Family Trip to Belen

This Saturday, my family was super spontaneous and decided to go to Belen, a rural village that sits in the mountains leading up to the Andes. The elevation is about 10,000 feet and we had to take this winding dirt road around the mountains to get there. My parents wanted to go to attend carnaval, which wasn't a carnival but a bunch of rural Chileans singing, dancing, and drinking all day and all night. There are 50 people who live in Belen, so it was a pretty small carnaval... but it was so much fun! They have all these crazy traditions, like throwing confetti in your mouth  and smearing your cheeks with colored flour when you arrive. And they were all decked out in streamers and crazy costumes.

The next day, we went on a little hike around the village and I saw what I'm pretty sure was the prettiest view I've ever seen. Seriously. It's a desert climate all around the village, but there is a river that runs through and lots of irrigation so it was like a little oasis of green. It was sooo beautiful..kind of what I've imagine Machu Pichu to look like. Hopefully the picture can do it some justice. :-)

It was beyond beautiful, the people there were super nice, it was some good family bonding.  I guess the only thing I wasn't really prepared for was the living situation. We stayed in this little rustic house, and I had to crouch down to get in the door because people in Belen are super short and build super short doors. And since Belen is up in the mountains, it was super cold at night and there wasn't any heat. And... the house was basically mud walls and a piece of metal for a roof... Let's just say I was very proud of myself for living there for a day.. ;-)