(Sorry Anth, picture of just the girls)
Catherine, Anthony, and Ms. Kathy were our second visitors, we were supposed to bring them to Mendoza, where my mom and Ms. Kathy were going to ride the wine train and the kids and my dad could go horseback riding in the Andes. Then we heard from some friends that Mendoza was supposed to be humid and HOT and we would bake. Soon after hearing that news we dismissed that idea and started plotting out another one. My dad looked up Cabins in Chile, that's exactly what I was thinking, isn't that quite a wide search, seeing it could be anywhere in Chile. Well, I must say he found a good one. We stayed at a place called Cabañas Los Andes the cabins were very nice and clean, they had a pool and a trampoline, and they were close to the mountains. The cabins were actually an hour out of Chillán and very close to the two volcanoes Chillán Nuevo and Chillán Viejo. Here's how the trip went:
We stayed in Santiago the day that they flew in, and also the day after that. Then we headed south to Santa Cruz, where Ms. Kathy and mom had planned to take the wine train. I was looking at the Lonely Planet and found what I thought was going to be the perfect place to stay, the description was:
" Residencial Plaza is aimed at wine-lovers whose
accommodations can't quite stretch to the luxury giant
next door. The lodging here is more than adequate,
however. It has a courtyard with orange trees and
the simple rooms are in an old colonial building."
Well, I'll tell you, it wasn't anything like that. And that's as far as I wanna go! We had lunch at the "luxury giant next door" and looked at some of the rooms, I'll tell you, they were BEAUTIFUL, and EXPENSIVE. After staying at the residencial plaza we headed out to Chillán.
In Chillán, we went to the market, where we bought groceries, so we would only have to cook at the cabins, and showed the Rovegno-Kadlecs what a traditional Chilean market is like. And off we were to Cabañas Los Andes.
We kids were extremely excited to see the pool, trampoline, and huge swing, it was gonna be a great time! After looking at two cabins we choose the smaller, but newer cabin, and got settled in. The next day we decided to go on a trail ride (horseback). My horse was really great, but we had to cut the day short because Sarah's horse got stung by a bee 3 times, and was sorta acting up. Who wouldn't be, being stung once hurts, three times, I can't imagine. After the trail ride we went back to the cabins and played on the trampoline and in the pool. Day number 3 at the cabañas we split into two groups. One: me, Mom, Catherine, and Ms. Kathy, decided to go on horseback. The rest of the group decided to hike it. This time we all got really good horses and got a beautiful, and scenic ride into the volcanic rock field. Suddenly, I saw a New York Yankees hat flash by on the side of the trail ahead. When we got closer, we saw Anthony, Sarah, and Dad picnicking on the side of the trail. They followed us, and we all stopped at an old, abandoned skiing resort hotel. 
BOO! Spooky! That night, Pam, another Fulbrighter here,
BOO! Spooky! That night, Pam, another Fulbrighter here, who lives in Chillán came with vegies from the farm she lives on. Together we all had a nice homeade dinner, using the fresh vegetables, and then Pam headed back to Chillán. On the next day, we went on a hike, up a very steep mountain to the mudbaths!! At the mudbath we sat in a warm pool of muddy water, and there's a tiny cave that's burning hot. With a stick, you dig out nice, warm clay, which you put on your skin and let it dry. Then, after it dries, you wash it off and then your skin is nice and smooth!
We had a really great time at Cabañas Los Andes, and around that area. After the Mud Bath Day, we headed back to Santiago, with one more stop left, a vinyard. When we went to the vinyard, it just so happened that I had run out of clothes, it was a very rainy day, and I didn't know that we were going to make another stop, so I wore my PJs, and therefore ended up doing my first PJ wine tasting at Miguel Torres winery!
for more pictures, click below
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