After a brief visit to Ecuador, Lance and I are finally back on the road. Our first stop is Viña Del Mar, Chile. We arrived here with our good friend, Stacey, who is originally from the States...but lives in Ecuador. Stacey worked for the Peace Corps...speaks fluent Spanish...and owns a house and Pepper Farm in Malacotes.
Viña Del Mar is a lovely beach town located on the Pacific coast. For the most part, the beaches and city are very clean, with lots of little cafes, restaurants and shops located in the surrounding neighborhoods. We are here during the summer season, and the weather has been absolutely delightful...with temperatures hovering in the low 70’s most days. Below are just a few pictures of the beach...where we spend at least a part of each day enjoying the scenery.
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| Zumba on the beach |
Early during our stay, Lance, Stacey and I walked from our apartments to a park nearby called Quinta Vergara.
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| Quinta Vergara Amphitheater...where a huge musical festival takes place each year near the end of February |
We hiked a hill inside the park until we arrived at the top. Here we could see the city of Viña Del Mar below us. It wasn’t very sunny that day...but we still got a good view of the city.
Stacey and I also took time another day to visit the Artisanal Fair located within the park. We arrived early when things were just opening up. At the fair they sold jewelry, different kinds of handicrafts and food.
We all hopped a bus one day to visit the Viña Del Mar Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day to explore the area.
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The three of us also took the metro to Valparaíso so we could take a guided tour of the city. According to Wikipedia, Valparaiso is Chile’s third largest metropolitan area, and one of the South Pacific’s most important seaports. During the second half of the 19th century it served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. During that time many immigrants from England, Germany and other European countries settled in the city. You can still see evidence of that by some of the churches and homes that still exist in the historic neighborhoods today.
By the second half of the 20th century, the city fell on hard times because ship traffic to the area was greatly reduced due to the opening of the Panama Canal. This caused many wealthy families to abandon the city. In the beginning of the 21st century Valparaiso showed signs of recovery, and began to attract artists and other entrepreneurs, who set up shops in the city’s hillside historic districts. Today it receives many tourists, and continues to be a major seaport for exports of fruit, copper, and shipping containers. Even though the city attracts many visitors...we were told by our tour guide and others that many areas are not considered safe at nighttime.
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| Armada de Chile...which is part of a military base. |
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| This is a new building built inside an old one. |
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| Monuments a Los Heroes de Iquique...a monument dedicated to fallen naval heroes |
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| Ascensor El Pearl |
At the top of the hill, Valparaiso has streets filled with great Urban Art. Here is just a small sample of some of the paintings that we saw.
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| A picture of our tour guide, who is originally from Cuba |
We enjoyed seeing the colorful historic buildings on the hilltop.
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| A street musician playing local music. Several tourists in our group knew the songs and sang along with him. |
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| BaburIzza Palace built by a Croatian businessman in 1916. Today it is a museum. |
Back in Viña Del Mar...we continue to see and learn new things about our city every day.
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| A statue from Easter Island that is on display in front of a museum |
Stacey and I saw the Decorative Arts Museum which is housed in Rioja Palace. This is the former home of a family that owned several successful businesses in Viña Del Mar. Several of the rooms were decorated with furniture...with several pieces formerly owned by the family.
After touring the city we always enjoy a cold drink and some friendly conversation.
While Lance worked on future travel plans Stacey and I mostly filled our days with walks along the beach...trips to the mall...leisurely lunches...and a few adult beverages. One day we walked all the way along the coast to another beach town that is located nearby.
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| In this photo you can see the city in the distance. |
Near the end of Stacey’s visit, the two of us decided to take a mini trip to Zapallar. It is about an hours drive from Viña Del Mar. We were told it is a seaside town where some of the wealthiest people in Chile go to vacation. Many own second homes there.
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| Hotel Casa Zapallar...where we stayed for the night |
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| Pelicans on the seashore |
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| A typical beach home found in the area |
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| A walking path that runs along the seashore |
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| Stacey and I sporting shirts in a similar color. |
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| A view from the top of the hill |
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| A lovely church we came across on one of our walks home |
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| A delicious lunch we enjoyed at the seashore. We each received two free drinks from the bartender! |
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| Me...feeling light on my feet after a few mojitos. |
On our last day, we rented an umbrella and chairs to sit on the beach. It was a wonderful way to end our trip.
I want to give a special shout out to Nelson, an acquaintance of Stacey’s from Facebook, who recommended that we take this trip...and suggested the hotel where we stayed. Thanks Nelson!
All too soon, it was time for Stacey to leave. Our last night together we enjoyed a meal out and said a fond farewell. Hopefully, we’ll meet up again some day in the not too distant future.
Although we have been enjoying our visit to Chile, we have had some unexpected challenges. Lance accidentally left his bank card in the ATM machine at the airport, and we are still waiting for a replacement card to be delivered to us. I had my backpack stolen at a very nice cafe in a neighborhood that looked to be very safe. Inside was my iMac, iPod, and new earbuds. That was an expensive lesson for me. And...Lance left the key in the door on the inside of the apartment. In order to open the door he had to contact our AirBnB host...who hired a locksmith to get the door opened. Travel living is not always easy.
I’m also sad to report that Chile is also experiencing some troubles of their own. Before we arrived we heard that there had been protests in some of the major cities in Chile. Our Uber driver...and others...told us that there were protests involving the police and University students among others. Businesses had their windows broken...buildings have been tagged...and the police have retaliated with tear gas and in some cases, rubber bullets. Things settled down at the start of summer vacation...but people expect it to resume in March when school is back in session. By that time we should be in Argentina.
