Yerba Loca

After three weekends of mostly staying inside and studying (more or less), I finally got out of the city on Saturday. Geert told me about a hiking trip coordinated by an organization that has all sorts of services for foreigners in Santiago. I'm not used to paying for guided hiking trips, so at first I was hesitant because it was a little expensive, but I'm glad I went. The trip was to the Reserva Yerba Loca, a park in the foothills of the Andes. Although technically you could get there through a combination of micro (city bus) and taxi, one of the major benefits of the guided tour is that they provide transportation.

We hiked along a river valley, through a little bit of snow, and turned around when the snow got to be too much. It was pretty, and the air was fresh:

Hiking up, toward Cerro La Paloma

The group, facing back down river

Our group consisted of me, Geert, and two other extranjeras--Michaela from Sweden and Alexandra from Switzerland. Both Michaela and Alexandra are fun, interesting people, so it was great to meet them and we talked about planning more excursions together in the future. Alexandra is also moving to Lima in January, and I'm excited to have a friend there already!