Day Eight: My Birthday!

Today was another great, relaxing day in Chile! We didn't have anything planned until a group dinner in the evening and the rest of the day was ours to do as we wished! Joanie, Caryn, Christian, Kelli, Kirsten and I grabbed lunch at a small coffee shop type of place and then set off to do some shopping. Our original goal was to go to the mall, but along the way we ran into a market that a lot of vendors selling mainly handmade goods. Everything was beautiful and we all picked up some gifts for ourselves and for our friends and family back home. I was glad we found the market because I finally found some nice unique presents for my little sister since her birthday is coming up soon! We eventually did get to the mall, and saw that it mainly had international stores and not many specifically Chilean things. Since we decided we didn't need anything from the mall we headed back to the hotel to drop off our purchases before going to the beach.

On our way to the beach we stopped to get ice cream from a shop close to our hotel. We see it almost every day when we walk but I hadn't been in yet. Since the weather was perfect we enjoyed our frozen treats at some outdoor tables. We then walked down to the beach and it was beautiful but the water was very cold! I was standing at the edge of the stand thinking that a small bit of water would lap at my feet, instead a big wave came and soaked me almost all the way up my legs! Just like in the rest of Vina and Valparaiso, there were dogs all over the beach. It almost feels like the dogs know we're foreigners too because they always come up to us and follow us but don't seem to get as close to the Chileans.

Joanie and I in front of the Pacific

After spending some time enjoying the beach, we returned to Hotel America to get dressed up for our fancy dinner. While we walked along the beach earlier in the day we saw a restaurant, Tierra del Fuego, right on the ocean and we talked about how nice it looked. Turns out this was where Jorge and Sarah were taking us for dinner! The dinner was absolutely amazing. We had delicious shrimp appetizers and then wonderful main courses. I had fettuccine with shrimp, clams, and abalones in a cream sauce and it was the perfect birthday dinner. With chocolate mousse for dessert and a view of the ocean, I had a great meal. We were all stuffed and content as we walked back along the beach to return to Hotel America; the end of another perfect day in Chile.