Week 1: Santiago & Cascada de las Animas

Our first week in Chile was nothing short of amazing.  We started with a week of Spanish orientation (very much necessary for most of us) which included 3 hours of Spanish each day.  Thankfully, that left plenttttyyy of time to enjoy Santiago.  A few of my favorite things thus far:

Cerro San Cristobal: a huge mountain that sits right in the middle of Santiago and houses Santiago's largest park.  Views from the top are incredible as it rises 300m above the rest of the city.  A group of us took the funicular up to the top to watch the sunset.  (My roommates - Fred, John, and Matt - and I have also attempted running up to the top but it usually ends up more of a hike than a run... goal for the end of the trip for sure.)

Piso Sours and Piscolas: drinks of choice in Santiago (brandy that gets it's name from a small town, Pisco - go figure - on the coast of Peru where the first vineyards were planted) - they are delicious!

The vino, fruit, and avocado are also amazing - and super cheap - so we've been having our fair share to say the least.

Cascada de las Animas: after watching ND lose to USC (sad day) at the local ex-pat bar, we ventured south to Cascada de las Animas, a mountain ranch nestled in the Andes alongside the Maipo River.  We spent the days white water rafting, hiking, and horseback riding - the views were absolutely incredible - and ended the trip with a massive Chilean bbq (so much meat and vino)!

All in all, pretty incredible start to the trip.