Day Thirteen -- Election Day

It was cold and rainy when we woke up, so we decided to take it easy and get a late start. We walked down to the lake and made friends with a couple of street dogs, one of whom had an amazing talent for playing fetch.

The weather cleared up a bit, so Thomas went rafting on Rio Trancura again, but this time on the alto (high) run with its class IV rapids. He had a great time- going through scary but fun rapids like “The Last Smile” and “The Path to Hell.” I was very glad to see him come home safely.


Earlier in the day we’d had a tough time finding a place to eat. Almost all businesses were shut down for Election Day. I thought that was pretty cool- perhaps a sign that Chileans take democracy seriously, unlike some of us folk in the US. We could tell when the results were in because we started to hear celebrations in the street. The liberal candidate, Michelle Bachelette, beat out the conservative candidate to become the first female president of Chile. It was exciting to witness such an historic day, and we enjoyed watching the parade of people waving flags and banners and honking their horns.

-Elva