Don't cry for me, Argentina! (I'm in Chile)

The pass to Chile eventually opened up but our original plans changed a bit. Instead of spending a few nights in Valparaiso, we went directly to Santiago from Mendoza. Traffic at the border was insane, since so many people had been waiting to cross, so what is normally a 5-hour bus ride ended up being 10. Fortunately, it was absolutely beautiful since most of the journey was through the Andes.

Santiago was really cool. We got really lucky too because the weather was great--sunny and hi 60s most of the time we were here. The first day Sarah and I did a guided walking tour of the city, which gave us a good feel for Chilean history as well as the city itself. We ended the day taking a furnicular up to a small hill/mountain called Cerro San Cristobal, which sported a large Virgin Mary statue at the top (cool but not as impressive as the giant Jesus in Rio). The next day, we retraced our steps from the previous day to visit a cathedral or two, a castle thing that used to be a fort back in the day, and a museum of pre-colombian history. We also got lunch at the famous Mercado Central. Chile has a lot more seafood, of which I am not a huge fan. There is good food here, but I definitely prefer Argentine cuisine. We had a very American evening, grabbing McDonald's before seeing the movie Captain America, which disappointed me a bit.

Friday, we made a day trip to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, two cities on the coast about an hour and a half away. They were cool cities, but unfortunately we got sucked into a bit of a tourist trap. We decided to do a tour where they shuffled everyone on the bus around the two cities all day. We would get off and take pictures and never really had time to enjoy the cities. It was the easiest way to see both cities in the little time that we had. Including that tour, I have seen a ton of tourist Brazilians here, so I've gotten the chance to continue practicing my Portuguese. Unfortunately, it is noticeably worse than it was when I was in Brazil.

Today, Sarah and I went to visit a winery called Concha y Toro. We had a great tour and then after it did a tasting. We had a sommelier lead us in a tasting of four really good wines accompanied with cheeses and nuts and such. Afterward, I accompanied Sarah to the airport and returned to the hostel. I fly out to La, Paz tomorrow around noon.