Charlotte in Chile!

 We've officially made it past the halfway point of my travels! What?!! What better way to celebrate than an adventure! My newest favorite place to travel is La Serena. It is full of beautiful views, endless papayas, and new friends. Alaina, Tom, Eleanor and I set off midday Friday with a 5-hour bus ride ahead of us, most of which we slept through. We arrived to our hostel, grabbed a quick dinner, met some new friends (Hi Maria and Willow!), and headed out for some drinks and cards.  The next day, the 6 of us explored the city. We walked through a market, had a picnic at the local park while watching a dog show, and enjoyed the beautiful Japanese gardens. The garden was full of black swans, ducks, coy fish, and turtles! We finished the day with some delicious homemade curry (thanks to our chefs Eleanor and Tom)!      Early the next morning, we set sail for the islands. The six of us bussed 1.5 hours north, jumped on a boat, and rode to Isla Damas (Ladies Island)...

  Hello hello! This is my TENTH blog (a week late). There wasn't a whole lot of activity this week. I had a field trip to the Museo Palacio Rioja with my Spanish class, which was quite enjoyable. We got coffee before the tour, and the barista gave me a cute little bunny. I walked from my house in the pouring rain. Typically, Chileans wear a lot of black. As you can see, I do not fit in well. .        My week consisted of attending class,  scrapbooking from the weekend before,  a walk through Cerro Alegre with a coffee stop,        and reading on the beach. Not a bad time! Over the weekend, I went on a long walk with Alaina and Tom near Con Con. It was windy, but still gorgeous! We drank chocolate milk and ate pie slices on the beach! And to finish the weekend off, Alaina and I checked out Mil Tambores (a thousand drums)- A huge cultural festival where there are thousands of local drummers, dancers, and artists lining the streets of ...