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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“beautiful sunshine, a clean fresh breeze and the Pacific Ocean.” |
We took a cab to the bus station and an $8 bus from Santiago to Vina Del Mar on the coast. I am very glad to leave Santiago, and arriving in Vina was a great relief. There is beautiful sunshine, a clean fresh breeze and the Pacific Ocean.
This is a small resort town, just slightly North of Valpariso (Chile’s oldest port and the seat of government.) Valpariso is only about 7km south of Vina del Mar, really only the distance from downtown Vancouver to Kitsalino, so it’s misleading to think of them as separate entities, but the locals are always arguing about which is better. For my money, Vina is much much cleaner, much more modern, and has beautiful stretches of sandy beaches, a great variety of restaurants, and a friendly attitude.
For the first time in weeks, there are no police on every corner, and the streets are clean, in good repair, and are often shaded by healthy trees and flanked by jogging paths and bike paths. (The trees in Santiago were grey and lifeless by comparison.)
We are spending a few days here, and the small hotel we are at is only one block from the beach and features a heated pool, which is nice, as the Pacific breeze is quite chilly.
We took the train from Vina to Valpariso yesterday and walked the whole length of the city in only an hour. As it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed and outdoor markets had taken over all of the public parks. We spent very little time at the markets (more “antiques” and a depressing flea market where families try to sell old clothing and toys.)
Valpariso is made up of 17 steep hills and a narrow flat stretch of land between the hills and the ocean. This small city is much like Santiago—noisy buses, old dusty architecture and narrow streets. The hills are filled with a very odd mix of mansions and shacks—it seems like people build without much regulation here too. Chile is going through a drastic transformation in the years since Pinochet was removed from government, and is soon to be elevated from second or third world status, but I think it will be quite a while before the people who live here benefit from the economic and social changes. This is still a country where the rich are rich and the poor are very poor.
Santiago and Valpariso also share the curse of the wild dog. There are dozens and dozens of dogs running in small packs, looking for food, sleeping in the middle of the sidewalks, facing off in public squares and trailing tourists looking for scraps of food. Skinny dogs, pregnant dogs, legless dogs. They are just as hard to rationalize as the many poor people we have encountered.
Back in Vina (you need to say “Beenya”-click for music- ) we have been happy to find Tex-Mex restaurants (with killer guacamole and excellent margaritas and happy hours that last all day) There are also sushi joints, Italian eateries and other diverse foods that we have been missing so much. English is well-spoken here and we are very comfortable walking the whole city. It’s a very nice place to visit, and we’ve both regained some colour.
We are off to the beach this afternoon for a few hours before heading back to glorious Santiago for one night before flying out to Lima, Peru. Our trip is winding down, and I am looking forward to coming home, and a little nervous about Lima and Cuzco and the elevation of Machu Picchu.
previous travel blog entry
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