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The hills of Valparaiso
The brightly colored houses amongst the hills of ValparaisoSpent Sunday and Monday (thanks to a day off because of a saint´s day) in Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. Eight of us took the 2 hour bus ride through vineyards and hillside towns exclaiming their names in signs reminiscent of the Hollywood sign. Literally every town had a massive white sign in the hills to let you know what town you were passing.
Coming down through the hills we finally saw a glimpse of the Pacific and the town of Viña del Mar. At first sight we were not impressed by our surroundings, but then the areas around the bus terminals never are. We made our way to the B&B and checked into our luxury for a night, aka no bunks and our own bathroom ::sigh::.
We opted to spend the rest of the day in Valparaiso and took the 15 minute bus ride there. Once in Valpo we were overwhelmed and hungry which made us chose a restaurant unwisely and I ended up with some sort of breaded meat that tasted more like beef jerky than a juicy steak. But the placemat from the restaurant came in handy as it was a map of the city and
the waiter told us where the "best" ascensor was located.
Valparaiso has been said to be the San Francisco of Chile because of the bay being surrounded by hills and the colorful houses amongst them. But I´m thinking that´s where the similarities stop. No San Francisco treat here. There are a dozen or more "ascensores" or elevators hidden throughout Valpo that take you up to a viewing station and towards the top of the hills. They are all about a hundred years old and it shows. But like anything up high, it has a great view.(We later found out that many of the viewing platforms up top of the ascensores are dangerous because the wooden beams holding onlookers can easily break. Grreaaaaaaat!)
Next we walked to the otherside of Valpo to try to find one of Pablo Neruda´s homes (he had quite a few scattered throughout the Santiago & Valparaiso area) but unfortunately found out it was closed. So we opted for ice cream and a look around the port. By this time the sun was beginning to set and we found an overpass with beautiful views of the city and sea. Although it was getting dark, it
Gringas in Vina
6 out of the 8 who went to Vina. Here we are on the steps outside our B&B still was only 7pm and we decided to say Adios to Valpo and head back to Viña for dinner. Once in Viña we found a restaurant specializing in seafood and feasted on the daily catch.
On Monday we spent the day walking along the shore and while some played in the casino (an actual casino this time), Rosita, Sarah and I decided to rent one of those 4-wheeled pedal bikes for a half an hour. I think we could have gone further by foot, but it garnered some laughs from us and those passing by. While waiting for the gamblers to reconvene with us, we watched a couple of street artists doing the tango. It´s such a remarkable dance, so fluid and expressive without being over the top. Bellisimo! Once together we walked along the boardwalk and watched as some people carved out Homer Simpson, a dragon and King Kong in the sand. Colored sand and everything. It was brilliant! Towards the end of the boardwalk there was a pier with some shops and a small artesan´s market with wonderful woolen and wooden crafts. I got two pairs of beautiful glass earrings for US$2 each!
When it was
Vina by the beach
My artistic shot from the pier looking down the beach and the high-rises time to head back we definitely didn´t want to leave. Viña was such a change of pace from Santiago and a much needed vacation. ¡Me encanta Viña!
Just a side note: I´ve added and moved around a few pics so check the first two entries again. And if you didn´t check the two URL links at the end of the last blog, DO! They are links that have pics and stuff of us and what we are doing here.
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