Living in Santiago has also given me a chance to go to other cities nearby, especially cities like Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Both of these cities are on the Pacific Coast, bringing fresh seafood into the Chilean diet, which mainly consists of things like bread, chicken, beef, avocado, eggs, and sweet pastries.
As the rest of the study abroad group and I walked around the port in Valparaiso, boaters and waitresses looking for tourists approached us to give us their say on the best things to do (touring the port on a boat) and the best place to eat (their restaurants). We settled on Lo De Pancho, our first seafood place in Chile. We ordered a typical Chilean meal. It started with a freshly prepared and flavorful ceviche that had a hint of lemon. Little did I know that I would be trying a fish that was fried with the tail and spine still on. I was glad I had the adventure to try something with the tail and spine in tact. Though very unsettled about it at first, I realized that having the fish served this way could be a traditional part of the culture. Not wanting to pass up the cultural aspects of having fish served this way, I tried the new food on my plate. Overall, the fish had a great, light flavor and I could tell it was fresh.
The second place we tried in Valparaiso, Fauna Restaurant, served seafood but also had a lot of dishes with quinoa. This place was very delicious and I would go back there again in a heartbeat. Here I had the pescado del dia (fish of the day) with herbed risotto. The meal was more than satisfying the fish had a great texture and was cooked and seasoned perfectly. This meal was a great way for me to begin the night and to overlook bright city on the sea.
The last restaurant we visited in Valparaiso was a breakfast place called Sabor Color. Here I had a more traditional Chilean breakfast with scrambled eggs and asparagus. Then I had a salad with avocado on it and some breakfast rolls. Like the night before, I left this restaurant satisfied.
After leaving Valparaiso, we ventured off to the Concon Dunes near Vina de Mar. The is the first time our study abroad group did an adventure activity together. We rented some sand boards and climbed the sand dunes until we reached the top and could overlook the Chilean cities nearby. After climbing up the sand we all took turns using the boards to go down the steep slopes of the dunes. The most challenging part was keeping sand out of our faces, which was unsuccessful, and climbing up the hill after the ride down, only to reach the top with heavy breathing. Even though we got sand everywhere it was great to get in some much needed physical activity!!
