Friday night, we had a potluck at an MIT alum's apartment. I wasn't expecting much, but people really came through with delicious meals and good company! I left feeling full with awesome food, great conversation, and a happy spirit.
Around 11 pm, a group of 8 people then headed to the bus terminal to catch an overnight bus to La Serena, Chile. Yep, you read that right, overnight. We were on the bus from midnight to 6 am. I didn't get terrible sleep, but we had a long day ahead of us.
We waited in the frigid bus terminal for about 2 hours until a Ecotourismo bus came and picked us up to start our day. We drove about 2 hours through the mountains to catch an hour boat ride to three different islands where we saw some pretty cool wildlife - penguins, sea lions, pretty birds. We stopped at one of the islands for an hour to take pictures and climb the rocks and marvel and God's creation!
We arrived back at the La Serena bus terminal around 6 pm, where we took another bus to Pisco Elqui, about an hour away, where our hostel was. Then we went to our hostel to drop our bags off (It was an extremely sketchy walk! We were all scared for our lives haha), and headed to the Observatory office to buy our tickets and catch the transportation up the mountain.
The observatory was beautiful to see all the stars in the sky. My camera couldn't capture it, but one of my friends was able to with his fancy camera and fancy settings. It was freezing, however. I was almost miserable because my toes were so cold!
After the observatory, we went back to the hostel, where it was freezing cold and attempted to sleep. In the morning, we ate a delicious breakfast provided by the hostel and headed out to go horseback riding. It was beautiful! I was riding a horse in the mountains. It was unreal! I kept thinking it was all a dream. God's creation is magnificent and I am just in awe.
Video with my personal commentary, haha
The poor horsies had to walk up and down the mountain filled with rocks on the ground! The guide kept telling us to trust in our horse. Granted I was a little scared that if the horse went down, I would also, but I made it out safely!
It has been such a whirlwind of a summer, combined with feelings of loneliness, excitement, awe, boredom, and homesickness that I am experiencing in a foreign country. I can't say I'm having the time of my life, and life is awesome, and I never want to leave, but I can say that God is teaching me so many things and it is all part of His perfect plan. As much as I miss my friends, home, and family, I must constantly remind myself that I am here for a reason. As one of my friends said, I don't have to know that reason right now. It could be years down the road until I fully understand God's purpose for me here, but in the meantime I will trust in Him and His mighty plan for me.
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9
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