"We are not Hippies, we are Happies"

Graffiti tour in Valparaiso

Today was truly a breathtaking experience in Valparaiso. It was a life changing experience to see and understand art at a very intimate level. Being able to roam the streets and see the tiny details made it amazing. Our tour guide did a great job at engaging us with the art and not just to simply look at it, but understand. One of my favorite parts of this tour was to feel the art. We tried to "reenact" the art as Maura did and to become the art which was fun for me to do because as everyone can tell, I love to take pictures. We watched as Maura illustrated the art that we saw along the walls and were inspired to do the same to bring our pictures to life. Unlike most museums this had no restrictions. It was very nice to feel free in the streets and live with in this story of the images.

We learned about some of the specific stories of how the art was created like how an artist wrote on the walls "usa la bici" because of the local who hung his bike from the window from his work so that his bike was not stolen and decided to leave it there when he moved away from Chile to leave a piece of him behind. Most of the art that we had seen today told a story that went along with the country and it was nice to learn a little bit about the history of the country in a way that kept all of us engaged. Along our walk through the graffiti tour, Tina and I saw on the side of the street that there was a woman selling jewelry and both decided to get matching heart opals to commemorate the time we have had and the memories that we will make. All around, today was an amazing day that consisted of graffiti, pictures, and a beach that took our breaths away.

Happiness is key

Valpariso and my sigma sister

Thank you Srdan for the ice-cream!

Nothing better than pictures with the girls.

Day Nine: Vina Del Mar and Valparaiso

Today was our first full day in Chile, full of activities in Viña Del Mar. Our day started with a trip over to Valparaiso for a remarkable graffiti tour. Our tour guides were two remarkable local graffiti artists. After the tour the group separated, some going to an amazing Chilean museum and others headed over to the beautiful beaches of Viña Del Mar. In the evening the group headed back to Valparaiso for a dinner at Pais Restaurant Alegre.

                                Luke, Tommy, Andrew, Phil and Matt taking pictures before dinner

We headed out for dinner around 7. We took a bus over to downtown Valparaiso where we took an elevator up the side of one of the steep hills of Valparaiso. The elevator took us up to the restaurant where we had an opportunity to take photos of us with the coast as a backdrop. Some students such as Lee, Tommy, and Matt hopped up on one of the posts for a few remarkable solo pictures.  After taking countless photos, we headed up to dinner.

Our Seafood Appetizer

The restaurant was a beautiful home overlooking Valparaíso. We started our meal with a white wine accompanied with breadsticks and our tasty appetizer. The main course was a perfectly seasoned beef on top of noodles. They served a local Chilean red wine with the main course. For dessert, we had a fruit tart to complete our amazing meal.

After dinner, we walked outside to a local street band performing a few songs. We enjoyed listening to local songs and two students even joined in on the act. On our walk up the very steep climb up the hill from the restaurant, we watch a few skateboarders perform a few tricks. Once we mounted the steep hopped on the bus and headed back to the hotel.

Travel from Argentina to Chile - Author: Philip Kimmell

Today was a very emotional day for us as it was our last morning in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But the upsetness of leaving such a beautiful country will be soon filled with excitement as we will be heading to Chile. The morning was quite dull as it consisted of packing and checking out of our hotel. Our experience at the airport was very quick and smooth as it was not too busy. The flight was not bad at all either (although we did experience some turbulence) due to the fact it was a very short two hour flight. The views from the flight were beautiful as we could see the mountains from the planes window. 

View from plane 

Once we landed, we got our luggage and hopped onto the bus which took us from the airport to Vina Del Mar. Everyone was pretty disappointed when we found out the drive would be pretty long. The disappointment disappeared very quickly as we were taken away by the views we witnessed during the bus ride. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we were in awe by them. It was not what I expected at all, and it was a huge change from the city that we were used to in Buenos Aires. Everywhere we looked we saw tons of landmarks and mountains and winery's. 

                         View from bus 

                    View from bus 

As we entered Vina Del Mar, it is a beautiful small town sitting right on the ocean. The views are absolutely breathtaking and will definitely stick with us for a lifetime. 

                       View of city

Author: Philip Kimmell