I'm back in Concepción and packing my bags to go home. Thanks for following my travels, and tune in for my next adventure (hopefully it'll be soon!).

For our last day in Buenos Aires we decided to see a few of the gardens we missed before. This was a great decision. We first went to the Jardín de …

Good place to hang out, but not a place to dance. I enjoyed the music (international rock), and the drinks were reasonably priced. There's no sign ou…

We rented bikes from our hostel today I went out for 4 hours. I was a little disappointed as on the tourist map it shows that all along the rive…

In order to go out at night in Buenos Aires you need way nicer clothes than those we've been wearing for the past 3 weeks. Luckily for us, there are …

For less than $10 US a night you get a comfy bed in a dorm, free breakfast, great shared bathrooms, internet and a lot of movies to watch. The only d…

This tango show was run through our hostel, so I was expecting it to be well organized. Unfortunately it wasn't the best run outing I've been part of…

    Today we started out by going to the Jardin Botanico, which was beautiful. I was amazed that such a big garden existed in this city. I defin…

It only took 3 flights and a bit of running between connections to get here from Cusco, but I'm glad I'm here. Driving from the airport reminded me a…

In the Miraflores neighborhood of Lima there's the Parque del Amor. It's located on a cliff looking over the ocean and is filled with mosaics and quo…

We went with a tour organized by our hospedaje. We didn't see as many ruins as I would have liked, but I was able to get some Christmas shopping done…

Today I saw Machu Picchu, which has been a dream since I was about 10. It definitely lived up to expectations. I went with a tour, which was nice as …

For only about US $10 we got a private bath, private room, towels, breakfast, free internet, and a huge selection of movies to watch. The staff at th…

I really liked these ruins because they weren't crowded. You are able to walk all over the ruins at your own pace and enjoy the ingenuity of the Inca…

Today we went to Tipon and Pikillaqta. I really enjoyed both as they were not crowded, but still really neat. I wish the sites had more information a…

We got into Cusco last night around 11, so not much time to see the city. Today we bought our boleto turistico and started seeing all the museums we …

You get what you pay for. No shower, no toilet paper, but rather comfy beds, all for the low price of 15 soles.

Since we were in Puno, we had to go see the floating islands. I enjoyed the trip as it was cheap, and I learned a fair amount (culture of the islands…

Of all my travels, I have to say that Arequipa has the most beautiful town square that I have seen. It's beautiful during the day and breaktaking at …

The facilities aren't great, but it manages to work. The internet is really slow and there are only 3 bathrooms shared among all the dorms (I never h…

6.000 pesos for a dorm and great breakfast. The owner is an American who decided to leave the rat race of America and move to Chile. Franklin's a gre…

Today I spent a semi-relaxing day on the beach. Unfortunately it was very very windy, so it wasn't the most comfortable beach ever. However, the wate…

We didn't actually stay here, but even though the owner didn't have rooms he gave us a free breakfast before bringing us to Hostal End of the Trail! …

Today I decided not to rejoin the tour which was going to Moon Valley in the afternoon. In my free time I wandered a lot of the city, which is just a…

Today was my last day with the company tour. The first stop of the day was at the Tropic of Capricorn. Next we went to a train "museum" where all the…

First stop today was Pan de Azúcar national park. The park had a nice beach and a cacterium, which we stopped to see. There are also some pretty cra…

Today I stayed in Bahia Inglesa while some went into Caldera. I spent a lovely day on the beach followed by a group barbeque.

Left La Serena at 9 to get to our tour of Isla de Damas. The tour was really fun. We went out in a little boat and got to see sea lions and many mari…

Today we started our tour with Pachamama by Bus. After Santiago our first stop was a town called Pichidingui, which wasn't exciting and all, and we w…

This hostel reminds me a lot of Hostal de Sammy. It's loud and very full of english speakers. It is run well though with very capable and responsive …

I went out to the pub with my host mom and sister to celebrate me being done with final tests. I was impressed by Durango. It had nice decorations, a…

EMPANADAS! This place only serves empanadas, and they are good. There are 21 different types all for about US $2 each. It's a bit pricey by Chilean s…

Today I finally went to the mine in Lota, which is the major attraction in the Concepcion area. I was a little hesitant because everyone in Chile thi…

Today there was a big earthquake (7.7) up north. The epicenter was north of Antofogasta. Luckily I'm fine since it was really far north. I'm just hop…

I went to Puerto Montt to wait for my bus back to Concepción. There's not anything to see in town. The cathedral isn't that exciting, and it was clo…

Castro is famous for being in the center of the church region of Chiloé and also for the houses on stilts over the water (palafitos). I was immedi…

This hostal was almost exactly like the one I stayed in when I was in Valdivia. It wasn't really a hostal in that I got my own room with a private ba…

I spent a half-day here in Ancud on my way to Castro. The city's not much to see. The fort was very disappointing as all it had were 5 cannons, and t…

This restaurant is hidden amongst the many very expensive restaurants in Barrio Suecia. The greatness of the restaurant is that it actually spices th…

For US $6 (3.000 pesos) you can get into the most famous museum of Santiago. It is full of artifacts in great condition with good explanations in Spa…

For 5.000 pesos (US $10) we had a great guide. Our tour was in Spanish, but English tours are available on certain days. In addition to information a…

Today started out with a trip to Viña Cousiño Macul. It is the oldest vineyard in Chile that is still run by the original owners. The tour was info…

Instead of having to pay to get in we just had to give a donation. Inside the museum was a very eclectic mix of art. Some of it was great, but some w…

It costs 600 pesos (US $1.20), and you can spend a good 2-3 hours reading all about the history of Chile. The museum gives a great comprehensive over…

Today we left around 10 to commence our day of walking. We started by booking a trip with Pachamama by Bus to take a 5 day tour from Santiago to San …

I got into Santiago this morning at 6 am and immediately was excited. The architecture here beats Concepcion's hands down! We checked into our host…

I gave this hostel the rating that I think most people would give it; however, I think that it is one of those places that you either really like or …

It costs 1.800 pesos to get into the museum, and there's a lot to see. If I had read everything I would probably have spent a good two hours there. T…

On the way back from Petrohue yesterday I purchased an excursion to Frutillar with the same tour company. I am very happy that I did because I ended …

Before I left to come south my host mom told me a millon times that I had to go to Lago Todos los Santos. When I arrived I found out that the only wa…

The stop at the Saltos de Petrohué was the best part of my trip across the Lago Todos los Santos. The Saltos are part of the Río Petrohué, which d…

If you want to see Lago Todos los Santos you must travel with Andina del Sud as they are the only company that runs a tour. The trip intinerary is as…

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to wander through a city and see all the little side-roads. I arrived here in Puerto Varas at 3 pm,…

I decided to splurge, and I stayed in the four star Hotel Bellavista. The room was like most four star hotels. My only complaint is that the cable qu…

I arrived in Valdivia at the lovely hour of 4 am. I sat in the bus terminal until 7 because it was raining, and I didn't feel like wandering in the d…

I stayed in a private room and bath for 15.000 pesos. The price is average for what it was. The bath was very spacious with the world's smallest show…

If you're planning on traveling in Chile using the buses are a great way to see the country. In my many bus rides I have always left on time and arri…

This is a little museum located on my walk to and from school that I finally decided to explore yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. It only cost m…

As I've wandered in Chile I've taken pictures of all the cool graffiti I've seen. Here are a few of my favorites.

Valparaíso was the first time I've been to a port town where shipping is a big part of the economy, therefore, I enjoyed seeing all the big ships an…

We went into this "Mexican" restaurant because there was a big sign outside advertising 50% off all menu prices. Unfortunately, the menu prices were …

For US $35 a night it was a bargain as far as hotels go; however, we definitely got what we paid for. The location was very loud being by two very bu…

We stopped by this café because it looked very inviting. Unfortunately, we didn't know that it would take 2 hours for us to eat a plate of bruschett…

I just spent 3 wonderful days in Viña. The weather was great (about 23 everyday!) with few clouds. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the town as it was a …

When Kelly and I got to Viña and discovered there were Chinese restaurants we had to go. I was very happy with Pau San. The food was more or less au…

I'm hosting a a conversation table here where students from UBB can come and speak in English with me to practice. One guy from my class decided that…

Outside of Concepción along the ocean there's an area called Lenga that is a few square blocks of restaurants. The specialities are seafood empanada…

I left Concepción early Friday morning and got to Pichilemu around 4 after a fun bus trip. The bus from Concepción dropped me off on the side of th…

I stayed in a spacious cabaña for US $13 a night, which was a great price! In addition, the owners were quick to get us whatever we needed. They eve…

Today I felt like wandering, so I ambled around town for 3 hours taking photos and eating ice cream.

Of all the hostels I've stayed in, this was by far the most homey. The rooms within the main house are a decent size and are usually quite warm as Ge…

I just returned from a 4 day stay in Pucón. Overall I had a great experience. It felt wonderful leaving the urban setting of Concepción and seeing …

Coming from a city where if someone paints his house a funky color the neighbor will probably file a complaint with city hall, Concepción is a bit o…

Today I went to Dichato with Kelly and Laura (the other two Norteamericanas). It's about a 40 minute bus ride north of Concepción. I was super excit…

Four days a week I have classes at the University of Bío-Bío. When it's raining I take a Micro, but most days I walk the 30 minutes to school. On t…

I've already explained the wonders of the Micros here in Conce, but now's the time to explore transportation as a whole in the area. First, there are…

I forgot to mention in my last entry that Friday I also saw The Simpsons Movie - in Spanish. It's very popular in Chile to watch a CAM version of a m…

Yesterday I spent my Friday evening as most Chilean university students do - smoking (the Chileans, not the Americans), drinking, and talking in the …

Remember when your parents always joked about slowing down to 10 mph and kicking you out of the car when dropping you off somewhere? In Chile that's …

The past two days I've had orientation for foreign exchange students, los extranjeros, at UBB. During this time I have discovered how much I apprecia…

Yesterday morning I was supposed to go explore Conce with a friend that is also studying here, but it was very rainy, and we soon learned that walkin…

I've changed my mind, I'm going to write this in english so more people can understand it. Today I saw the downtown of Concepción. It wasn't as big …

Primero, voy a escribir esto en castellano porque estoy en Chile y necesito practicar mi castellano. Ahora la gramática es mala, pero en el futuro l…

One thing to make sure of when travelling to Chile is that your bags get onto your plane. When I checked in at O'Hare Airport the airline worker told…