Sept 29:
Marina and I woke up early to a cold and rainy day. (In her words, we were basically in Seattle) We were scheduled to go rafting with a bunch of students from CIEE, but the plan wasn't exactly clear to everyone. We had to bring a bathing suit, but who would want to go swimming in the mountains in rainy, 50F weather? Maybe it was optional?
We arrived to the CIEE office where I was able to meet of other students, which was nice. I hadn't interacted with too many people around my age besides Marina and Susi. It was really nice to socialize and make new friends.
On the hour long bus ride to San Jose de Maipo, in the mountains on the edge of the city, I got to know Terri and Bethany. We exchanged stories about host families, adjusting to Chile and being an American abroad. Bethany and I also bonded over being half Filipina (she could tell by looking at me, apparently I have the nose). Terri and I could relate because being black, people stared at us often, thinking that we were Haitian immigrants.
We stopped in the town San Jose de Maipo and were welcomed by a bunch of stray dogs (which is one of my favorite things about being here in Chile). Shortly after we arrived at Andes Soul, a site that offered rafting, paintball, hiking and more.
We were kind of reluctant, not everyone was excited to get wet, given the weather. But we all convinced each other and went for it.
We changed into wetsuits, shoes and helmets. It was rough. I wasn't exactly excited to take off my three-4 layers of warmth and strip down into a bathing suit, but, it was necessary.
It was a 10 minute drive down to the river where we met our enthusiastic rafting guide, Lucho, and our safety kayakers. After playing a quick game with some paddles, we split into two rafts, one with six, another with eight. One of the other students, Clay, said that he was a rafting instructor in Colorado. I made sure to get into a boat with him.
The experience of rafting was incredible. So worth it. Worth the frigid 7 degree Celsius water. Could I feel my hands? No. But did I have a good time? Without a doubt. I am smiling in every single picture.
I don't have pictures of the view, but oh my gosh. It was beautiful. The gray sky met the earth as clouds and fogs sunk into the mountains and we could see snow capped peaks in the distance. And, of course, there were plenty of cacti.
Halfway through, we stopped at a little canyon (?) where people could climb up and jump into the water from a height of (at least?) 20 ft. It wasn't my cup of tea so I sat that one out, but the people who did it seemed to enjoy it.
When we finished our hour-long session, we landed on the shore of Andes Soul and climbed out of our rafts and stepped into the water. It was painfully cold.
Once again we stripped down in the cold (in changing sheds/cabins), and again, it was rough. But coming back to 3 layers of dry clothes was so nice.
We were welcomed by hot tea, a Chilean asado (barbeque) and our pictures flashing across a screen for everyone view.
After a good lunch, we headed back on the bus into the city.
Later that night, the other students went out - to clubs, bars and pub crawls. But I was exhausted, so I stayed home in the warmth and watch a Spanish rom com.
It was quite the day.
