Thursday, May 8

Today, we started at 10:00 with a company visit to LAN Airlines. WE had a short presentation and then we got to walk around the hanger while our presenter showed us information about the company and the maintenance that was being performed on the planes. It was a little difficult to hear and understand our presenter, so I am not really sure all that he said, but it was interesting to hear about how LAN has expanded through Europe, other South American countries, and even to the U.S. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go inside a place but it was fun to see the planes in the hanger - they look so much more massive when you are standing beside them.

After this company visit, we had lunch and headed off to Vina Indomita, a winery and one of our company visits. I was really excited for this one because I have heard that the Chilean wine industry is very up and coming and that Chilean wine is gaining a lot of recognition throughout the world. So far, this has been my favorite company visit; I was not disappointed at all. Although the presentation probably wasn't as informative about the company itself as some of the others have been, we were able to see where the wine is made, where it is stored in barrels, and the different processes used to make the wine. After the tour, we had a wine tasting, which was very sophisticated indeed. WE tried two red wines and one white. Admittedly, I could not taste any of the flavors that we were supposed to be able to taste in the wines, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. When that was done, we had some time to admire the view of and from the winery. The building is completely white with an all glass facade that reflects the view of the vineyards that the building looks out upon from its perch on top of a hill. As we stood out there and admired the view, the sun was beginning to set and was reflecting off the building all the more. It was absolutely beautiful. I could have admired the view all day long but eventually it was time to go back to the hotel and call it a day.