Summer (Part 2)

The best way to get to know  new family, a family that you will be living with for the next 5 months, is to head down to the south of Chile and pack yourself into a cabin in the middle of nowhere. So that's exactly what I did with my second family in early February. We had an incredible time, and let's just say you don't have an incredible time with just any family you're stuck in a 3 room cabin with.

The south of Chile is the closest you can get to Canada in Chile. It is filled with forests, lakes, waterfalls, volcanos, and also has a beautiful coast line. With the Maulens, I got to see all of that. We went to the town of Panguipulli, and I got to swim in a fresh water lake, something that made me realize how much I miss swimming in the Great Lakes. We played tennis, had barbeques, and celebrated my new aunt Lily's birthday with traditional Chilean celebration, long nights spent talking around the "parrilla" (Chilean Barbeque).

We went to visit the Water fall Huilo Huilo (above), and came across maybe the most incredible hotel I have ever seen. Tucked into the woods the Montaña Magica Lodge is a mountain with a waterfall running down the side, oh, and its also a hotel inside. Although we didn't stay long, and certainly didn't have the financial means to actually be guests there, they allowed us a quick look around, and to take photos.

The next day we went caving in the volcanic caves underneath Volcano Villarica, one of the most destructive volcanos in South America. It was an incredible experience, especially when we turned the lights off and experienced "true darkness".

In our last couple days, we visited the towns of Pucon, Villarica, and Valdivia. After a great two weeks, we headed back home, but as is typical on exchange, I only went home with enough time to do laundry, and head off to the coast to visit Cristobal in his cottage in Algarrobo.

I took a bus to Algarrobo, a town on the coast of Chile, and went directly to the beach. We dove into the giant waves, lay on the beach, played a new version of beach tennis, and soaked up the sun for a really enjoyable week. It was really nice to see him again and a good way to end summer, but wait, there was one more thing to go: the highlight of my summer. I guess I should give it it's own blog entry, because it was just that awesome

North Trip 2012