Day 1: Arrival to Vina del Mar!

SUNDAY: Today was our first day in Chile! Both of the plane rides went very smoothly. We arrived in Santiago early in the morning and went through security/customs quickly. Our bus was waiting for us when we arrived and one of the students from the University was there escort us to the hotel. The views from the bus were amazing and this entire area is beautiful. Once we got to our hotel, a few of us went out for something to eat and to explore. We ended up at a Tex-Mex restaurant at about 11AM and were the only ones in the restaurant for a few hours because Chileans don’t eat lunch until later in the day. After eating, we walked down past the casino and to the ocean. We encountered many stray dogs along the way. While we walked along the beach, there were many people selling jewelry and other items. Also, many locals asked us if we wanted to take a carriage ride in these horse-drawn carriages that were all along the beach. After a little exploring, we all came back to the hotel to rest for a while. A friend and I went out to look at the coast and take some pictures. We befriended a stray dog and he walked along with us for a while. Afterwards, we all went to dinner at Margaritas and had some delicious Mexican food. I am excited to do some more exploring tomorrow and to see the University!