Fiestas Patrias, Parte II

The second half of my vacation was very different from the first half! No more hiking volcanos or going rafting... we just ate, drank, and saw some pretty cool sights. It was nice to relax. I am once again going to brag about my host family. I was back in Viña for the 17th and 18th, so I got to partake in the preparations for the 18th, which is their Independence Day. I woke up on the 18th and by 10am we were in the kitchen cooking empanadas and drinking this cinnamon/coffee liquor drink. By helping make them, I quickly found out exactly how bad empanadas are for you! It's why they taste so good I suppose. By 11am we were making terremotos (earthquakes), which is pipeño wine with a fruit syrup and ice cream. They don't sound appetizing, but they're actually good! Then we all sat down to eat choripan, grilled meat, empanadas, more food, and more drinking :)

The brown mix on the left was the cinnamon/liquor drink, and the other two plates were the filling of the empanadas we were making.

Making terremotos!

The meat ready to be grilled, and a  completed terremoto!

On the night of the 18th a group of us went to the Fonda in Viña del Mar. A Fonda is basically a fair with rides, food, and dancing! Below is a random couple that started dancing Cueca, which is the traditional dance of Chile.

The Fonda was SUPER crowded in Viña, and after some food and a ride, we all decided to go home. The next day we caught a bus to La Serena, which is a beach town about 6 hours north of Viña. It's the second oldest city in Chile, and you could tell by the architecture because all of the buildings were Spanish colonial style. There were also old Catholic Churches nearly every 5 blocks.

Below are pictures from the Cathedral de La Serena.

We made a wonderful spur of the moment decision that night in La Serena! We had heard that one of the best and biggest Fondas in Chile was in Pampilla, just a short bus ride away from La Serena. Initially, none of us were very interested because we were so tired from the day, but a bus came by and it said Pampilla, so we just hopped on and went! Thank goodness we did! This Fonda was HUGE! There was food everywhere, big rides, and even though there were more people than the one in Viña, the area was so big that it was definitely less crowded. We rode the roller-coaster (montaña rusa), and ate some good food with terremotos of course!

Below is a man preparing Chorillanos, which is basically a heart attack waiting to happen... french fries with all kinds of meat, grilled onions and peppers piled on, then a sunny-side-up egg is placed on top and you're given a fork... dig in! 

They also have this thing called an Ass... yep try ordering that with a straight face. It's just seared meat with sauerkraut, onions, mayo, and mustard on a hotdog bun. 

Always more terremotos! And Kaylin figured out how to make them even better! In Fort Collins, Beer/Margaritas (aka beer-ritas!) are really popular. So she decided to try adding some beer to the terremotos to see if they would taste similar. Um yeah... it was perfection! The beer took away the sweetness of the terremoto, and made the flavor a lot more smooth. Beer always seems to fix things ;)

(Disclaimer: We always drank responsibly, don't worry Mom and Dad)

Another great thing that La Serena is known for is it's huge beach. The beach runs about 6km without being broken. It was the softest sand I have felt, and we went on a Calbagata (horseback ride!) on the beach. The Calbagata only costs $4, so that was a given!

We only had two days in La Serena, and this was a great way to end those two days. Below, you'll see my friend Dana who really enjoys learning and dancing Cueca. We entered this restaurant, and they were playing good music for Cueca and Dana started pretending to dance. Then the man who worked in the restaurant got really excited, went and changed his outfit, and came out ready to teach Dana to Cueca! Normally you dance with a fancy handkerchief, but he grabbed to paper towels and they danced like pros! Chileans are really fun people, especially during their independence week!

I've had a long 10 days celebrating Chile, and discovering so much about it's people, nature, and customs. It's been an absolute blast, but I am definitely ready for the routine of school to come back and  for a break from all the travel. I have some great friendships here after all this because once you travel that much with someone, you just get more comfortable with them than you ever thought you would. You get to see each other in all your greasiness after a 12 hour bus ride ha! It's been so much fun, and a week I will remember for the rest of my life! CHI-CHI-CHI! LE-LE-LE! VIVA CHILE!