Vina and Valpo, the Two V's

Valparaiso is the most often visited region of Chile, thanks to its proximity to Santiago. It is less than 2 hours from Santiago, and is blessed with beautiful beaches. It is known as a center of gastronomical, artistic, and cultural activity, making it a wonderful metropolis. About 400,000 people inhabit this beautiful area. We are taking the bus. Hard to believe.

Agriculture, fruit, fishing and forestry are the main industries here. Sulfur and copper mining also remain a vital part of the economy here. Valpo also serves as the Legislative Power and the principal port of the country. Narrow, rugged streets lead to fourteen of the city's forty hills. What the city lacks in charm, it makes up for with quaint funcilulars, and rustic and ramshackle architecture.

The nearby town of Vina del Mar is the pretty, younger sister of Valpo. It has a broad range of recreational and cultural activities, along with numerous seafood restaurants and a thriving nightlife. A more complete tourist infrastructure exists here, although we did not find it.

Sea scallops are prepared as chupe des locos. It consists of a hot fricassee prepared with ground locos, grated bread, and seasonings. Caldillo is a soup consisting of fish, potatoes, onions, and seasonings. And mariscal is a dish containing a variety of shellfishes seasoned with oil, lemon juice, and condiments. And the ubiquitous cebiche, the marinated raw, ground fish in lemon juice and seasonings. Lobster, crab and sea urchin, my personal favorite, are plentiful. Meat, pork, and goat are the most common meats.

Of course, Valpo is a jumping off point for Easter Island or Rapa Nui. The spooky stone faces are intriguing, but not enough for the 5 hour flight over and back. The National Botanic Garden is also located in Vina del Mar. And Robinson Crusoe Island is a nearby attraction.

After the big city of Santiago, we hope Valpo has a little more soul and smiles. We met a great guy from South Africa yesterday. We have not laughed that hard since we got here. He has been on the road since mid June, and goes home Oct 1. He is traveling on the British Air World Pass. His next stop is NZ and Oz town. More from the ocean this pm.

The only problem with a hotel on top of the hill is the walk back up after dinner. Our hotel is just so unique, the former home of an artist by the name of Thomas Somerscales, a Brit who lived here in the late 1800s with his wife and 5 children. But the view of the ocean and bay are phenomenal, though the gray sky remains for the most part.

The 90 minutes bus ride from Santiago was uneventful, though we both napped a little. We stayed out a little too long with our new friend, Barry, from South Africa. But he was a hoot and we had a great time, telling ethnic jokes, and laughing at ourselves.

This city is so colorful, as each house seems to want to out do the other. Every color is present, from red, gold, purple, orange, blue, green, and everything in between. We also found several funiculars from the bottom of the hill, back up here, AFTER we walked all the way back up.

It is nap time now, before we head out for a late dinner. Perhaps some French or seafood. Instead of walking back up the hill to our hotel, we decided to try the collectivo. It is a renegade taxi type of service, picking up passengers along with way, dropping them at various points for cheap. So, tired after a day of exploring downtown Vina del Mar, we hailed a guy in a run down black sedan.

First, he had no idea where we were going. Second, he got lost, and Mike had to tell him how to get to our hotel. Three, he overcharged us by a factor of TEN! We should have told him to go to H*ll, but we were too tired to argue. Live and learn. We could have hired a limo for cheaper, and still had enough left over for dancing girls and beer.

Downtown Vina was a little slow, since it is Sunday. Only the panaderias are open. So, we tried the local pastries, since each bakery smelled so good. My custard roll was fine, but Mike´s caramel roll was too sweet. So, he gave it to a street bum, who devoured it.

We also visited the big casino down by the ocean. Again, empty due to the Sabbath or bad economy. But we sat in a nice café house for about an hour while it tried to mist and rain. We never did see much of the ocean.

Since most stores were closed, we decided to head back, watch some tennis, nap, and get ready for the long evening. Again, people here do not seem to be very happy. They always look so damn serious. Maybe it is just too much of a daily struggle to be happy.

We are trying to head north to the desert, toward San Pedro de Atacama, sometime tomorrow. But we are having trouble getting cheap flights. Flexibility is the key, so we may end up in Argentina, Bolivia or Ecuador. Who knows.

We had dinner again down the street, since most everything was closed in this neighborhood on a Sunday evening. The only item other than fish was rabbit, which we both had. So those of you with young kids, no more Peter Rabbit or Easter bunny, as we had it for dinner.

It seemed okay last night, but I could feel the smell the gaminess on me this morning, if you know what I mean. No more rabbit for a while.

We did walk through the old Bella Vista neighborhood, before dark. They told us to stay away after 9pm since there were too many drunks wandering around. But we could only find one bar that was open!

We also wandered through a huge grocery store, mostly to look at the Chileans wines and beer. We are anxious to try the Kunstmann beer. Everyone says it is the best, though it cost ten times more than local beer. It is made here but uses a secret German formula.

The sidewalks here, if the street has one, can rise up to about 5 feet above the cobblestone roads. This is not a place to stagger out of a bar or cafe late at night. But each street has many cafes and hostels, to the point of over growth. Though very quaint, almost too rustic, with lots of tin siding on buildings, much graffiti, and lots of exposed cement, it hardly qualifies as Rodeo Drive or even Market Street.

But it does have some soul, and a few more smiles. We still have not figured out the attitude or psyche in this thin country. We continue on today, back to Santiago to either catch a plane or rent a car, or both. Who knows?

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