Today is the end of the second week of classes. Chile had a national holiday on Monday the 2nd, so there were no classes then. Today we went to Cajón del Maipo which is about an hour outside of Santiago. Some of the ISA students went white water rafting and others went ziplining. I, of course, went white water rafting. Keep in mind the temperature was about 30 degrees Celsius and it was 8 o'clock in the morning. The water was absolutely freezing and I, of course, had to sit in the front of the raft where all the water splashes. The water was so cold, it sometimes felt like it was burning my hand. Nevertheless, it was one of the coolest experiences I've had so far. I have been white water rafting before several times, but this time, the views were the best by far. It was really fun and relaxing, but there was always a stellar view of the Andes that simply can't be captured in pictures.
After the white water rafting and zip-lining was completed and we ate lunch, we went on a hike up one of the mountains. We first passed two pumas that they kept in a conservation area. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of either. We continued ascending and passed several beautiful waterfalls. It was amazing to see so many in such a short walk. I believe we walked past around four or five. After a while, we took a rest and then came back down. I have some of the views attached below.
