I finally finished our GoPro video from Chile! I love having another way to remember our trip, especially all the silly moments you could only capture on video. Enjoy!
Valparaíso, Chile
And just like that it's February! This last recap from Chile may have been my favorite to put together. I had so many photos to choose from — Valparaíso was unlike any city I have been to. If you plan on visiting, anticipate the hills! The city is filled with funicular lifts to take tourists and locals alike up particularly steep hills.
We stayed in Cerro Alegre at Hotel Casa Higueras which had a wonderful view of the bay as well as a restaurant where we ate both evenings of our stay. My absolute favorite part of our time here was all the art. Valparaíso is filled with art galleries and shops and we came home with lots of souvenirs.
Our last full day was spent relaxing by the pool in denial that we would be heading back to Winter weather in KC. After one last delicious dinner it was time to pack up before our long day of traveling home. I think two weeks in Chile was the perfect amount to time to see a huge variety of things, but also short enough that I hope we will be able to go back someday! We didn't get a chance to visit the desert in the North, and I know my Dad would love a chance to visit with his host family again. And I hope you've found some travel inspiration of your own, too!
Santa Cruz, Chile
Our second to last stop in Chile was a day in Santa Cruz! Deep in wine country, we fittingly spent most of our day at the the beautiful Vina Santa Cruz. We hadn't made any reservations in advance and luckily were able to immediately get a table in the restaurant. After eating we rode their gondola up the top of a hill where they have a self-guided tour. My absolute favorite moment was stumbling across two llamas trying to escape the heat—llamas are one of my favorite animals!
After our time at the vineyard we headed into Santa Cruz to check into our hotel. Along the way we stopped so my dad could buy a traditional Chilean hat, and the woman was gracious enough to let us take her picture with her sewing machine. The rest of our evening was spent wandering around the town and relaxing by the hotel pool. The next morning we visited the Colchagua Museum which is on the same property as the Hotel Santa Cruz. If you find yourself in the area it is a must see, the museum covers our history from 400 million years ago up until the twentieth century. While it is an unexpected location it was one of the best history museums I have ever visited! The last few days of our trip flew by and I just have one more place to recap. Be on the lookout for a few photos from Valparaíso next week!
Rengo, Chile
The second half of my family's trip to Chile was planned completely around visiting my Dad's host family from when he was an AFS student in high school! He lived in Rengo, Chile for one half of his year, and we spent two nights at his family's home in the countryside outside the city. We had an amazing time meeting everyone and hearing stories from his time in Chile. They also treated us to some wonderful food and graciously allowed us to realax by their pool.
I especially loved walking around the plaza and the main streets of Rengo. There were still some New Year's and Christmas decorations up, which felt pretty strange with the Summer weather, but at the same time festive in a way we don't experience in the US. And as always I was a huge fan of thebright florals, palm trees and colorful homes!
This part of the trip was especially meaningful because it is what brought our entire family to Chile. Without my Dad's experience we would not have been able to spend a few days experiencing daily life with this family. During other trips I have purely been a tourist, so this was a nice change of pace and allowed us to see a more authentic version of life in Chile. Enjoy!
Full Paine and Glacier Grey Excursion
Hello, friends! Our first full day in Patagonia was spent on the Full Paine excursion offered by Las Torres. They describe it as the best way to get the fullest introduction to Torres del Paine National Park, and I definitely agree! We began the day walking over the Puente Negro (Black Bridge) and then went on to the Nordenskjöld Lookout, the Sarmiento Lookout, Lake Pehoé and the Salto Grande waterfall.
After a wonderful lunch at a camp site we went on to the southern shore of Lago Grey. There we hiked across the lake and up to a viewpoint where you could see Grey Glacier. Afterwards we hiked back down and boarded a catamaran to get an up-clsoe view of the glacier. It took an hour to get to there, and then we we spent an hour viewing three sides of Grey Glacier. It was truly beautiful. We learned that Grey Glacier connects to the massive Southern Patagonia Ice Field — it really is impossible to describe its size. One hour later we took a short hike back to the car and we were headed home for the evening! This ended up being one of our favorite days of the entire trip. We had beautiful weather and got to see so many wonderful views of the park in a really short amount of time. Thank you Las Torres!
Arriving in Patagonia
After our first day in Santiago we boarded another flight South to Punta Arenas. While in Patagonia we stayed at Hotel Las Torres, a beautiful ranch right at the foot of the Torres del Paine. On our way to the hotel we had a chance to stop at the Estancia Cerro Negro (Black Hill Ranch), which is owned by the same family as Hotel Las Torres. There we experienced a traditional Patagonian lamb barbecue and learned about the farm.
Before eating we received a tour of the farmhouse and learned about what life was like for the Kusanovic family (they moved to the region from Croatia). After our delicious meal and some time spent at the farm we were back on the road. A few hours later arrived at the park! Our driver was even kind enough to pull over several times for us to take photos of a beautiful blue lake and to observe a guanaco. The scenery was even more beautiful than I imagined, and I can't wait to share our three full days we spent in the park. Enjoy!
