Blogs from Viña del Mar, Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 8

Traveled from Valparaiso to Vina del Mar, a much more exclusive beach town, and back today...... read more

decided to have a drive out further north as the weather wasnt too good this am ... quite a nice area but poor, we drove up to quintero which was ok and as the sun had come out we went to the beach at concon for a few hours on the way back, all the beaches here are absolutely choc a block and you cant swim in the sea as the waves are huge and when they break they drag everyone back in so everyone just paddles,had a swim at the hotel and then out to dinner, tried a local speciality dish which is like a bbq for 1 with everything on .... not recommended just piles of shit grub.... read more

Happy Birthday to Me! Yesterday was my 29th birthday! I had a wonderful day and wanted to share my photos of the day. The celebration started Friday night with a Illapu concert at the Teatro Municipalidad de Valparaiso. They use A LOT of instruments, guitar, bass, drums, various bongos, etc., flutes, traditional indian wind instruments. It's incredible the variety and expertise they each have. And what was really impressive is the fan base. They LOVE Illapu. Everyone was dancing and singing along. Such a great, cultural experience for me. And Carlos had a wonderful time too! ( I think he might have enjoyed my birthday present more than me. haha) This is some information about them that I got off of Wikipedia: prounounced ee-YAH-poo. The name comes from 'quechua' (an Andean language spoken in South America) ... read more

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 ... read more

Here are some fun pictures and videos from the Sept. 18th celebration here in Chile. We spent 3 days in Santiago with Carlos' family. We had a great time! FUN facts about Sept 18th: 1. The beginning of the Independence movement is traditionally dated as September 18, 1810 2. Chileans can ONLY fly their flag in Sept. If you don't fly it in Sept. , there is a fine. If you fly it in any other month, there is a fine (about $80). 3. Sept. 18th foods include: * empanadas * BBQ meat, anticucho (a chilean shish kebob) * mote con huesillo (cooked barley in a thick peach juice/sauce and a small dehydrated peach floating on top) * chicha (a really sweet, strong wine) * alfajor (a cookie sandwich with a caramel like filling called manjar, ... read more