|
  | |  |
Valparaiso + Vina del Mar
Entry 3 of 58 | show all | print this entry |
|
After a dodgy nights sleep (not sure why, but i just kept waking up every hour or 2) I decided against the mountain climb, and made the decision to check out Valparaiso. It was also Pauls last day in Chile (Dot left at 4am, another reason I didnt sleep well), and he also tagged along, together with another ozzie (but really a kiwi), a dreadlocked dude named Mark. Oh, and we met a Canadian girl named Viviane on the bus as well´, who could speak a bit of Spanish, luckily (sorry if everyone finds this stuff boring, but this blog is as much for my own memories sake than u guys).
Anyway, we took a 2 hour bus to Valparaiso (v nice, comfortable bus btw), and decided to book a city tour, as it was already 2pm.
The tour was mainly done from the comfort of a van, so we rarely had much chance to get out an have a decent look. But anyway, we got driven around and had various real estate and other things pointed out to us. We then joined another group in a bigger van, and drove around Vina Del Mar, right besides Valparaiso, before having lunch at a nice restaurant right on the beach. We then drove round more, went to Valparaiso, took a little ¨funicular¨ down a hill, and eventually finished the trip and returned to Santiago. So. Valparaiso is a cool little town, with a shitload of quaint, cool looking colourful houses built on these steep hills. They all overlook the harbour, which should probably be a beach, except its all full of concrete and ships etc. It has a real old sort of european colonial feel to it, and was quite ¨delightful¨, for lack of a better word. The houses really vary enourmously in design and colour, and it hs a very laidback feel to it. There are a shitload of buses, including some that run off cables (not sure if theyre called trams, streetcars, or what?!). We also went to some dudes house, called ¨Pablo¨ apparently hes very famous in Chile, and one a nobel prize for literature or something. I didnt bother paying the extra few dollars to go inside his house.
Vina del Mar is practically the same city, just the next cove along. However, its very much a tourist town, kinda like the Chiliean version of the Gold Coast. It was fairly empty, but apparently its bristling with ppl on the weekends in summer time. Even though it was quite similar to Valparaiso, I wasnt a big fan. Its full of 4 and 5 star hotels, expensive restaurants etc. It does however have a beach (with sand!) instead of a concrete port. The waves were pretty shit on this day, but apparently they are quite good at times. By all accounts, the water is v freekn cold at this time of year, and I didnt bother trying to confirm it.
Anywayz, it was a very good little daytrip, despite costing a bit with the bus, tour, and fancy restaurant. Definately a daytrip I can recommend and worth the time n effort. More thumbnails ...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by joules, from Chile or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
8 votes 
