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Chile

I arrived in Santiago, where I met some interesting college kids and went out for some drinks. After being here for a few days I went north to the mountain town of Los Andes, where I stayed with a beautiful family. They spoke mostly Spanish so it was great for me to practice mine. Here I climbed the surrounding mountains daily a and got fresh eggs and cow's milk from a high altitude farm. After a few weeks here, I departed and went back to Santiago, then a quick flight to the north took me to Caldera, Playa la virgen, a beautiful turquoise beach on the side of a desert. After having amazing ceviche and doing cultural food exchange with a few new friends I went a week later back to Santiago, and then finally to the west coast, Valparaiso. Here, in Valparaiso, I experienced a city reminiscent of San Fransisco. Steep cable cars pull you up the hills, and rainbow colored houses on stilts cling to the mountain cliffs. The buildings are all covered in beautiful legal graffiti and murals. I stayed with another family here, that had a grill on a cliffside balcony above the harbor below. One day, we went to the fish monger, bought a whole three-foot fresh salmon, and smoked it over wood and herbs whole with, rosemary, lemon, fresh olive oil and the local pumpkin on the side. After spending about a month here, it is time for me to meet Eve in Peru. BTW, In Chile, the two main street foods here are empanadas and Mote con huesillo, a cold drink made from boiled dried peaches, filled halfway with boiled cereal grains. Chile is also in my opinion the king of empanadas. They also have the best avocados I have ever tried, and obviously there's the wine and seafood..

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