Sunday was also a beautiful day. Although we were pretty sunburned from the day before, we decided to go to a different part of the beach. There were some street vendors along the way. They had some neat things, but I think I have found better things for cheaper in Buenos Aires. After another nice day at the beach, we decided to save money and cook at the hostel instead of going out to dinner. We made some pasta which turned out to be really good considering it was hard to find all the ingredients we needed. That night we hung out in the hostel again and met some guys who were visiting from Cordoba.
Monday, we were a little too burnt to lay on the beach all day, so we decided to go to Con Con to find the sealions that one of the workers at the hostel told us we would see if we went there. It was about 30 minutes on a bus to get there. And when we got there, we of course could not find the sealions. We walked up the coastline looking for them but werent too successful. We found a sushi restaurant and had a pretty good cheap meal. After that, we decided to quit our search for the sealions and went back to the hostel. We complained at the hostel and the man told us that he didnt actually know for sure that there were sealions in Con Con. I'm pretty sure it was just the offseason for them.
Tuesday was a rainy day, so we decided to take the metro to Valparaiso which is only about 20 minutes away. There wasnt a whole lot to do there. It seemed more residential kind of like Belgrano where I live in BA. Most of the houses are up in the hills and you can take what is called an ascensor (a car that takes you up the hills) up the hill. The houses were all very colorful and there was a lot of artwork on the streets. There was also a really pretty view of the ocean and the rest of the city. We walked around taking pictures for a few hours and then went back to Vina. That night we stayed in the hostel and played cards with some people in the hostel and had a fun time.
Wednesday, Lizzy and Emily left for Santiago before going to back to BA to meet their parents. I had planned on staying for two-three more days, but then we realized how expensive our hostel ended up being. IT turns out they charged a tax if you pay in Chilean pesos, which made the bill significantly more . They didnt accept credit card and there was no where to get U.S. dollars. It didnt really make sense to me that there would be a tax on Chilean money but not on USD. So, I decided to make Wednesday my last day in Chile. It was cold and rainy again on Wednesday. I went back to Valparaiso with an Australian guy that I met in the hostel and two other girls from the states who were also studying in BA. We had lunch at a cute seafood place on top of one of the hills and then just came back to Vina. The Australian and I walked on the beach for a bit, but it was almost too cold and windy for that. That night we met some new people who were traveling through South America. I played an Argentine card game called Truco (trick) with an American guy who had just gotten to Chile from BA and two Irish guys who are traveling all over the world pretty much. The game was fun but kind of confusing. I ended up winning..I think by luck. Afterwards, we all had sandwiches at a small place nearby and then went back to the hostal before going out to a small bar/boliche called Cafe Journal. I had a really good time talking to one of the Irish guys named Connor. He has a really interesting job. He majored in electrical engineering in college and then got interested in graphic design. He now works all over the world with different start up companies. He said he absolutely loves what he does and told me as long as I always do what I love I will be happy and successful. I hope to be as successful as he is someday.
The next morning I had to catch my bus from Vina to Mendoza that would then continue on to BA later that night. After being on the bus for about two hours we were stopped in traffic because an oil truck had crashed and was blocking the road. We did not move for SIX HOURS! Of course I had become highly tolerable to miserable long busrides, so I wasnt too surprised. It reminded me of when I was going to Bariloche and we didnt move for four hours when there were teachers striking in the middle of the highway. So after six hours, the bus started moving again and we reached the border of Argentina and Chile which was backed up due to all the traffic that hadnt moved for six hours. Coincidentally I saw Lizzy and Emily who were also stuck on their bus from Santiago and we agreed to meet in Mendoza because we were all going to miss our connecting bus that was on our original itinerary. Three hours later, I arrived in Mendoza to find Lizzy and Emily sitting on the floor of the bus station and told me the next bus wasnt until 7 am (it was midnight at the time). I did not want to sleep in the bus station, but it wasnt worth it to spent less than a night in a hostel. Fortunately, we were able to get on another bus at 1 a.m. that got as back to BA at 2 the next day. After a long journey back, we were so happy to be back in BA. It was actually the first time returning to BA after traveling that the weather was nice.
Last night, I had coffee with Brenda and for the first time we spoke entirely in Spanish which was good because usually we talking half in Spanish and half in English. It was nice to have dinner with Virginia and her grandkids after not having a meal for a couple days. However, it was not the most appetizing meal. It consisted of what LIz later told me were leftover egg rolls, milanesa (breaded steak), reheated vegetables, and salad. It wasnt the best, but i had a good time talking about my travels with them, showing them pictures, and watching this ridiculous game show called Justo a Tiempo.
Today Lizzy and I went to Micro Centro, which is in the downtown area (business district) and had lunch at the California Burrito company. We then walked around San Telmo and found some neat art galleries and then went to the Natural History Museum which was located in a beautiful park. San Telmo is probably one of my favorite places in the city. All the apartments and buildings are very beautiful and historic looking. I would have liked to live there if it was a safer place to be at night. Tonight, I am going to meet Francisco at a party for one of his friends and then going out with Lizzy and some of our friends who are still in the city at Pacha. It should be a fun night. Only two more weeks for me to see and do all the things I havent done yet!
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