Viña del Mar, Chile: In Chile! Love it here! Really nice. But significantly more expensive than the last two countries.

A bit of catching up first. I left Cochabamba and got to Uyuni via train. Great train ride, 8 hours. Was in town for a day and found a tour of the Salt Flats, 3 days. I was grouped with 3 Bolivians, and they made it a great trip. They were older guys, friends since childhood, and vacationing together. They were hilarious. And the Salt Flat tour was incredible. Check out the pics, I would do it no justice trying to describe it.

From there I arrived in Chile. Because I thought I was in a huge hurry I jumped on a bus straight to the capital, Santiago. Turns out I have a lot more time than I thought. But I met up with a friend in Santiago, and we headed to Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a coastal town near Santiago. It has lots of character. Again, check out the pics. We spent Thanksgiving in Valparaiso. It was a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Of course the place was dead because no one out here knows or cares that it was Thanksgiving. I looked everywhere for Turkey, but they just don´t serve it out here. But we did find a delicious chicken, and we had mashed potatoes to have some semblance of Thanksgiving dinner. I enjoyed it.

From there we moved to Viña del Mar, which is like a mix of Pacific Beach and Laguna Beach. Its obvious that there are lots of rich folks here. Not a single backpacker anywhere. I suppose its too expensive. But we found a great deal on a room across the street from the beach. We haven´t done much exploring yet, but today we´ll probably walk around and see what´s going on out here.

I plan on returning to Santiago tomorrow or the next day. Chile is definitely a beautiful country. Very modern, almost like a different world compared to Bolivia. It is quite puzzling how one country can be so behind in terms of infrastructure and technology, and all that sort of stuff when they are neighbors. I understand it has to do with financing and lifestyle choices, but it still boggles my mind a bit. Not to say I think any less of the people in Bolivia, I think they´re world class people, and the country is as beautiful as any i´ve seen. But, fix your streets! Modernize your plumping! Things like that.

I´m at the beach right now, but the weather is a bit cold, and windy. I hope it warms up soon.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It´s incredible to see how much we have to be thankful for, year after year. And after nearly six months of traveling, I think I have a greater appreciation and am more grateful for the opportunity to live where I live. Again, not to take anything away from all the beautiful countries I have visited, but I do believe I live in the greatest country in the world! And I am talking in terms of opportunity, and resources available to people to allow them to progress. Of course we can get better, but we´re doing pretty good. Just ask the dozens of people who remind me from time to time how much they would love to live in the states. Or at least work in the states. It is something to be thankful for.

Love you all,

Love you mom,

Michael