My 18th Birthday
In the last blog I said that the next one would be on the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago. But I am getting a bit behind on my blogs (we have been in Costa Rica for a month at the time of posting) so I am putting that particular blog on hold, allowing me to do some more research. It is coming though, so stay tuned.
Today I want to tell you about my 18th birthday, but first... After the Atacama we stayed in Santiago for four nights and five days. In that time, we did a lot, we went shopping, we went to Valparaiso, visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights and went up the tallest skyscraper in Santiago (on my birthday). This list doesn’t even mention that our apartment got flooded.
The day before we visited the Museum, David and I went shopping in Santiago because 6 months of full-time travel does not do the best things to your clothes. All my clothes looked very tired, and I was well overdue to get some new ones. I got this really cute pair of jeans which I feel very happy about since I find it very difficult to find a good pair that fits well in all the right places. Maybe I just have strange proportions. 😂😂😂
On the same day that I went shopping, our apartment flooded because we were one of the first people to stay in it, and we used the washing machine. The washing machine started moving across the floor and moved so far away from the wall that it pulled its water pipe out of the wall, so water went all over the floor and started leaking into the apartment below. Of course, when this was all happening, we were all out at the shops and had no idea. When my brother and Mum came back, they had been locked out of the apartment because something had gone wrong with the lock. Once they finally got into the house, the drama continued. They asked the concierge to help them (in Spanish of course) and find out that the washing machine has leaking all over the floor. They had had to switch the mains off. Meanwhile Sabine (mum) said that David and I should continue shopping because there was not much that we could do to help.
The video above is of the flooded apartment.
In other big news – I am now 18!
As of writing this, I turned 18 just over a month ago. By coincidence, my birthday fell on the same day we departed Chile for Costa Rica (this was due to us extending our stay in Chile as we liked it so much). The day before my birthday we had planned to hold a little celebration in Valparaiso with some of our new friends. We packed our luggage so we would be ready to fly the following evening. Then at about midday we hopped on a bus down to Valparaiso. The bus takes about an hour from Santiago. Once we arrived, we were greeted by Freddy and his girlfriend Paola (you may remember Freddy from some of my previous blogs), then walked to Caro and Megan’s house where we held the party.
I felt so happy, grateful and loved by these people that we hadn’t even known for that long. Megan had made a wonderful vegan and nut-free tiramisu cake. People sung happy birthday in four different languages which was pretty special. We watched the sun set from their balcony over the ocean across Valparaiso bay. I was not expecting to turn 18 in Valparaiso, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
After the cake and drinks, Freddy and Paola had to leave because they had some other commitments. Which was fine, I was simply grateful that they came and celebrated with me. Once they left the four of us (SQAD) along with Caro and Megan went to get dinner in the city. We picked this very cute little restaurant in a quiet part of town. During dinner some people came to sing traditional songs for a little bit of money they came to our table and asked use what style we would like. They ended up singing the ‘song of Valparaiso’ which was very special. I also got to try my first cocktails, but I don’t think I’m much of a drinker. I don’t really like the taste of alcohol. We finished a wonderful meal, and it was getting late so we had to say goodbye to catch the bus back to Santiago.
The next day was still my 18th birthday, we tracked the time both in Australia and Chile, meaning my birthday was around 36 hours long. To celebrate with the four of us, SQAD went up the tallest building in South America (the Torre Costanera) and had a delicious breakfast looking out over Santiago. The clearly visible Andes not too far away, had a fresh blanket of snow that glistened in the morning sunlight. Surprisingly there was not a lot of people early in the morning – we had the place nearly to ourselves which made it even more special.
Next blog is on Until next time Chile!
