Me encanta la primavera

The past 2 weekends have been beautiful, and I've been able to enjoy Chile's natural beauty outside Santiago for both of them!

Last weekend it was rafting in the beautiful Cajon de Maipo. The water in the river come from snow melt off the Andes, so it is rather cold. But with all of the clothing they give you (wetsuit, windbreaker, shorts, neoprene socks) its not too bad. And it was beautiful and sunny the whole time! Here's a picture of my friends and I getting ready to raft:


This weekend, after seeing the new Bond movie Quantum of Solace (before the US, be jealous), one of my university classes had a field trip all day Saturday. The Colchagua Valley, about 200 km south of Santiago, is famous for its wine. Our first stop was the town of Santa Cruz, where we toured a really neat and diverse museum, with artifacts from South American indigenous cultures (such as shrunken heads), Spanish conquest and early Chilean independance era items, old typewrites, gramophones, and film projectors, a Samarai armor, carraiges, antique cars, and a lot more. Here's some of us in front of one of the antique vineyard trucks at the museum:

After the museum, I had a nice greasy lunch and we looked through a artisan fair they had for the weekend in the main plaza. It was for rich tourists, though and I sadly couldn't afford a thing. But our next stop was the Vina Santa Cruz!

This place was huge and GORGEOUS. Everything is blooming and green. We took a cable car to the top of a hill for a lookout and to learn about 3 Chilean indigenous cultures from their exhibitions: Mapuche from the south, Aymara in the north, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the Pacific. We ended the tour with an explanation of how their wine is made and a gustacion (tasting). I am not a wine fan, but I have to say it wasn't terrible! Here's me enjoying the perfect weather at the vineyard:

Only 2 more weekends left to enjoy in Chile! I now have less than 20 days and the countdown has begun. Make your requests now for gifts and I hope to see you soon! :)

Oh and if you don't have facebook, view the rest of my pictures from Santa Cruz at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017074&l=58202&id=54001690 !