I've officially backpacked through South America and only went to the police station once. And I didn't even cry.

At the end of the trip, I took another trip!!!! I know what you all really want to know, is how long I've spent on a bus in my time in South America, so I'll lay it to you straight. The answer is, regrettably, 160 hours. 24 of which have happened in the last 48 hours. So now try to judge me for two posts in a row.

Our first stop: Rosario
 A sleepy little beach town with the national monument to the flag. Twas a beaute.

After: MENDOZA. If I don't make my flight tomorrow, it is because I sold my ticket and moved to Mendoza: land of wine and rafting. The first day we walked around. GUESS WHAT THEY HAVE IN MENDOZA: ITS CALLED MEXICAN FOOD AND ITS MY WHOLE LIFE AND I ATE IT SEVERAL TIMES. After that, we had a wine tour. Just so you know, I am a wine connoisseur and will continue to upscale you all on my pointing out fruits of the forests and notes of toasts. Consider yourself warned. Mendoza is incredibly dry but set in the foothills of the Andes. We went to the wineries Vista Alba (love the Corte C, if I can find it in the states), Tapiz, and Septima for lunch. Just honestly, I have no idea how Septima wine is. But here are some picks! We also we went rafting (twice). The first time I fell out, the second time was midnight rafting by the full moon. Frigid and amazing!

 Sophie and I at Vista Alba--My favorie bodega by far.

 LLAMA BABY.

 Vasos Vacios.

 If you look close enough, you can see my face that says: Oh shit, I'm going overboard.

The group + tour guide at Vista Alba.

On to CHILE!!!
First, we went to Valparaiso. It had some sketchy feels, but our hostel was super fun and located in a great spot. Also Chileans are incredibly nice and hit on you in English (not why they are nice).

 My hostel in Valparaiso!

 Valparaiso in the background!

La Chascona in Santiago--one of the houses of Pablo Neruda in Santiago, Chile. Very very very beautiful!

Santiago was very beautiful and the people were so friendly. The only incident was, while watching irish dancing (long story) in patio Bellavista, one of the girls I was with went to eat dinner around there alone. SEVEN HOURS LATER... she had still not returned. So Delaney and I went to the Police Station and began the painstaking task of filling out a police report in a foreign language. Thank god for the man in the hostel, who, immediately upon her arrival, made her call the police station and find us. Needless to say, bridge burned. The trip, however, was amazing and I would gladly spend several months in each of those cities: Santiago and Mendoza were my favorite by far. T-minus 29 hours until I arrive home!! See everyone soon!

I went to the end of the world and drank some whiskey.

After the program ended we went to Ushuaia, arguably the lowest city in the world. It was FRIGID. Somehow I managed to pinch a nerve in my back in Ushuaia, making most things painful and difficult. I could have been more attractive in pictures, but mainly I just look constipated--you're welcome mom. We saw a dog house, where they keep all of the husky mixes, and they were beautiful! Argentina, of course, attempted to breed some sort of arctic monster bear dog, the last of which died last year. Now, its offspring are charged with being the sleigh dogs. They are pretty terrifying and aggressive. 

 Allison y yo, with the end of the Andes in the background!

"I generally like cats, but you're okay too"
After mastering our fears of rabid wolves, we went 4x4ing around Lago Escondido and had a little parilla lunch. Twas delicious, and the views were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Places like this are not real and I treated it as such: by eating approximately 16 choripans.

 Lago Escondido (Hidden Lake) in Tierra del Fuego National Park was named because its so rare to be able to see it under a layer of clouds. Obviously, the clouds parted for my presence.

 Kate McCarty and I, squatting in front of the glorious views.

That is really the color of that water, those mountains, that sky, and those trees. I'm almost camouflaged, can you find me? After Ushuaia, we flew to El Calafate. It had cute mountain-town onda and a very very very casual landmark.

The very casual Perrito Moreno Glacier. The Glacier itself is about 250 square kilometers- larger than the city of Buenos Aires. And I got to hike on it. There are pictures, but they are on my phone. If you think going to Georgia Tech has made me any better at working anything electronic, then I beg you to look at my GPA and reassess. I will gladly show them all to you in person, including the one of me drinking at the end. After hiking up glaciers with your scary, spiky shoes, you get a nice rewarding glass of whiskey to enjoy with some glacier ice. Definitely an experience for the books. The last thing we did in El Calafate was horseback riding and zip-lining. I handled neither of those things gracefully, so I will not be uploading pictures. Deal with it.