To make our unnecessarily long break from school seem more “productive” and to escape colder and colder temperatures that recently caused the Charles River to freeze, four of my classmates and I took off for Chile. With temperatures in the high eighties and low nineties, with daylight that lasts until almost 9pm, with an outdoor beauty that rivals the best in the world, and with the general laid back Chilean culture, Chile made for the perfect escape.
Since going to Israel and Jordan, I feigned being busy by doing a quick trip to Disneyland, celebrating New Years in LA, giving 110% of my voice in the Stanford win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl Game, returning to the Bay Area for a quick trip to see my sister, brother-in-law, and friends, and then traveling to New York and New Jersey where my time was split between seeing friends, enjoying New York, and most importantly, being a part of the birth and Bris of my new nephew.
After meeting some of the group at JFK Airport, we embark on our eleven-hour journey to Chile, which is always surprisingly more east than people imagine. As proof, Santiago is two hours ahead of Eastern Time. After we all recover from our redeye flight, we dare to explore the streets of Santiago. We hit a couple sights like the Plaza de Armas while walking around, but our stops are generally more food focused. We stop for lunch/dinner and then continue to find dessert at a fun hipster café called Café The Clinic.
The first day is spent exploring, finding the cheapest shoes we can for the next day’s river rafting, and driving around the many parts of Santiago.