Our last day in Santiago for now

Hello again fellow travellers! Tomorrow we head east toward Aconcagua, where we will camp at the pass after a serpentine adventure up the steep western slopes of the Andes (with pictures to follow!). We will then spend a day in Mendoza, where it will be the last place for a short while to update this journal.

Today we have pictures from our day spent visiting the Universidad de Chile's AMAZING geology department! The building looks semi-colonial (I am not sure how to qualify things architecturally, so there you go) and the inside has been recently renovated with beautiful classrooms and an amazing lobby/entryway. After seeing the department and meeting some students and faculty, we went exploring Pueblito Los Dominicos, a large but intimate market outside Santiago that sells crafts and handmade goods. It proved quite an adventure, as one of our folk got whisked away on a rogue bus. An autobiographical account will follow soon!

By the way! For those of you who have yet to hear, Llaima volcano (about 400 miles south of Santiago) erupted last night! We are supposed to go there in a week, and hopefully will be allowed access to witness a live eruption, or at least a recent one!

Anyway, here are some photos from our day:


Geologists love puns!


Stairwell in the Universidad de Chile Departmento de Geologia building.


Elaine and me in front of the department building, smiling at the stairs?


John's feet above a windowed floor in the department lobby.


A novel practice at the school is cutting a tie or lock of hair off after finishing one's thesis.


Looking down on Brian, Andrea, and Daniel from the second floor of the lobby.


Karen explaining the trip logistics for our Andean bus adventure!


Padre Navidad doing some belated breaking and entering during our walk back to the hostel.


The Santiago metro system, as far as we can tell, is crowded but extremely timely. We haven't yet once had to wait over 2 minutes for a train!


This is the front of Pueblito Los Dominicos, and the shops start behind this mission building.


Guitars in a music shop in Pueblo Los Dominicos. There were also really pretty carved and painted flutes and ocarinas that a few of us purchased.


See you in Mendoza!