Sand, Sun and a little bit of Karaoke

Trip Start Apr 05, 2008

102

Trip End Mar 20, 2009

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Where I stayed

My Father's House Vina del Mar

(Vina del Mar hotels)

Flag of Chile Vina del Mar, Chile
Thursday, November 6, 2008

It was good to see the sea again and to be back down at sea level. A breath of fresh salty sea air does wonders for the well being as well as the sleeping. We had some fantastic weather and a few days of gray but it's all good when you've got sand between your toes. The beaches to the north of Vina del Mar are superb with golden sand and green glass like waters. We spent a lot of time walking the coast from Renaca to the beaches further round in Con Con. We also spent the price of a lobster on a taxi and made the taxi mans day, getting to Playa Higuerillas where reputedly they have the best seafood on the coast - hard not to agree.
Vina del Mar is a stark contrast to it's eclectic neighbour Valparaiso with lush tree lined streets and an up-market quality about it. With the affluent houses situated on the hills they are afforded superb views over Vina del Mar and it's beautiful coastline. Day or night, the view is always breathtaking and worth stopping to watch the world go by

Renaca Beach

. In comparison Vilparaiso, only about 15km along the coast, has a bohemian feel with houses made of corrugated iron and clapboard houses in a multitude of funky colours. It's charm lies in exploring it's winding streets up on the hills although if you're not feeling up for the climb then you're saved from sweating by the many veniculars that traverse the hilly slopes (surprisingly even Taylor went for the sweaty option).
One of our most memorable nights in Vina del Mar was spent in a Mexican restaurant in the beach area of Renaca. We were tempted in with the promise of half price drinks and excellent food. What really made our night was that they were playing music videos on the wide screen TVs, 30 second clips from the 70s & 80s. It turned into a raucous evening of guessing the name of the song, singer, band and even what album as well as other trivial facts that could be thought of. Accompanied with a bit of spontaneous karaoke and some hip wiggling we were having a blast. Not sure what the other diners thought of our antics, actually I'm not sure any of us even noticed there were other people there until we got up to leave. It was when they got to the hip hop 90s that we decided it was time to call it a night.
We enjoyed a relaxed three days in Vina del Mar except for our last day where we had an altercation with the B&B owner. It was getting rather nasty when he started attacking us personally so we left in good grace and paid the man his money (albeit it over and above what was agreed) and will keep to the facts - views great, needs to work on the second 'B' (breakfast) if he's going to market himself as a B&B and most importantly work on his people skills

Renaca Beach 2

. We will make sure he is well reported on the internet.
So after six weeks of traveling together with the Hulls with lots of laughter, fun and expense along the way, we said goodbye to the South African contingent. We're hopeful now that our booze bill will decrease and maybe we can get back on budget although due to the hits we've suffered as a result of so much time with our high flying friends we're now accepting travel fund donations - surely there's something we can see or do on your behalf ;-) A final note to Kings and Ems; good luck George with that acid-reflux and keep lifting those feet Trips! Enjoy the rest of your travels!

Departing Cuncan score - I think the overall champion was definitely Ems winning more often than not:
GT - 89
AT - 122
K - 123
E - 121