Alli Soenksen: Best. Day. Ever.

Today was literally the best day ever. After today, I am 100% living abroad at one point in my life. We finally got to sleep in today and did not have any lectures. We woke up and went to a company visit, the company I was in charge of researching before the plus 3 Chile trip- Indomita, the wine company. It was absolutely gorgeous. The vineyard takes place in two major valleys located in Chile and 1 type of wine is grown in each. The company is located on top of the valley overlooking all the vineyards. The sun was shining and the view was unbelievable. One of the main workers at Indomita took us on a tour. We learned about the different factors that affect how wines grow and what types of wine they can even grow. Factors like climate, temperature, steepness, etc. affect the wine. We then took a tour inside the company and saw the large steel containers that the short aged wine is stored in. We also saw the barrels in the basement that the aged wine is stored in. One interesting fact I learned about Indomita was that all the grapes are picked by hand- that is literally mind blowing. Afterwards, we came outside on the porch of the company overlooking the vineyard and tasted the wines. We were taught the exact ways to taste wine and how to stir and smell it. We tried two red wines and a white wine…I really liked all of them, but my favorite was the white wine. This was literally so much fun, just sitting drinking wine at 12 am. After the company visit, we drove another hour and went to Pablo Neruda’s house for lunch and a tour. Pablo was a famous poet in Chile. The restaurant is connected to his house. We had a reserved table outside overlooking the ocean…I was amazed. It was literally the prettiest restaurant set up I have ever seen. It is a really nice place and we got clam appetizers, fish for lunch, and a unique pastry for dessert. After the meal, we went down to the beach and rocks and just laid on them and took pictures. It was the most amazing, relaxing time ever. It was such a nice break from earlier in the week with the busy schedule. It made me want to move to Chile and never leave. We took a tour of Pablo’s house and learned about his life. He was buried outside his house which was really sad to see his grave. We then visited some of the shops on the street and I did some shopping for my family and friends! I was so tired after the long day, so we just came back and just chilled. It was the best day I have had in Chile so far.