New Years on the water and Buenos Aires

The adventure continued as we left Patagonia. We spent one night in an incredibly uncomfortable car ferry where the crew thought it would be a good idea to play old John Travolta movies on full volume for the whole night. I mean, Saturday Night Fever really isn't that good. So after a very poor night of sleep, we headed out to the great national park Vicente Peréz Rosales. We saw more incredible volcanoes, the magnificent Petrohué waterfalls, and some more of the beautiful Chilean South. After a day in the park, exhausted, we climbed onto another overnight bus, meaning that for 2 straight nights now, we had not slept on anything resembling a bed. I'm real nice to my parents, aren't I? Immediately after getting into Santiago, we left our luggage at the bus stop baggage check and tried to find a bus out to Valparaíso. Buses are run by tons of companies and leave about every 10 minutes, but because this was New Years Eve, and Valparaíso is such a popular destination for this holiday (more to follow on this), buses were 100% sold out! So we bit the bullet, hired a private car, and made the trip out amongst what seemed like the rest of Santiago.

I soon had the opportunity to introduce my two families, as we were meeting my Chilean family in Valparaíso. Although I had introduced them over SKYPE, it was fun to introduce them in person. We had a great lunch and made our way down to the harbor for what was to be an amazing night. First of all, it's important to understand what Valparaíso means on New Years. Every single Chilean told me that I needed to do whatever possible to get to "Valpo" on New Years. Year after year, the spectacle is incredible, and as the bicentennial, this year promised to top the rest. So both families and other Chilean friends boarded a small boat and set off into bay. From here we had a perfect vantage point for the coordinated fireworks that ran up and down the coast for probably 25 miles. It was far and away the best fireworks show I have ever seen and left everyone in awe, made all the better by the fact that we were looking into the lit hills of Valpo behind the fireworks. Certainly something I will never forget. After the show, we had to get back to Santiago. Due to the popularity of New Years in Valpo, hotels and hostels literally up their prices by multiples of 5 to 10, so staying in Valpo was not really a feasible option. Instead, we were lucky enough to have my great Chilean host dad Leo champ up and drive the 2 hours back home. Despite our best efforts, we all fell asleep in the car, leaving Leo to carry the team.

Having my two families meet was absolutely fantastic. After a semester of trying to tell each family what my other family was like, it was great to get them together and see how shocked my sisters were that I looked so much like my brother and dad.

After a short stay in Santiago, we headed off to Buenos Aires, a must see destination in South America (I feel like I'm saying that about everywhere...). We rented an apartment in the really cool neighborhood of Recoleta and spent 5 days visiting as much as we could of this awesome city. It's very different from Santiago and was built when Argentina was the more prosperous country of the two (as opposed to Chile is today). This means that there are grand buildings mimicking the best of Europe all over the city. It's really a great city to walk around in and just kind of get lost. We spent time in the old port area of La Boca, which is also home to the much loved Boca Juniors soccer club. We toured the stadium and got a taste for how much Argentinians really do love their fútbol. We also spent some time in the cobblestone lined neighborhood of San Telmo, one of my favorites of BA, the large beautiful parks of Palermo, and the hectic downtown area of El Centro. Before South America, I'd never really realized the interest in visiting cemeteries, but the Recoleta Cemetery was a really cool attraction. But one of the highlights had to be the steak. Argentina is famous for its beef, and the acclaim is well deserved! One night my parents spoiled my brother and I by bringing us to one of the best steakhouses in BA, Cabaña Las Lilas. It was absolutely sensational, twice as good as any steak I've ever had in my life, easily. So tender and juicy, cooked perfectly. And to match every customers taste, the restaurant has an impressive 100 page wine menu! Somewhat overwhelming to say the least. But our time in BA came to an end and we boarded our plane back to Santiago.