On Saturday morning we got up early and our kayaking guide picked us up at our apartment at 8. We headed toward the mountains and it was a really neat drive because we kind of circled around Santiago and the sun was not up yet so the whole city was lit up. Then we began driving through the mountains as the sun rose and it was gorgeous. We were able to get a look at Mount Aconcagua, which is the tallest peak in the Americas. It is on both sides of the Chilean/Argentinian border, but the peak is on Argentina's side. As we got higher up in the mountains, we reached a point where we were actually driving straight up the mountains on these narrow, hairpin, twisty roads. It was crazy!
The whole car ride he was warning us about how cold it would be, but I did not really take him seriously because the Chileans' opinion of cold is completely different than mine, coming from Grand Forks. We were kayaking at Laguna del Inca, which is a lagoon near a large ski resort in the Andes called Postillo. We drove to the ski resort and then got to use the bathrooms in the chalet. When we got out I was not wearing my coat and did not think it was that cold, but after being outside for a few minutes the cold really started to sink in! We had to carry the kayaks and equipment down this steep bank and then realized afterwards we would also have to carry it back up. YIKES. But the view was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe we were really standing between such gorgeous mountains. We were at about 9,000 feet up and there was fresh snow from the night before.
We got everything set and ready to go and headed out into the water! Laura and I went in the double kayak, Grace went solo, and our instructor Nicolas went solo as well. They were ocean kayaks which I have never been in before, and they had rudders on the back to assist with steering which was really nice. We got out onto the water and had a great time exploring and splashing around. We took a ton of pictures, and it was nice because we had pockets on the front of our life jackets. Luckily he had brought thicker, waterproof gloves for us to wear because when that ice cold water splashes up on your hands, it gets cold REAL fast.
We kayaked across the lagoon, which was a little over 2 km, and then stopped for a lunch break. The tour provides us with bag lunches that were actually so delicious! However, when we were not paddling and moving, it was SO cold out there! The wind started to pick up some so our guide suggested we head back toward shore since we would be working against the wind. On the way back Laura and Grace switched spots so then I was in the tandem kayak with Grace.
It was such a fun adventure and the scenery was AMAZING! It would be really fun to do that when it is warmer out and not have to rush as much because of freezingness. Ha. But he said he actually likes the winter kayaking because the snow on the mountains really provides a good contrast.
We lugged all the stuff back up the bank to the truck, which was actually quite a horrible process. It was SO steep and those kayaks were heavy! And we were already exhausted from kayaking. And trying to breathe at 9,000 feet is not easy when we have been living at an altitude of about 3 feet above sea level. However we did eventually make it, and then returned to the ski lodge to use the bathroom. When we got up there, this beautiful St. Bernard was outside the front door!! We fell in love with him at first sight and cuddled him and took a bunch of pictures while he drooled all over us. After that we headed home and all 3 of us fell asleep in the truck! Life here is so exhausting. Laura loved it and was so excited we did that because it was her last weekend in Chile so we wanted to make it a good one :)
One thing that was crazy is that there were huge trucks backed up for miles when we came up the mountains. Our guide said that the customs workers on the Argentina side of the border were on strike, and so passing across the border was a very slow process that weekend. Luckily we did not have to cross, but we were only about 2 miles from the border! When we left, the trucks were still backed up, and stuck even further down the mountain! I felt so bad for those drivers. And for the buses with tourists who were also stuck!!
Here are a few pictures from our kayaking adventures.
That night we got back to our apartment at around 4 and did some laundry there because there was actually a real washer and dryer which was so great. It was like a throwback to doing laundry in the dorms. After that, we headed to the Costanera Center, which is the tallest building in South America. Tallest mountain and tallest building all in the same day! :) There is a huge mall in there, and we went there to eat dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. All 3 of us ate burgers and it tasted SO GOOD. Something so simple that we had been missing since being here. We also mastered the Santiago metro route which was nice to have as transportation in such a big city.
Sunday morning we got up and explored some more of the city in a different area. Santiago has around 7 million people so it is a HUGE city with endless things to do. It was Patrimonial Day in Chile so admission to many museums and attractions were free which was cool. There is a really big hill in Santiago, and so we took the funicular car thing up the hill and got an amazing view over the city! It is crazy because there is SO much smog in Santiago, and once we were up and above the cities we could see all of it. It looked like it was foggy when it really was not. I have some good photos of that but they are on my camera and I just realized I have not uploaded those ones yet. But here is one out of our apartment window in Santiago! You can see the San Cristóbal Hill.
This is from when we were ascending up the hill!
Then we went to Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago and looked around at that which was really cool, but we cannot take photos in there. He also has houses in Valpo and Isla Negra so I would love to visit those at some point as well. Then we walked around some more and went to the Museo Bella Vista and looked at some of the art displays there. We ended up in the middle of this large crowd of people and a ton of cameras and video cameras and apparently we were right by a famous artist but had no idea haha! We found this cute little cafe and ate some really delicious food there. They had really healthy food and we got empanadas but they were like whole wheat empanadas and had much healthier fillings. Mine was tomatoes, goat cheese, and basil. SO GOOD :)
Then we walked back to our apartment, got packed up, and said goodbye to Laura! Her flight was on Monday night so she had another day to just chill in Santiago and hang out, but Grace and I had to head back to Viña. We walked to the metro, took the metro to the bus station, took a bus from Santiago to Viña, walked to a city bus near the bus station, and bussed near our house. Ha it was crazy. Another thing that is interesting here is how cheap the public transportation is. That bus ride from Santiago to Viña is almost 2 hours long, and only costs $7.50. Riding the metro across Santiago cost around 50 or 60 cents. The city buses in Viña cost about 60 cents and go all over the city. The metro we ride depends on how far you go, but we are right in the middle of the track and we can go all the way to an end for about a dollar.
We got back home and it felt so good to be home again! Crazy how homey a place can feel after just a couple of weeks. Our new roommates were here and so we went to watch the beach sunset and then Grace and I made dinner for them. We also skyped with Laura even though we had just been with her. She was lonely in Santiago by herself haha. We went to bed pretty early because we were exhausted and had to work on Monday morning.
So that is a wrap on our fun weekend! It was definitely one to remember :)
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