It’s May 8, 2011 10:17 pm ET. We have been in Chile for a full day now. Chile has to have some of the highest mountains around because we when were flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the Andes Mountains were level with the plane. I have never seen that before today. The weather was quite peculiar when we first landed as well. The forecast was for 70s or 80s when we got what felt like 30s and 40s. There was heavy fog at that and we could see our breath in the airport! This usually isn’t a good sign but we were fine. It eventually warmed up as the day progressed.

Before we took off from the Santiago to Valparaiso, we all exchanged about $50-100 USD into pesos for spending purposes. The exchange rate was about $1 = 460 pesos minus some additional service fees, which means when you give up $90 in exchange for 40,710 pesos, you tend to feel like you are balling for a bit. One the bus ride to Valparaiso, there wasn’t much to see but mountains and farms. The hotel wasn’t quite typical Americans are accustomed to, but that’s part of the international experience. We went to eat at a local hamburger spot and practiced using Spanish for the first time on the trip. Afterwards we visited some other local stores and came across some humorous characters: a man in a nice royal blue suit playing music, doing bubbles, and selling candy; and further ahead we ran into a man suited up as the Night crawler, dancing in the street and looking for donations.

We couldn’t believe the number of stray dogs we saw. The number of stray dogs in Chile approximately equaled the number of leash-less squirrels in the US. They were lying around everywhere. One of them even decided to follow us all the way from the park to the sands of the beach. We named him Sergio. Sergio had our backs the whole time he was with us. He tried to get physical with one of the nearby bikers and a couple horses trotting the streets. That was pure comedy people.

Dinner led us to a comparatively Americanized restaurant called Peppers. It had an English name, it played American music from the 70s and 80s, and the menu contained English. We got some dessert at a nearby ice cream place and left quickly because the cold was starting to sink in.

After a long day of exploring we return to the rooms to rest for an early day tomorrow. It is unfortunate that my cell phone isn’t working. I can’t call or text anyone at this time. But don’t worry: I am safe and sound and fully-functioning. It would be a good idea to get my international plan checked out ASAP. I end here tonight and begin anew tomorrow.