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Published: December 20th 2012
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As we had left Bolivia earlier than planned, there was time for some more exploring around Santiago. So we planned a little trip to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. We decided to sleep, eat and relax in Viña del Mar, a popular somewhat upscale beach town, and visit Valparaiso, port town said to be Chile's cultural capital, on a day trip from there.We had briefly considered renting a car for the trip, but were happy that we hadn't done so. The bus trip to Vina del Mar was cheap, easy and comfortable: we took the metro to the station, bought tickets (6 USD return per person), could embark on the next bus in 10 mins, and within 2 hours the comfy and safe bus drove us to the bus terminal in Viña del Mar. Oh, and talk about safety conscious - there is even a speedometer visible
for all passengers that beeps if the speed exceeds 100 km/h!
Viña del Mar isn't so much about sightseeing - there are a few nice museums, but the city is mostly about its beaches, boulevards, and, nicknamed the garden city, its parks. Unfortunately it was too windy and chilly to go to the beach, but wandering around and having a nice drink overlooking the sea wasn't too bad either... Add in a nice sushi dinner with some decent dark Belgian (Steve) and Chilean (me) beer, and we were quite happy with our first day at the coast!
Our next day was dedicated to seeing Valparaiso, or Valpo, as the locals call it. It is only 15 mins away by bus, but has a very different, much more bohemian feel. It used to be a wealthy port town in the late 19th century, but apparently the creation of the Panama canal reduced its importance. It is now actually quite a poor town, although the Unesco world Heritage status is bringing in more and more tourists. We enjoyed wandering around all the quaint streets, and didn't mind that some of the famous 'ascensores' (lifts) where not in service - walking
is just as nice. We had lunch near the harbour in a local fishermans restaurant, that came complete with its own ships steering wheel - a rather popular "Kodak" moment for visitors. So we did our part as well!
The art museums give away the fact that this town used to be quite wealthy, if you look at beautiful works from artists over the world, owned by this town. The highlight for us was the 'Museo a ciel abierto' (open air museum) though, which basically is a couple of streets filled with professional murals - not quite your average graffiti work. It totally fits the who 'vibe' of the city, which I find to be a bit like the Berlin of Chile 'poor but sexy'.
After a Pisco sour (apparently not only the staple drink in Peru, but also in Chile..) in the sun and some pancakes for Stephen (don't ask..), we took one of the many buses back to Vina del Mar. For dinner, we were in the mood for something quick, cheap and cheerful. But how to choose between all the seemingly identical snackbar type of places? Simple - follow the locals. So we went inside
this shabby-looking, but packed place called El Guaton, and ordered the specialty, the "Guaton" burger. Even between the two of us the huge grilled beef burger, garnished with at least 2 whole avocados and tomatoes, was almost too much to handle..
The next morning, we managed to fit in a quick visit to the small archaeological museum before the bus back to Santiago. It turned out to provide us with the perfect intro to our Easter island trip. This museum has more historical artifacts from Easter island than the island's museum itself, which I am sure the Rapa Nui are not too happy about.. So we got to see our very first Moai there too. Then it was off to the bus terminal to book our seats on the next bus back to Santiago, from where we'd go to Easter island to see many, many more Moai..
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