The Journey is the Destination

Wow. What a whirlwind of 20 days! Limited internet access did not allow us to post as much as we would have liked, so we are going to do our best to inform you about the last half of our trip through this post.

When we had last left you, we had just climbed down the mountain from our 5 day camping experience. We cannot reiterate enough how much a shower is appreciated after such an endeavor. Here are a few more photographs of the views we were so fortunate to see while hiking.

Not long after we were able to explore the small town of Puerto Williams even more. We all enjoyed the bright colored homes, the abandoned ships, & the close proximity to Argentina and its beautiful mountains.

It was not long before we got aboard the 20 passenger plane & once again back towards Punta Arenas. We were sad to leave the beautiful Ethnobotanical Park of Omora & our new friends, but we were excited to see the rest that Chile had to offer.

Back in Punta Arenas our group enjoyed shopping, a trip to the local cemetery, the sight of penguins in their natural habitat, & a

local attraction of a street sign that points to landmarks all over the world.

We were also fortunate enough to travel to Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine. These places provided us with beautiful sights of sunsets, water, & mountains. Torres del Paine was especially exciting because it is a Chilean National Park. This Park recently suffered a forest fire and only opened up the day before our arrival. We were extremely glad of the timing, because it was a once in a lifetime experience. We were able to see glaciers and even the rare Magellanic woodpecker.

The last part of the trip found us in Valparaiso and Santiago. In these two places we enjoyed the beach and the city life.

In Spanish, Valparaiso literally translates to "Go to paradise." We found this to be true as we saw the "graffiti" of the artists, listened to the sounds of the musicians, & toured the house of the only Chilean to win the Nobel Prize, poet Pablo Neruda.

As we toured the sights of Santiago, we realized our experience was drawing to an end. With all of these thoughts in our head, we were excited to piece them together to share them all with you.

We are still working on our presentation for ACES, but ultimately we reached a conclusion. Although it is pertinent for us to say that we traveled to a unique area of the world, the journey there is what is most important to share with others. The friends made, culture experienced, and the lessons learned throughout the trip are more important than the final destination. We hope all of the J-Term travelers can agree with this statement. We hope to see you at our presentation to tell you even more about our wonderful experience!

Meet us on:

February 7, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Estelle Siebens Science Center Room 126

Wherever you may go in the future we wish you, ¡Buen viaje!