Up to Northern Chile and Back!

In the last 2 weeks I had an extremely successful first solo travel. After much planning, I traveled all the way up to the II Region of Chile making stops at interesting places and cities along the way. I could talk about each place in depth but I do not want to do that to you. I will try to summarize it all and maybe the next blog can have pictures of these incredible places.

Starting in the center of the country in Santiago, my first stop was in the town of La Serena, a port city (like most cities up north) that oozes the feel of beach town. Ton of Chilean tourists were there for a trip to ocean during their summer vacations. I used La Serena as a point to drive inland to Vicuña and Pisco Elqui, 2 towns in the heart of the vally where the grapes for Chile´s national drink Pisco are grown. After a tour of a pisco distillery, I headed back to the coast to continue north to the town of Copiapo. Copiapo is the city that the miners who were trapped below ground for months are from. This is the first place that felt like I was in the desert; on the bus trip there we drove over large sandy hills that stretched in all directions. I got to spend the day with some of my campers from the 1st session of Camp Colhue. We toured around the city and then they took me to the gorgeous beaches of Caldera & Bahia Inglesa. Of course, right as we arrive, the gray clouds rolled in but I was still able to appreciate the beauty of the place. After an overnight bus to Antofagasta, I enjoyed my time in the bustling city on the ocean. At the Fish Market out on a pier, there was a large family of seals hanging around waiting for the fish that didn´t sell to fall into the cold waters. I had never seen them outside of a zoo which was a nice change. From Antofagasta, I went to my last stop north at San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro has a very rich cultural heritage and many unique environmental features surrounding it. A times I genuinely felt like I was on a different planet! I spent 3 days here exploring what it had to offer. I went sandboarding, watched the sunset from Moon Valley, entered a crystal cave, traveled to the Altiplano Lagunas abuot 4500 meters and ate a llama kabob, visited the Salt Flats that are home to many flamingos, and swam at the Geysers of Tatio. My days were filled to the brim with things to do. Unfortunately I could not stay longer so I took a 25hr bus ride back to Santiago to continue on with my adventure.

I was a little apprehensive beforehand about what it would be like and what, if any, problems I would run into while traveling solo. Luckily, I had none. I think it was mainly because I had worked so diligently beforehand making reservations and coming up with a really solid plan. That way when I was in the midst of things, I just had to execute it and enjoy! Also, it was really nice to be back into the hostel lifestyle. You are surrounded by cool people from around the globe with some similiar interests as you. There is no other way that I could get to know people like this!

The hardest part was having to pick & choose what to do in my short time to see the whole northern half of Chile. The other challenge was spending so much time in buses; my butt is definitely not a fan!

Overall, it was a huge success and has just made me more excited for my next chunk of time to explore. But first, my dad is flying down to see me. It is his birthday this month and is celebrating by taking me for some crazy intense white water rafting in Futaleufu. I really hope that I survive. Eeek!