My Last Month in Santiago

My last month in Santiago was brilliant. I saw so many interesting places all around the city with my boyfriend. I actually did more sightseeing during those last four weeks than I had during the previous few months!

These are some of the places we visited together, and a few I saw by myself:

Parque de Esculturas

The church and park at Los Domínicos (this is where I used to get off the metro and take the bus each morning to go to the university, but I hadn't previously taken the time to look around the area properly)

Outside the UDD (my university)

A lovely evening at Parque Bicentenario

Museo Palacio Cousiño

Paseo Bulnes 

Cerro San Cristóbal (This is probably the best known touristic sight in Santiago. You can hike up to the top, but there is also an old funicular railway which goes up and down).

Templo Bahá'í (One of only two Bahá'í temples in South America. It's quite a steep walk to get to the top, but it's worth it to see such a beautiful building.)

Estación Mapocho (a former train station which now has art installations inside)

Mercado Central

Palacio de Tribunales de Justicia

Ex Congreso Nacional

Museo Histórico Militar

Parque O'Higgins (This is the second biggest park in Santiago after Parque Metropolitano. We went out on the lake in a little boat, which was really fun!)

Santiago doesn't have much of a reputation as a touristic city, but it actually has plenty of things to see. There are lots of parks, museums and monuments. It's also a great place to live - it's relatively safe, easy to get around, and has all the facilities you'd find in Europe or North America.

I was really sad to leave Chile and miss living there. The time I spent there was absolutely amazing, and I'm planning to go back as soon as possible. There are still so many places I want to visit!

Huilo Huilo and Other Magical Places

The last trip I took out of Santiago was to northern Patagonia. I was really excited to see this part of the world, and I wasn't disappointed. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.

Again, I went on a group tour and travelled by bus overnight. The journey was 10 hours (two hours shorter than I expected!) and when we got out of the bus, I saw how different this part of Chile was from Santiago. It was also much, much colder!

We spent the first morning exploring the Siete Lagos (seven lakes) region. The first lake we saw was called Pellaifa, which means "hidden forest" in the Mapuche language. Unsurprisingly, it gets its name from the fact that there is a forest underneath the water! There were a few tree tops poking out over the surface, but they are much more visible in the summer.

We saw several other lakes and a canal afterwards. I didn't find out what they were all called, but they were very beautiful, as was the surrounding scenery.

In the afternoon, we went to Huilo Huilo. It's a biological reserve and the nature there is incredible. It has a fairytale theme and really feels like a magical place. The first thing we did there was to go on a short trek through the forest to an amazing waterfall, Salto de Huilo Huilo.

It was an incredible sight.

Afterwards, we looked around the rest of the reserve, including the gift shop. I found it funny that even the toilets had a magical, fairytale look about them!

The last place we went to in Huilo Huilo was probably the thing it's best known for - Montaña Mágica (magic mountain). It's hard to tell what it is from looking at it, but it's actually a very posh hotel!

There was still another lake left to visit that day - this one was next to a double volcano (Mocho-Choshuenco). The scenery was beautiful, and a perfect representation of the south of Chile. Plus we got to go on a boat and look around all of its different rooms, which was fun and interesting.

That night was the low point of the trip. We stayed in cabañas which were very charming and cosy looking. However, there was no heating, so they felt a lot less cosy than they looked!

The second day was much less busy than the first. We only went to one place - Termas Geométricas. There are seventeen hot springs there, in very picturesque surroundings. I found it very peaceful and relaxing. 

This trip was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the whole Year Abroad. I had actually booked it at the end of May, in order to motivate myself to remain in Chile for the last month and a half of the semester. As I mentioned in my Argentina post, I was having a lot of problems at that time. However, by the time the trip came around, things had improved immensely. For starters, I met my boyfriend! I also moved apartment, which made some other issues I was having easier to deal with. The last month in Santiago was amazing, and a blog post all about it is on its way very soon.

I've neglected this blog since July, as I've been busy in France, completing my Year Abroad. Now it's all over, which feels very weird and a bit sad! But at least I still have plenty to document on this blog. The last six weeks turned out to be a lot more eventful than I expected, but it was an interesting and varied experience. So several posts will be appearing soon - hopefully within the next couple of weeks...