One word. Stair-master. Had we known that we would walk so much, we would have brought more shoes.
Our airport experience was less than satisfactory. Leaving Boston, we were stuck on the runway for half an hour due to heavy traffic in New York. Because of the weather, there was a lot of turbulence, but we arrived in sunny Miami at night. This flight lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes, but our next flight from Miami to Chile lasted 8 and a half hours. Most of us had trouble sleeping due to the cramped quarters, but at least the food was decent. We were given a choice of either pasta or chicken. The people who had the pasta said it was decent, but those with chicken said that it was pretty good. We arrived in Chile at 7 a.m., and our global health experience began.
We hiked up a mountain called Cerro Santa Lucia and got a great view of Santiago. Smoking was verypredominant, but the folkof Santiago love to clean. We saw people mopping sidewalks, washing windows, and providing excellent lawn care. Everyone here is super friendly, even though we have a language barrier. It’s a good thing we have Javi and Sarah to talk for us. 🙂 We explored the city on foot and metro.
The view from Chile of the snow covered Andes Mountains.
We then went to the zoo (TONS OF STAIRS) and saw everything from elephants to penguins to a poor sick cheetah and sleeping kangaroos. By that point we were exhausted, hot and dehydrated, so we headed back to the hotel for a shower and a nap. For dinner we had a traditional Chilean meal with delicious food and service.
Day two! We had quite anadventure on the metro andbuseson our journey to Valparaiso. The beaches were beautiful as were the people. Street performers joined us on the city bus and treated us with to some beautiful guitar and drum music. Being future prudent nurses, we all used sunscreen and applied it often. However our pale winter skin lost the battle and we all got burnt… Ouch! Tonight is recovery and relaxation to rest up for tomorrow’s adventures 🙂
Bye Mariah Sara Henson and Javier
View a photo gallery from the trip.
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