Paintballing in Chile

Today definitely put a new, exciting twist on our trip! We were given a free morning which gave everyone a chance to sleep in and enjoy the beautiful day. Most of us grabbed some breakfast and then headed for the beach! Of course it was a bit chilly but the sun came out which made it beautiful. We had fun relaxing in the sand and taking pictures of the gorgeous Chilean coast. Alyssa, Sarah, Stefan, and Evan were brave enough to take a rickshaw ride down the boardwalk. The rest of us enjoyed watching them and checking out some of the "rock art" by the pier. Many of the rocks had quotations and biblical verses painted on them, reflecting the spirituality and catholicism present in so much of Chilean culture. I feel like everywhere we go we learn something new about the way of life here. This beach trip was a great start to our Wednesday!

Beautiful morning at the beach

"Always Smile"- my favorite rock!

This is where the day gets interesting! After returning from the beach, some of the Chilean students met us and we took a bus to go play paintball on sand dunes behind the beach. It was fun but VERY painful! I spent most of my time on the red team hiding behind a bush, but it was an interesting new experience nonetheless. Luckily nobody was injured too badly- however, Sarah received a pretty nasty sore on her arm and Molly almost got knocked out from a shot to the head. In my opinion, the best part was the view visible from the battleground. You could even hear the waves crashing in the background. At least my first time playing paintball was spent on beautiful land!

Team ROJO!

After paintball, about 8 of us went to an excellent Italian resturant in Viña. It was a nice break from the constant empanadas, although I ended up ordering more seafood! As always, it was a delicious meal with great conversation. We're back at the hotel now getting ready to go out to Cafe Journal. It's impossible to believe we only have 2 nights left...time to live it up! More later!