Aneya & Lauren: The Monastery.

Lauren: So we stayed in a little monastery that Daniela's tio Jorge found for us in Temuco. It was very small, quite and nice, the first night was a little creepy. We were used to our noisy city apartment. But every morning the nuns served juice, hot coffee and tea, bread with homemade jams and butter on nice white china.

Aneya: A typical room at the monastery.
Aneya: Ahhh the devil chair! I swear it looked even scarier in person.

Lauren: I had to take this picture! Aneya wouldn't go in the room with the chair. It really spooked her out.
Lauren: Mapuche rug. There's a huge Mapuche population here so tons of stuff from the town have been made by Mapuche.
Lauren: The garden outside.
Aneya: I don't know why I look like a robot in this picture, but I do.

Lauren: It must have been the harsh overnight bus ride. The seats were pretty luxurious, but it was definitely a fitful eight hours.
Aneya: Here I am, giving my first sermon.

Aneya: Lauren and I set off to the South, eager and ready for the adventures to come. Although the trip didn't pan out exactly as planned, it was still an amazing experience, and it definitely left me wanting more! What can I say? I was born with the travel bug.

Lauren: This was all so different from hot Santiago. We're in the center of the city here, tons of bustle, people everywhere, and it's hot! Down in Temuco it was overcast, rainy, and definitely more rural. A national forest was right near our monastery.

Aneya: It all started at the now familiar, completely chaotic terminal de buses in Santiago. The trip started off on a rough note, as on the day of our departure all the buses going to Temuco were completely booked. We decided to take a night bus (leaving at 11 Lauren: Or 2300 as they use here) since it really was our only option. Lauren had been at the station three times that day, and even at 11 o'clock at night, the place was swarming with people, families, young kids falling asleep on their parents shoulders, couples carrying box after box, backpackers hitting people with their huge bags. It was intense.

Lauren: On any day on the weekend the streets of Santiago are eerily empty. Where did all the people from the week go, we constantly ask ourselves. They are at the bus station. The entire city of Santiago is going somewhere. I can see why. Those buses are first class. They are like business class airplane seats.

Aneya: Our bus was awesome. Double decker, with these huge leather seats that reclined to become a bed. Now that's luxury! And we had the ever so elusive bulkhead, double decker style, baby! That had to be the best 8 hour ride of my life. I just listened to my ipod and slept, and then we were woken up, with a lovely little breakfast of vanilla cookies and peach juice. Que rica!

Lauren: I do love the bulkhead. It was so nice. If we were awake we would have had the best seats in town. We had so much space to spread out. It was definitely classy.

Aneya: As mentioned, we were staying at a monastery that Daniela's Uncle (or as we now affectionately call him, Tio Jorge) got us in touch with. It was actually quite big, three stories (one for girls, one for boys and one for couples. Married couples, only, of course). There was the church, a large dining room, a tv room. The rooms were sparse, just two beds, a table and a crucifix, what else do you need, really? The place was empty when we got there, and the creaky old halls had an eery feeling to them. I always get a little freaked out in churches, I get a sense of doom, a foreboding feeling, like Christ himself is going to come down and have a word with me, and it's not gonna be pretty.

Lauren: I know! I was more contentious of my behavior. It was a bit spooky, especially since it was so empty.

Aneya: While exploring, Lauren and I found a room with the scariest looking chair I've ever seen (pictured above). I swear, the devil himself made that chair. I told Lauren I wouldn't go in the room, the negative energy was just too much for me. I think that freaked her out, cause that night she couldn't sleep and neither could I. The place was even creepier at night. Pitch black, and silent, we used to run from the communal bathroom back to our bedroom, so afraid we were of evil spirits catching us on the way out. I almost felt like I was in an insane asylum. After that first night we got a little more comfortable with it all, but still, I was happy to leave when we did.

Lauren: The chair thing was hilarious. Really. Aneya seriously hated that chair. I thought it was kind of cute and quirky, but we didn't visit it again. That first night was the worst. The place was just so silent. Where were all the buses and people? And, like Santiago, there is a thriving street dog population so there were dogs howling our first night! That just was the icing on the cake. We would later find out that Temuco totally shuts down at 2200 hours. So we were well rested when we got back to Santiago. No late nights for us, whether we liked it or not.

-- Aneya & Lauren