Patagonia 2017. This was by far the hardest trip I’ve ever planned and been on. Information on how to get to Patagonia was difficult to come by or unclear, the websites needed to book camping sites sometimes didn’t work, and once we arrived we found out our route may or may not have been closed (no one could definitively tell us) and we eventually needed to change our plans. In the end, though, what they say is true in that it’s more about the journey than the destination. My amazing team of friends helped me get through it and the sights were absolutely worth the struggle. Now on to the adventure!

We flew out of Chicago around midnight Friday night and with a connection through Mexico eventually landed in Santiago around 9:10pm local time. We grabbed our bags, got our cabs, and headed to our hostel. Once we arrived at the hostel and went through the customary ‘tell me everything I need to know about the immediate area’ conversation with the front desk, we dropped off our bags and headed to a local bar. The group hung out for a little over an hour before calling it a night back at the hostel.

On Sunday we spent the entire day walking around Santiago checking out the tourist sites and blending in with the locals. We missed the free tour start time so we just ended up walking towards the biggest structure we could see, the Cerro San Cristobal.

After walking up the nearly 3,000 ft to get to the Virgin Mary statue in the 80°+ heat, we decided to have a Mote to cool us off.

After we reached the bottom of the hill, we trekked over to the Cerro Santa Lucia, La Moneda, and the Catedral Metropolitana before going back to the hostel. Once back at the hostel, we grabbed bottles of wine and beer and just hung out on the hostel’s rooftop enjoying each other’s company and the amazing weather.

Additional Santiago pictures: