Valdivia

I spent this weekend in Valdivia, the capital of the region I live in, and a place which my host dad calls "The prettiest city in Chile." Now that could be debateable, but without a doubt, Valdivia is a very nice city. Not more than 15 or so miles from the coast, the River Cau Cau runs through Valdivia. Since this river runs into the ocean, it is not uncommon to see sea lions hanging out in the river. Valdivia is somewhat of a college town, as it is home to one of Chile's larger Universities as well as some smaller ones. The city definitely has a college vibe in that it feels comfortable and creative and young.

A whole group of us volunteers met up there, and it was great hanging out with people my own age. We went out on Friday and ended up dancing, so of course I enjoyed myself. Yesterday we did a lot of walking and appreciating the surrounding beauty. In the morning we walked around the campus of Universidad de Austral and enjoyed the Botanical Garden, although it was really more like a big park with lots of trees. Then we went to Niebla, a nearby coastal town. From there we took a boat out to a little island that is pretty much a museum of some ruins of forts built by the Spanish. We climbed down to the beach and sat on some rocks and enjoyed the beauty. It was really nice as right where we were you could see the break where the river ends and the ocean begins. We also saw lots of sea lions poking their heads out of the water. We were very lucky because weather wise it was such a beautiful day. After haning out seaside, we went to Kuntsman, a brewery. Valdivia is home to a number of breweries, beer production is one of it's main sources of income. Kuntsman is probably the biggest and most well known. I had the sampler, where you get to try a little of each beer they make.

I had a great time in Valdivia and I'm sure I will go back again since it is so close, plus the English network of the region has monthly meetings there (the real reason why I went in the first place). Stupidly, I forgot my camera, which was really upsetting since it was a gorgeous day and we saw so many nice places. So I really need to go back with my camera.