Chile - Vina del Mar

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I arrived in Vina del Mar at 6.30pm on Thursday 1 October after an 8 hour bus journey from Mendoza. From the bus station I took a taxi to Hotel Vancouver where I checked into my nice room with a big double bed, bathroom, balcony and cable TV. I walked straight to the beach (5 minutes) and sat on the rocks to watch a lovely sunset. Then I went for dinner before returning to my room to watch TV. After a good sleep, I went downstairs for my hotel breakfast and I tried to read some of the local paper. Then I went to the beach and walked along the front until I picked a spot where I lay for a few hours. The weather was great and it was such a nice feeling to be sunbathing on a beach for the first time since Rio. On the way back to the hotel I stopped for lunch at Domino´s Pizza where a large pepperoni pizza was only 3 quid (hmmm...). After a shower I applied lots of After Sun cream as I was burnt even though I had used plenty of sun cream. I went for a walk to the local park where I spent an hour strolling around and taking pictures. Then I went back to the beach to watch sunset before buying a few snacks and returning to my room to watch TV. After breakfast on Saturday I stayed in my room to watch Bolton Vs Spurs and then Man Utd Vs Sunderland. Then I went for lunch before going to the beach for a couple of hours. In the evening I spent some time on the internet at the hotel and then went out to get a take away lasagne which I ate in my room. I set my alarm for 8.30am on Sunday to watch Arsenal beat Blackburn 6-2 and then ordered breakfast in bed while watching some of the West Ham Vs Fulham game. Then at 11am it was time for Chelsea Vs Liverpool. After watching Liverpool lose 2-0 I went out quickly for lunch before returning to my room to watch Italian and Spanish football and then the NFL Sunday Night Football. Monday was more of a typical day as I had breakfast at the hotel, went to the beach for a few hours, watched Aston Villa Vs Man City, went out for dinner and then watched the NFL Monday Night Football. Tuesday was another day spent on the beach followed by a visit to the local shopping mall. The evening was spent on the internet and watching TV. On Wednesday I took the local bus to Valparaiso, the neighbouring town about 10 minutes away. I walked around the shops, street markets, plaza and also the various Cerro´s (hills). The first Cerro was Ascensor Polanco where you walk through a 160 metre horizontal tunnel through the rock before getting in a vertical lift to the summit. This gave good views of Valparaiso and you could see how people’s homes were built into the side of the hills. The next hill was Cerro Bellavista which was reached by the Ascensor Espiritu Santo funicular. From here I saw a statue of Christ, a couple of churches and some colourful little homes. I decided to walk down the hill this time and wondered how the local people manage walking the steep winding roads everyday. I then walked to the funicular for Cerro Concepcion which took me up to some very colourful streets and houses. There were great views of the port and also the coastline all the way to Vina del Mar. After taking the funicular down again, I had lunch in one of the indoor markets and then walked around some more before catching the bus back to Vina. In the evening I went to the beach to watch sunset and then went for dinner. After breakfast on Thursday I packed my bag and checked out. I spent the rest of the morning at the beach sitting on the rocks reading my book. After lunch I went back to the hotel and went on the internet before getting a taxi to the bus terminal for my 5pm bus to Santiago.

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