week 9 (and a half?)

 Hello hello!! How has it been 9 WEEKS WHAT!!!!???

This was quite an interesting week, but started off pretty normal- dance class (with my professores Mario and Diego), a field trip to this giant VALPARAISO sign, and of course, a completo.

Thursday night rolled around, and as the crew was excited to take off for Mendoza, Argentina, we were left a bit disappointed. Due to extreme weather in the mountains, the border of Chile and Argentina was closed for the night. So we decided to book the bus for the next morning! It was an early 4:30am wake up, and we were off! The bus ride was long, but so so beautiful, with switchback roads and views of the Andes.

We arrived to Mendoza in the evening, checked into our hostel, ate a quick dinner, and fell asleep quite soon after. A long bus ride tires one out! Here's the crew- Eleanor, Tom, Me, Alaina, Gar, and Ezra (taking the pic)!

After the long ride to Mendoza, we decided the only logical thing to do was get on another bus the following morning. This time it was only about 1.5 hours to the small town of Potrerillos. We arrived and walked the long journey to our Airbnb, which was beautiful but a challenge to find...

After dropping our bags, we went exploring! Potrerillos is a small mountain town with a beautiful, stunningly blue lake. Instead of sand, however, they have deep, thick mud. Obviously, Alaina and I had to check it out. Felt like a massage!

We walked all day exploring and in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. We ended the day walking home as the sun set and enjoyed a delicious meal made by Gar and Eleanor. The AirBnB had the cutest pup named Thor, who was just precious.

Sunday morning, Eleanor and Gar said "chao" to go explore the city. The four that were left decided to rent bikes and wander. We found the most amazing views, bought some BUSSIN choripan sandwiches and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Lots and lots of sunscreen- the UV was 10 all day!!

After dropping off the bikes, we walked through the desert looking roads and took a much needed nap at the bus station.

Back to the city on Monday, and we explored all day. The forecast said rain there and snow in the mountains, so we were nervous that the border would be closed again. Luckily, it held off all day! 

We met a kind man who owned an adorable cafe. He explained that it was a holiday that day, which was why all the shops were closed. So, he drew us a map and gave us places to check out that would be open. We stuck our phones in our bags and only used this map for the rest of the day!

The map took us to a famous chocolate shop, pizza shop for lunch, and a beautiful park. Everything was DELISH.

Argentina is known for three things: Wine, meat, and chocolate. Since we missed our wine tour due to the closed border, the four of us thought it was necessary to go out for a nice last night dinner. We made friends with the "wine connoisseur" at the restaurant, who told us all about Argentinian wine, and even offered us a few samples! The meal was simply fantastic- multiple types of asados (steak, chorizo, ribs, and intestine(its better than it sounds))!!

That night, we ran super fast to make it to our bus. We got on at 10:28 and the bus rolled out promptly at 10:30. We made it through customs at 2:30am, arrived in Santiago at 6am, took the train to the next bus station at 6:30, and our last bus took us home to Vina at 8:30. A super long journey, but it was definitely worth it!!

Argentina was such a beautiful country to visit, filled with super friendly people and some incredible food. I had a blast with my friends, and experienced some of the coolest adventures I've had so far. 10/10 experience!! I am so lucky to have the ability to do this kind of thing, and so lucky to come back to my bestie, Pepa. Chao!!