The first day of the trip we all met in Santiago at 7 in the morning and from there left on the tour bus and drove for about 5 hours north to the beach city of La Serena. For the rest of the evening we went to the beach and swam in the waves and swam in the pool. We stayed in cabanas with about 4 other people which was entertaining. The next morning we left for Valle de Elqui ( Elqui Valley), where the Elqui river is located which runs about 140 KM to the beaches of La Serena. The vineyards were beautiful and we hiked across a bridge that crossed the river that overlooked the hills and fields. A cactus fruit called "Copao" is only located here out of the entire world. It was so delicious, the fruit was similar to a Kiwi but more liquidy, and Copao ice cream was so amazing. Later that day we went to the city of Vicuña where the house and museum of Gabriel Mistral, a Nobel-prize winning poet, is located. From there we went to Pisco Elqui, a town filled with vineyards. We visited a few historic Catholic churches around the area. Later that night we visited an observatory and wactched a video about the universe and afterwards went to the roof and an astronomer showed us the different stars and constellations.
On the third day we left La Serena early in the morning and had a almost a full day in the bus driving to the next destination of the city of Antofogasta. Mid-way through the day we arrived in a smaller city called Caldera. In the evening we arrived to our hotel in Antofogasta with a beautiful view of the ocean and walked a little around the city that night. The next morning we went to a populated destination called Chiu-Chiu. We got to know the town and historic sites and old streets and churches. We later arrived in San Pedro de Atacama and afterwards went to Valle de la luna.
The next morning we woke up at 4 AM and drove for nearly 2 hours to arrive at the Geysers of Tatio. The geysers are most active around 6 or 7 AM. Later that day we went to the Salar de Atacama ma, which was a huge salt canyon. In the afternoon we went to sand doons and sandboarded, where I learned that you should always learn how to stop before you start. We also visited Laguna de Chaxa, which is a flamingo observatory in the desert. The next day we visited a mining town that was completely abandoned in the 1960's that is now a historical site and claimed to be haunted called "Humberstown". Later that evening we arrived in in the beautiful city of Iquique right next to the ocean. The next day was spent in Iquique, where we got tours of museums and historic sites along with the Esmeralda ship. Our final day was spent at the beach and visiting random sites.
Copao: A cactus fruit only grown in Valle del Elqui
Talagante Exchange Students
The Geysers
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Flamingos
Iquique
Humberstown
Thank you Rotary for the incredible experience that I will never forget! And thank you for all of the love and support from my family and friends, and everyone who has been apart of my exchange, these have been some of the best months of my life and I have experienced so many incredible things. I have learned so much and could not be more thankful for all that I have experienced. I am in love with this country and the culture and cannot imagine having to leave it behind in only a few months!
