlwind the past few weeks. I went on two big trips back to back. One was a road trip with some friends (Bre, Blake and Jessica) up the coast to Bahia Inglesa and Pan de Azucar. We camped on the beach in both places! It was incredible to say the least. I haven’t camped in long time. I had forgotten how much I love it. Mom, you'd be proud of me. I remembered how to put up the tent and roll a sleeping bag nice and tight.The fresh air, interesting people, beautiful scenery…it was definitely a highlight of my Chile experience thus far. Also, I learned how to drive a manual. What better time to learn stick than with a rental car!!! Below are some pics. As you can see it wasn’t as sunny as we had hoped; however, that didn't stop us from going swimming!
My next trip was this past weekend. We went to Mendoza, Argentina. It is a quick 7 hour bus ride, which fit perfectly into our 4 day weekend. (They celebrate Columbus Day here...ironic huh!). While in Mendoza we visited some natural hot springs, toured the wine country on bikes and visited the zoo. On the winery route we also stopped at and olive oil factory. It was by far the best olive oil I've tasted! The zoo was by far my favorite part of the long weekend. It is located in a large park, actually one of the largest parks in South America. Anyways, we went jogging and stumbled upon it. Unfortunately, we did not have a camera to document the madness that is the Mendoza Zologico. I’ve never seen so many animals “getting it on” all at one time in my life. Monkeys, goats, and even bears…yes bears….all up bright and early doing the “deed.” GROSS!!! Jessica and I being the mature Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars that we are could not control ourselves. It was a hilarious and absurd experience. I’m sure all the Argentine families thought we were highly inappropriate.
Tías y Tíos is going great as usual. Our last event at the fire station was great. The boy especially enjoyed this activity. The firefighters gave them a tour and explained how all the equipment worked. They even let the kids slide down the fire pole and try on all the uniforms. In Chile, all the firefighters are volunteers. We talked to the kids about the importance of giving back to their community and that volunteering as a firefighter would be a great future option for them. I think it made a big difference that the firefighters on duty were able to explain their role and the process of becoming a firefighter in Chile.
Our next event is this Sunday. We are taking the kids to go sand surfing at the dunes in Con Con, a town nearby. They have no idea what we have planned, but I am sure they will have a blast. Tomorrow evening, Jessica and I will also be going up to their house for a visit. I’m excited to see if they have re-arranged furniture, etc.
I got some good news last week…my old roomie Julie is coming to CHILE!!! There is also a possibility my home Rotary sponsors from Thousand Oaks will be coming to visit me too. I feel so special!!! Too bad Kevin is too tall or I’d have one of them pack him in their suitcase!!!
I have more pics than the ones posted with this blog, but I am going to post them on facebook as albums.
I hope all is well en los EEUU.
:)
Kelly
