Our experience in Santiago, Chile could not have started any better. We were picked up at the airport by Chelsea’s student, Antonia, from last year. Her family took two cars so that they could fit us all in along with our luggage. Tom rode with Roberto, Antonia’s dad, who did not speak English while Tom does not speak Spanish. After a quick “Que es to Nombre” and “Hablas Espanol?” their conversation died. They took us to our Marriott hotel. Like in Mexico City we were able to stay for free thanks to our Marriott Bonvoy card. We said our good byes and told them we would see them for dinner on Friday at their home. The kids had been dying to swim so we dropped our bags off and immediately headed up to the indoor pool on the top floor. There are beautiful views of Santiago from the outdoor terrace that goes around the outside of the 18th floor.

After the pool we headed out to find some food at the giant mall down the street and then went to bed. Everybody was tired after the long travel day.

We spent our first full day at the awesome park behind our hotel, the mall, and in the game room of our hotel. The park was about a block and a half away from our hotel. Parque Araucano has Manu play areas, a miniature city, and even an outdoor skating rink. We mostly stayed on the playground, because it was fun and free.

At the nearby mall there was a cool restaurant with boats that were sawed in half and turned into booths. For lunch we tried the Chilean sea bass that we had heard so much about. Unfortunately the food and service were not great, but it was still fun to eat in a boat. After our lunch experience we were all craving something a little more familiar for dinner and settled on Chili’s in Chile.

On Friday, we went on an adventure with Antonia! First we took the Teleferico up the hill called el cerro de Cristóbal Colón. It is like the sky ride that the kids are familiar with at the Minnesota State Fair except it goes up about 300 meters above the city. Mason had a mini-fit because the first car that came was not green (his favorite color), but the woman working at the booth was accommodating and let us wait for the next car. We rode in the green one and enjoyed the view. Cooper described it as a flying car that could soar over the forest.

The ride up gave us a panoramic view of the entire city. The city is huge and is encircled by mountains. Antonia said that Santiago has a population of around 6 million people. Once at the top we were able to check out the giant statue of the virgin Mary that is very famous in Chile. Inside the statue is a small chapel.  Outside we saw numerous offerings, candles, and brightly painted crosses.

To get down the hill we took the funicular. A funicular is like a combination between an elevator and a train. We stood in the front car as we went down towards the area of Bellavista. It was quite steep. We were able to get in the front car with the best view. On the way down the track splits and then comes back together again so that the funiculars can pass each other.

In Bellavista Antonia bought us Mote con Huesillos. It is a very popular drink in Chile. It is sort of a simple syrup with peaches and cooked husked wheat. It was delicious.

We walked around town and sat down for a fun lunch. We shared a popular Chilean meal of chorillana.

After lunch we returned to the hotel for swimming, ping pong and foosball. Antonia is very competitive and beat us in ping pong and foosball. If you want a challenge, play against her.

In the evening we went to Antonia’s house for dinner. Carola and Roberto hosted us in their beautiful apartment. We got to meet their cute, little dog “Toy” and hung out. They served us our first terremotos (a yummy drink made with pineapple ice cream, pipeño wine, and grenadine) The boys ate about a bowl and a half of potato chips that they had set out for us. For dinner we had a Peruvian dish that we loved, lomo saltado. Roberto’s lomo saltado was even better than any we had tasted in Peru. Then we had creme brulee for dessert, Chelsea’s favorite. Chelsea forgot to mention to Tom that if you clear your plate or finish your drink they give you another helping in Chile. Tom ended up eating 3 plates full of lomo saltado and drinking several glasses of wine. While Antonia was in Minnesota she went to see the musical Hamilton with her host family. She loved it every bit as much as us and has almost every song memorized. We listened to the Hamilton soundtrack for most of the evening! After dinner the boys were so tired. They crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel. We are so lucky that this family opened their home to us. We hope to see them again during our month in Chile. They are the kindest people.

We had a great few days in Santiago. We are now in Vina Del Mar which is about an hour and a half west of Santiago on the coast. Our plan is to stay 3 more nights at the same hotel in Santiago at the end of the month before we fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina.