Today we made the dubious decision to visit Torres del Paine as a daytrip from El Calfate. Orginially when we planned this trip we wanted to stay for 5 days and hike the W- the classic trek within the park. Then, just as we were leaving Lima for Chile, we checked the news to find that the park was on fire and closed until the end of January. So, we sadly scratched it from our list. Then, we found out that the park had partially re-opened, but information on e...

Today we went to Valparaíso, Chile. I´ve been intrigued by the city ever since my good friend studied abroad there in college. It was a quick bus ride from Santiago, and we decided to start are day by walking to a French restaurant recommended in our Lonely Planet for lunch. The walk looked innocent enough on the map, but soon we found that Valpo is a city full of hills that are not to be underestimated! However, climbing the steep grades (I swear some appr...

Today was the kind of day that I´ve been waiting for since I first started dreaming about this trip almost 4 years ago. We got up late-ish, enjoyed the free breakfast at the hotel (with peanut butter and real milk!!), and headed out. Our first stop was el Museo de La Memoria- the museum made to remember the atrocities of the dictatorship under Pinochet from 1973-1990. It was very well done and I learned a lot. I´ve studied Chile and its dictatorship so much...

So far Santiago is crazy but cool. It seems like a mix of Miami, Lima, New York, and New Orleans- if you can imagine that. We are staying in the Bohemian nightlife district- the streets are all lined with outdoor cafes piled with people enjoying boisterous conversation, greasy food, and cheap wine/beer/pisco sours. Chile is strange because everything feels so familiar, and yet off. Plus, it´s really hard to understand people! They seem to understand us th...