Viña 2008

• Ruizespieces's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Viña del Mar

Trip Start Jan 12, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Apr 10, 2008 Next
Entry

  Viña del Mar, Chile
Thursday, February 21, 2008

ok, so mom is awesome.  since we havenīt been posting pictures you can go to the bottom of any entry  there are links to other peopleīs pictures of the places weīve been. they may not be the same touristy places, but the ones i saw for the valpo entry are pretty much the same.  thanks for pointing that out mom!

so today was a lot of fun.  we slept late, 1030, and then did laundry.  i know, i know, when does the fun start?  well, we finally got out of the house at 2 and took a bus to viņa del mar, the next town over.  where valpo is built on hills and is a very artsy town (tim you would love it here), viņa is a resort town.  we headed to the main plaza, and after a short goose chase since people donīt know what theyīre talking about, we found the ticket booth for the viņa 2008 concerts.  for those of you who donīt know (like i didnīt) viņa has an international music festival attracting big names in the latino music world, and as the guide book said, american has-beens

flower clock vina del mar

.  last night miguel bose, a huge latin pop singer, a group of chilean teeny boppers called six pack, and earth, wind, and fire were playing.  since it was our last night at the coast, ismael really wanted to go.  the galleria tickets were going for 9,600 pesos (about $20), but alas, they were sold out.  scalpers were very aggressively trying to get us to buy them for 15,000 pesos ($30).  we decided that was too much, so we wandered back to the beach.

we sat on the cement wall overlooking the beach and it was packed.  and this was at 730 at night.  but very sunny still.  while we sat there the tide started coming in.  that was fun to watch.  a huge wave would come, knocking small children and the ill-prepared over, and then come rushing up to the unsuspecting families with blankets laid out.  the stupid people would move their blankets 6 inches and then 10 minutes later another big wave would come and soak them again.  we were getting a kick out of it.

we wandered back to the center of town and had dinner at a mexican restaurant.  not very mexican, but a little comforting to have somewhat familiar food.  then we went back to the entrance to the concert to see if we could get a glimpse or anything.  ismael went to ask a cop if it was possible.  while the cop was explaining that it wasnīt, his drug dog, who had been serenly sitting at his side, suddenly jumped onto ismael and tried to bite him

moai from easter island

.  luckily he had his backpack on the front, so the dog just got his teeth on that, but it was very scary.  we were both shaken up.  then, we walked over to the main plaza, where 2 dogs were attempting to attack another.  one had his teeth bared and was growling.  they turned as we walked by and looked like they were going to come after us.  needless to say, we were freaked out and avoided dogs the rest of the night.

well, by then the scalpers were desperate to get rid of their tickets, so they had lowered their prices to 10,000 pesos.  we stood and discussed for a good 10 minutes if we should go.  i didnīt really know any of the bands, but i knew if ismael didnīt go he would regret it.  and weīve agreed to have no regrets on this trip.  as soon as we decided that yes, we were going to go, a woman walked up and asked if we needed tickets.  she sold us 2 tickets for 10,000, half what the others were going to.  God is good.  He gave us perfect timing so we could go but not waste money. 

we went over to the concert hall and it was packed.  we had to stand, but we really didnīt mind.  first up was miguel bose, who ismael wanted to see.  it was crazy watching the crowd.  every little hip twitch and the girls would scream.  it was so cool, iīm really glad we went.  during his 3rd encore, we finally caught a glimpse of the moon through the trees.  i couldnīt tell if it was the trees, but we figured out the eclipse was in full swing.  since we thought the concert was over ( we thought miguel bose was the closing act, but we didnīt want to see the others anyway), we left and sat on the plaza to watch the eclipse, keeping a watchful eye out for any dogs.  i didnīt realize the eclipse was so slow.  so we eventually got on a bus back to valpo and saw some more from there.  we did get to see when it was completely covered, where it just glows.  but then it was late, so we went to bed.  what a good day. 

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

shrunken head	scary two-headed lamb	beach in vina	tide coming in
lookout	vina 2008	miguel bose	our seats
miguel bose 2	us at vina	eclipse

Slideshow Print this entry Share Vina del Mar hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry