The Volcanoes of Chillan

On Monday instead of having class my professor took us on a guide through the down town of my city. We went with a mother exchange student who has been in Chillan for 5 months already. We started at the main plaza, a small park that makes for a great reference point when walking downtown. We visited a Catholic cathedral, the tourist information center, and walked around the city.

Inside the cathedral

Group photo outside

Looking into the Plaza

On the corner of the plaza

Part of the view from the tourist center

The other part of the view from the tourist center

Streets of Chillan 

More streets of Chillan

On Tuesday we all met up at Starbucks in the local mall after class to discus travel plans while we are here. Two of the people in our group have their birthdays one after another, and so they decided to go to Buenos Aires for 3 days. We leave on the 16, and return the 20th. 

On Wednesday after class we watched a movie at my professors apartment about Chilean culture and history. The movie was about Violets Para's life story. She was a vary famous artist and folk singer in the 30's and 40's. 

On Thursday we went on our first field trip to A spa and hot spring at Nevados de Chillan. These springs are very close the the most active volcanos of the Andes mountains, but don't worry, we wouldn't have gone if it wasn't safe. The spa was about an hour away. It was so beautiful there. Next to the spa they had a ski lift for winter activities. We had a great time splashing around, soaking up the sun and boiling ourselves in the hot water. 

Indigo, me, and Devon

This pool had a bar, and was about 35 degrees celsius

The pool we started with, also very warm

A cooler indoor pool

Look at those volcanos!

Doch and Zach modeling the swim caps we had to
 wear to keep hair from clogging the vents

Jenna helping Devon apply some much needed sunscreen

So far this first week has been amazing, as we get to know each other and become closer I couldn't ask for a better group of people to experience Chile with me. We started out as strangers, and we are quickly becoming family. 

Wishing for the best on your adventures, 

Cienna