Winter Vacation, Part I

Hi Everyone!

Well, Anna and I are back in Copiapó! Thanks for praying for us that we would travel safe and sound! We were able to get a bus from Santiago to Copiapó that left only a half of an hour after we arrived, so that was a huge blessing. It made it that we traveled only 23 or so hours straight instead of waiting in the bus terminal longer and dragging the trip home into a much longer marathon. Okay okay, so 23 hours is a lot, but the buses are pretty comfortable, they play movies, and half of the trip we slept through so it isn´t as bad as you might think. Anyways, we are home and I thought I would share with you guys the first week of our Winter Vacation, otherwise known as our "Staycation".

Chinese Food! Anna and I haven´t really eaten out at a restaurant since we arrived in Copiapó (due to our tight bugdet) so the first week we enjoyed doing a lot of things that we have not had the money to do. The Chinese food was delicious!

Anna and I were stuffed! That is probably why we look kind of tired and sedated, the food coma was coming on!

Another fun thing we did during our "Staycation" was invite over our friends Juan Carlos and Rosa for an American style BBQ. We had hamburgers and Peach Cobbler.

After a delicious BBQ Juan Carlos and Rosa took us to this wine shop outside of Copiapó where we sampled different local wines. We liked the "Chicha" the most which is a cider made from grapes.

Here we all are at the wine shop.

Anna, Juan Carlos, and Rosa. Their friendship has been a huge blessing to Anna and I. They have helped us feel more connected to this city and helped us understand the Chilean culture more intimately.

Other things Anna and I did was go out and get "Cafe cortados" at Café Columbia, a little café in the center of town.

Torta de Tres Leches

This is a delicious cake with Manjar, whipped cream, almond slices, and drizzled in milk. YUM!

Café Columbia

Anna and I went and saw "La Era de Hielo 3" or "Ice Age 3" at the movie theatre at the Casino here in Copiapó. It was really fun even though it was all in Spanish!

Yours truly next to the Harry Potter billboard. We were planning on watching this too in Copiapó, but we ended up seeing it in Temuco (south of Chile).

Copiapó´s very own Casino! We haven´t gambled here and don´t plan on it, but they do have a nice theatre!!

Well, that is about it for our first 5 days or so during out "Staycation". Anna and I had a lot of fun sleeping in and doing activities that we have wanted to do for a long time. But, the best of our Vacation is yet to come so stay tuned!!