An amazing day

Yesterday, Saturday, I went on a day trip with the school to Isla Negra, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar - it was amazing. Isla Negra is a tiny little cost town with amazing scenery. Many Chileans head to Isla Negra for the summer so it's not too touristy, at least not for forgein tourists. After touring the house of Pablo Neruda, a very famous Chilean writer, which is right on the cost and very very interesting we headed to another site just to see the beach. There we hiked the rocky cost line which was tons of fun. Next was lunch at a place right on the cost with amazing food. We hiked around a little after lunch and then headed to Valparaiso (Valpo). Valpo reminded me a lot of Buenos Aires in that it's a little on the dirtier side and more dangerous than other Chilean cities. There wasn't really that much to see on any day, but espeically no on Saturday as it was extremely foggy. We did a little walking tour and then headed out for a tour on a lancha (small boat). Valpo is first and foremost a major Chilean port city, which is very obvious in the photos on Flickr. Next we headed up the "acensores" which are rather ancient (they were built in the late 1800's) but still somewhat fun. They took us to the top of the city, which had it not been so foggy would have made for great view. After that we all, all 15 of us, got back into the minibus (think a little bit larger than the "Lil' Miss Sunshine" bus...but still bright yellow) and headed to Vina del Mar. Vina del Mar is extremely touristy and very expensive. We really didn't do too much there but it was fun to see. After the two hour bus ride back to Santiago I went with a couple other people and got some sushi, which is extremely cheap and good in Santiago. What would normally cost $60 or so in the US costs about $20 (including tip) here. Next was bed. Yesterday was probably my best South American experience to date and was definitely worth the $50.