It took about 24 hours going to and coming from Chile due to multiple flights, layovers, customs and security lines. But the upgraded seating (I love traveling with my frequent-flyer husband!), airport restaurants, posh LaTam lounge goodies, and breathtaking views from the airplane, almost made it all worth it!

Flying into Atlanta Airport from Lexington, KY

Flying into the Santiago Airport from Atlanta, GA

During our long layover in the Santiago Airport we got our first taste of Chilean cuisine. Brad's Cuban sandwich on freshly baked bread and my natural pineapple juice were amazing!

Flying from Santiago to Concepcion, Chile

Flying into Concepcion where we were greeted by Aubrey, Raul, and Raul's father. Raul's father then drove us another 30-45 minuets to Tome, where Raul's family lives, and where Aubrey & Raul are staying the summer (which is really winter in Chile).

Flying home it was so nice to eat at an American restaurant again, even though I did enjoy the food in Chile! I especially liked the shot-glass desserts (cheesecake and chocolate truffle mousse) we had in the very fancy LaTam airport lounge (more perks of traveling with my rock-star husband).

These pictures taken out of my dirty plane window, just don't capture the beautiful views of the sunset and moon over the Andes Mountains, hovering above a blanket of clouds!

Tome, Chile

Aubrey & Raul's Apartment

Aubrey and Raul rented a very nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath third floor apartment during their two-month stay in Tome. It was also a convenient place for us to stay and allowed us maximin time to spend with the kids.

The complex was located on a hill above Tome in a nice gated area with 24-hour security. It also had a nice pool but unfortunately it is winter in Chile and way too cold for swimming!

Raul still had to work from home so most days we walked into town with Aubrey, shopping and exploring, or hiking along the beach on the outskirts of town.

Their nice spacious patio

View of the ocean from their patio

View of town from the patio

The Town

Most streets in Tome were on hills, so it was quite the hike to go anywhere even though the distance to town or across town wasn't that bad. I have a lot more sympathy for Aubrey now, after walking the same roads she walked every day of her mission, only I got to walk in hiking shoes as appose to sandals...

Aubrey's poor mission feet and shoes!

Walking down the long hill to downtown with Aubrey & Raul our first day there

After some shopping we stopped for dinner at Aubrey & Raul's favorite sandwich place for Churrasco (steak sandwich) and Completos (hotdogs). We topped it off with churros from another little place. It was all so delicious but my bad stomach couldn't quite handle it so Raul had to quickly find me a bathroom downtown (which is not easy task). Raul saved the day, and in fact, saved me several other times over the course of our trip!😆

The rest of the week we walked to town most days just to get out of Raul's hair. Even though it rains almost everyday during the Winter we lucked out and had mostly dry days (but it was still chilly, especially inside Aubrey and Raul's apartment that didn't have heat!).

We walked past the cemetery every day, so one day I just had to walk through it and explore it a little closer, much to Aubrey and Brad's chagrin! It really was a beautiful place with beautiful views of the ocean!

Town Square

Right across from town square are Raul's parent's store-fronts. His mom owns the boutique on the right and his dad owns the internet/copy store on the left (they were off for their kid's Winter break).

Town Hall

Large church downtown

Two of our favorite places to go downtown were the bread and nut stores...here is a sampling of our nut treasures! The bread we bought fresh and ate everyday.

One day while Brad and I were exploring downtown on our own (Raul was working and Aubrey wasn't feeling well), we discovered a huge outdoor market that was selling everything from meat and produce to clothes and kitchen wear.

While there, we just happened to bump into Raul's grandmother and uncle George! It was crazy! Raul's grandmother is so talented and makes leather dress shoes in addition to most of the things you see here. Her little doggy winter outfits and doggy door-stops (to keep the cool from getting in) are just the cutest!😍. We said hello and then asked if we could take their picture (we called Aubrey & Raul and had them translate for us). We then bought a pillow and let them get back to work.

Another interesting thing about Tome was all the statues made of metal, each one was so different and unique. Also fun fact about Tome, it was founded in 1544, so it is a pretty darn old!

We loved this big old tree just a block up from Aubrey & Raul's place. The reason it's so unique is because it is taller than any other tree around, and you can see it from anywhere in town, and even miles outside of town.

We thought the tree must be located in some kind of beautiful park or something, but in reality it was located in someone's backyard, surrounded by trash and lines of laundry. This was the closest we could get to the tree...I had to peek through a wooden fence to take this picture!

Sometimes, when coming back from town (especially after grocery shopping), Aubrey & Raul would take a cab or the bus back to their apartment so they wouldn't have to climb the huge hill!

The Beach

On the outskirts of downtown is the beach, so the kids took us to the main viewing area our first day in town.

Another sunny day, Aubrey, Brad, and I took the walking path (above--right next to the biking path) on the edge of town and then a trail that goes right along the coastline to the next town. It was the perfect day for a long walk along the coast, checking out the beautiful scenery...

Larger fishing boats with a fishing market located at the other end of the pier

The only problem with walking anywhere in Tome is the stray dogs! Aubrey came home from her mission not loving dogs and now I know why, they and/or their poop is everywhere! So during the course of our 15 mile hike, we somehow picked up two stray dogs that followed us the entire way. Luckily they were well-mannered and didn't bother us which I thought would not be the case when they first started following us in town and were attracting the attention of all the other stray dogs who started barking and following us as well (Aubrey said the other dogs were just trying to protect their territory). Anyway, I'm so glad we don't have stray dog issues in the U.S.

Bloated dead Sea Lion

Heading back to Tome...we never made it to the next town but had to turn back since it was getting late

If you look on the horizon you can see 'the tree' standing a-top the hill!

We were so starving when we got back into town that we stopped for dinner at La Gaviota a little dive right across from the fish market...where else can you eat the freshest fish ever? It was a great ending to a great day!