The next morning, we got up early to head to Pechecuy. We did a beach hike in the morning which was beautiful. Because of the ocean mist, there is a lot of greenery. Paired with the waves throwing themselves on the rocks and then dancing up into air dramatically, this was an extremely beautiful scene. The beach where we arrived to had a mixture of black and regular sand, which made crisscross patterns as the water ran back from the waves. We headed back, checking out wave pools and good wave-viewing angels on the way, to meet up with a friend of Eli's for lunch in Papudo. We ate lunch, drank juice, then went swimming in the ocean. It was very cold at first, but after a while felt comfortable. Eli and I have a rule that you always have to swim.
The next day we took a bus to Zapallar, which has a lot of beautiful houses in addition to the spectacular ocean. We walked from Zapallar to Cachagua, which meant doing a lot of mini rock climbing and a few exciting jumps. We ran into many wave pools and beautiful houses on the way. We also ran into a little cove which has crystal clear water, and we had to swim their. This was very very very cold, but worth it because it was so clear and beautiful. We spent a lot of time in the water trying to dive to the bottom while far out, which is made harder by the salt in the water. We then continued on our way to arrive to the beach in Cachagua, where there are huge waves. We ate lunch, then spent a few hours playing in the waves. It was our favorite to go under the waves, and feel them pass over you, sometimes dragging a foot or two with them if you are not fully under the rolling circle of water. These waves were most gigantic that I had swam in a long time, and I enjoyed it a lot. The current started to get too strong later in the afternoon, so we had to get out and go on our way.
The next day we walked a very impressive distance to hike a hill in a valley near La Ligua, called Valle Hermosa. This was fun because it was hard to find the path in some moments. We arrived to a bizarre billboard at the top. It was like a billboard that you see in the highway, but located where it wouldn't really serve for anything. We did NOT climb the billboard to see the view from just a little higher, that would have just been crazy;0 That night we went to a Rotary meeting at Eli's host club, and it was fun to see the similarities and differences between my club. All the Rotarians were amazed by our friendship story and they had me tell it in front of everyone. About how Eli and I had always had our lives almost connected. We swam on the same swim team for years and years pre-middle school, but we were never in the same lane and never actually met each other. How he was one of my friends best friend, so I always heard about him and I even knew where he lived, but never met him. He was also my neighbor and if I passed his house I thought sometimes, 'that is Eli's house.' How we were then on another swim team together but still never met each other. How in high school we had many of the same classes and teachers, but never the same hour. In fact I had even dressed up as Eli Richards (Eli always wears a white shirt and grey sweatpants) for twin day during spirit week, along with the rest of my AP English class which we had in common. And then how we finally met each other in the Rotary interviews and became friends right away. And now here we are both in Chile. This is my wildest friendship story, and I think all the Rotarians think we are going to get married now...
The next morning, we went one last time to Papudo to swim and eat lunch, and then I had to head back to Santiago. It was a fun little trip, and I was so glad to spend time with Eli and explore the beautiful area where he lives.
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