A Colorful Day in Valparaiso, Chile

Saturday morning was an early one for us!  Most of us had alarm clocks going off in the 5:00 or 6:00 hour of the morning, but for a good reason!  It was the day of our day trip to Valparaiso, which is on the coast of Chile!  It's a little town on the Pacific Ocean, and it was beautiful!

We started our journey to Valparaiso around 8 am and things were pretty quiet in the van, since most of us were still snoozing- not quite awake after such an early wakeup.  By 10 am, we had arrived and we were more than ready to start exploring!  Upon our arrival, we met a tour guide who took us on an informative and interesting walking tour of the city.  We learned about the significance of various murals, why the city blocks are so short, why there are 3 cementaries in the city, and about the architecture of the buildings to help withstand earthquakes.  

Many students commented that they loved the vibrancy of the town and all of the little winding streets.

A highlight was also getting to go up in one of the 6 funiculars that can be found in Valparaiso!

By the end of our tour, we were all more than ready for a big lunch and were thrilled to hear that we would be having big burgers or sandwiches to help fuel us through the rest of the day.

After a long and filling lunch, we piled back into the van to make a couple more stops before heading home.  First we stopped in Viña del Mar:

And then we were off to the beach!  It was a little too cold for a traditional beach day, but that didn't stop our brave students from sticking their toes in the pacific ocean AND eating a cold ice cream!

It was the perfect ending to our adventurous Saturday!  It's safe to say that everyone deserved a relaxing Sunday, and that's exactly what they did!

Until next time!