Family Visit in Chile

A couple of days ago I said goodbye to my family. They had been in Chile for about 2 weeks! We had our reunion in the Santiago airport, I was returning from Easter Island and they were arriving to Chile the same day. Little did I know that there was another special reunion/surprise waiting for me. My cousin Paul and his girlfriend Emily were also waiting for me in the airport that night. I had absolutely no idea. It was absolutely amazing. And my cousin Paul got the reunion on video which is something I will always cherish. It had been about 9 months since I had said my goodbyes to my family. It was so nice to see them in person rather via Skype. A real family hug is what I had missed so much, so it was so great to get some big Briody hugs!

The adventure began in Santiago. Our first full day we took a small bike tour around the city. We saw both of the large markets in the city. One is the fish market, and the other is fruits and vegetables etc. This was only my second time in the city, so it was nice to take a tour and learn something about the city. It is a great city, but the pollution takes away the amazing view of the Andes Mountains that can be seen in the early morning, if you are lucky enough! That afternoon we took a visit to the Zoo. Early the next morning we took a day trip tour to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. These places are still very nice even if we weren't there during the rush of summer vacations!

The next day my family and I continued our traveling and we flew to Calama and then took a bus to our next destination, San Pedro de Atacama.  The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth! It was my first time that I had ever been to a desert and it was amazing. We took a tour each day to be able to see all of the sites! Our first tour included, Valle de la Luna, Valle de la Muerte, and Las Tres Marias. When you look at the pictures, it is NOT snow that you are seeing. It is salt!

The next day we did see snow! Our tour headed into the Andes Mountain Range. And it got cold! Our first stop was Laguna Altiplancia. It is a salt laguna. It was absolutely breathtaking. From there we also stopped along the way to see other lakes that were close by. And we stopped for lunch on this tour with the group and this is a lunch I don't think any of us will ever forget... We had llama, and let me tell you something about llama meat, it does NOT taste like chicken. I myself only had a small bite, but I don't think that is something I will plan on eating again in the near future. It was not my cup of tea! After our lunch break that day we went to Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos. We were lucky enough and saw some flamingos in the reserve. 

Then our last day in Atacama we woke up VERY early, 4am, to go and see El Geyers de Tatio. They were amazing as well. It was so worth waking up that early to see some of them erupt. It was very cool. Also another attraction of seeing the geysers are the natural hot springs that you can go and bathe in. Another first for me! All of the natural beauty that is in San Pedro de Atacama is just gorgeous. I am so lucky that I have the opportunity to explore these places in the world. I am so happy that I was able to travel to the North of Chile. It is a whole other world up there!

Then we were back on the bus to the Calama Airport. From there we would fly to Santiago and then to Temuco in the south of Chile to continue the Briody adventures. In Temuco we rented a car to drive while we were in the south. We stayed in Lican Ray. Right now Chile is heading into winter so there is a change of colors outside, especially in the south where it is less populated. The scenery reminded me of Vermont's fall. It was gorgeous. It was raining most of the days that we were there, but that actually made it perfect for one popular tourist attraction. One day while we were there we went to Termas Geometricas, hot springs. It was the perfect rainy day and the hot springs were perfect, some where even really hot. Another first to check off of the list! The place was located up in the mountains and it was peaceful and quite. Really nice! From the south we made our way to Chillan, my city where I live. On our way we made a stop in Concepcion, another city, we went to my first host brother's moms house. We went for dinner! They were so excited to meet my family and could not get over how tall my dad and brother were! They were impressed! But I was anxious to get back to my host family and friends so after dinner we drove another hour to Chillan, the final stop on the trip. My family ended up staying at my host families house, my host family was so excited to have them and meet them. Once again, they were shocked with the height of my dad and brother! The first day I took my family to my school to show them around and then to meet my classmates. As I have mentioned quite often, my classmates are like my other family, so for me it was really important that my family met them! They were so excited to finally see my family that I have been talking about all of this time! And that afternoon we went to the center/mall of Chillan were the market is and I showed them the plaza and cathedral! Chillan is pretty tiny,so there isn't too much to see! The next day we drove to Thermas de Chillan, which are the popular ski mountains in Chile. What an adventure that was. And that was their last day in Chile, the next day my family would drive to Santiago to catch their flight back home and I would head off to school!

I loved having my family come visit me in Chile. We are already talking about when the ski trip to Chile will be. I loved showing them where I have been living this year. I am so lucky to have them, I couldn't have made it through this year without their love and support. I had missed them so much, but when they came I felt right back at home.  I have really learned that yes, my family will always be there for me, but that family in general is so important and I love my family so much and I don't know what I would do without them. So a big thanks to Paul, Amy and Justin and to the rest of my family and close friends as well. Thank you for making my dream come true, I have never been so happy with the decision of becoming an exchange student. My family's visit really ended my year on a great note!