Healthy Living in Chile

Being abroad, it is easy to fall off track of a healthy lifestyle. However, there is still plenty of opportunities to keep up with healthy living!

Having many students on our trip that are either athletes or just very active on their own, health is important to them. The first way there is to get in exercise is walking up the countless hills in Chile. The second day in Chile, we went to Valparaiso to go on a graffiti tour. Not only was the art incredible to see, it was a great workout going up and down the hill!

In Valparaiso there was a set of stairs and to get down a slide! (Matt G and Matt L were spotted on the slide numerous times)

During the Santiago City Game we walked up hundreds of stairs. Walking to see The Statue of the Virgin was a hike and that was only the first task!  The game continued by walking several miles to go to the different famous sites in Santiago. Today as seen in other posts we hiked on the Andes Mountains! The site was breathtaking so it didn’t even feel like a workout, but it certainly was.

Students hiking on the Andes

The second way to stay in shape is exercising on your own! Emily H. and Chelsea went on a run through the streets of Santiago, Chile one day. This was a great way to explore the hotel's surrounding area and stay active. The gym has a lot of great equipment that can help with different varieties of workouts! There are weights, cable machines, and cardio machines. Matt L. has been to the gym several times to go running on the treadmill, or lifting weights with Eric. Right next to the gym is the pool to either swim around in or do laps in depending how crowded it is. We might not have a lot of free time but if you manage your time right it is easy to get in a quick workout!

The hotel gym

Many students have been going to the pool after long days of walking.

The food is amazing in South America, another way to stay healthy is choosing good meals. It is easy to get sucked into eating a piece of cake… two but eating well balanced meals can be easy! Luckily for us, our breakfast the hotel provides is abundant with fresh fruit, eggs, whole wheat bread, and yogurt. Chile is known for their seafood, especially salmon and sea bass which are both high in protein. Along with that you can usually choose rice, veggies, or roasted potatoes. Since we are out and about all day it is very important to keep hydrated! Water is your best friend here.

This salmon and rice is from La Tasco De Altamar right near the hotel in Santiago!

This is a salad from Fauna in Valparaiso. There were many healthy options!

Most importantly is getting enough sleep. There is always time in America to get back on track with exercising and eating healthy but you can’t get back the sleep you missed. As exciting as it is to be in another country that seems to never sleep, we have to make sure we take care of ourselves first by sleeping and eating right.