CHILE: La Serena>Valle Elqui>Coquimbo>Valparaiso

  Valparaiso, Chile
Saturday, August 5, 2006

Salut.

Here follows my accounts from the second half or so of Chile to arrival in ARGENTINA:

(16th July cont'nd):
My was I glad to have made the right decision to leave Antofagasta the same day of arrival... for some reason, the moment I got off the bus I didn't get one good vibe about the place - seemed creepy, smelly, dirty, noisy, depressing... As I touched on in the last chapter, I merely strolled around the central grid as far as the port..apparently there is a worthy arch several Ks out of the city but I couldn't be arsed to go that far..... full stop!

(17th): Accordingly I jumped on a night bus service to La Serena, arriving at 9am here....To my delight I felt at home there...a new region again, it was characterised by much greenery, a mild temperature, a nice town centre with normal people busying around.... becoming a lot more Europeanafied now... it's still in northern Chile considering how long and slim the country is.

To elaborte, the nation is divided into 12 named regions, of which one can subdivide into the north x 2, middle / lake district and south/patagonia with tierra del fuego(antartica gateway) as a little extra chunk........

Bakck to the thread..............In La Serena, the huge arid Atacama desert has finally come to and end! There was a handy tourist info kiosko at the terminal which I made great use of first thing in the morn.....managed to select a commendable accommodation option and accumulated all info regarding sights, maps and tours available as feasible within my 3 day limit. Initially I made meself comfy at the home... again very similar in nature to the Iquique crazy family-run place....beats it on all fronts other than absence of wacky guests...this sweet cute old couple (so not "Chilean"-like in appearance hence almost British grandparent material) take in Chilean uni students and foreign exchange students/teachers alike all year through and now recently toursity muppets like moi....Husband reminds me of Papa Joe from Charlie and Chocolate factory or Pinochio's "father" lol.....so yes, they have communal lounge and dining room with kitchen use facilities and really nice boiling hot powerful showers and fully functioning electrics etc... tranquil also as outside the busy centre...

They were interested in my travels and tales.... then they prepared for me a posh biscuit and coffee late brekkie and brought it to my room on a tray!!! bless 'em lordie....Also they weren't as pushy to organise tours and have payment up front like Germans... Once freshened up, I made my way into town (no rest for the wicked) and proper Japanese style, used my map like a bible and took loadsa snaps of the square, buildings, churches, parks (one of which was a beautiful japanese style botanical and ornamental garden with water flowing in etc.... peaceful with swans, stone lanterns and all that.....garden was made to strengthen commercial and cultural affiliations with Japan and this twin city of La Serena... unusual but nice)....
what more? Arts and Crafts market, shopping mall.... did the lot... as the following day I had booked myself on an all day combo excursion entailing the Elqui valley and this star & planet watch at night from observatory tower thing.... Then the following day I planned to spend going out of the city and to neighborouring districts, one whose architecture ressembles English style...... had to do it all there and then!

Had this cool cheapo local typical dinner at this restaurant overlooking an arts and crafts plaza.. the barman/waitor was crazy and an eager foreign lingo learner so he was coming out with all these phrases in english french and spanish alike.... has a whole wall dedicated purely to photos of guests dining there over the years.. very chatty chap! That saw me through the evening alright..

18th: my 15hour wicked tour of the valley of Elqui and Mamalluca astrological research and observation centre at night.... day started by being picked up in minibus from accommodation and beginning our guided drive into the depths of the valley with various stops on the way. First main one was at this enormous Papaya and Chirimoya plantation (THE region of the mentioned fruit cultivation in Chile). With harvesting season near (August), we were able to grab a few of the fruit of the vines and sample them direct...quite mature so very sweet and tasty..more so than papaya as a juice fruit which tastes like vomit in my opinion...tis rather acidic for me and not yummy. we then progressed to the sales counter and had a roam around.....
Aboard the bus was a French Polynesian couple form the Island of Tahiti (near Fiji) as well as an old Chilean couple on vacation from the south and then 2 crazy Colombian girls (Emilia and Yasmin) now living and working here. So a nice number & mix.....
A second noteworthy stop was at this dam..... the rivers that flow through the valley (more like streams at best), are so weak that they built this dam to act as a reservoir to suppy the region with the water needed year round ie irrigation and for consumption. lovely area... by this time the sun was incredibly strong and no wind.... this is winter time too! Thirdly. we had a walking guided tour of the country's prime Pisco factory...

like brandy or whisky I guess but made from grapes, processed as one would for wine initially then transofrmed into Pisco somehow....Chilean guide was speaking so fast and with poor diction I had trouble to follow plot like man..
So we saw all the funnels and cannisters used for each key stage in the fermenting and distilling then bottling process in the factory along high tech conveyor belts and all that...stank to high heavens..some people faint apparently lol! drunk on air and oxygen-starved. easy way to get high eh.. To top all this off, we had a mini sampling sesh...goodness knows which of the dozen or so varieties I tried. Tasted good all the same. most important part of course.... Finally, we had the opportunity to purchase some freshly bottled items.. Due to practical reasons, I only took 3 miniatures away too add to my ever-increasing baggage... After an intense morning, our appetite was finally quenched in this small town Paihuano: 3 course average meal. Following on, we stopped off at Montegrande... and had some minutes to stroll around the tiny village centre......ending up in the old house/school where a Nobel Peace Prize winner lived her name is Gabriela Mistral. v famous.

Several Ks on, we had again another walk..in Vicuna.... larger but still not much going on there...main attraction is surroundings and the peaceful atmosphere. Here our day tour ended and most of the crew had free time to spend eating and wondering more before our night outing to Mamalluca.

At 8pm, we were picked up to climb 1000m above sea level to the peak of the town where this famous astronomical centre is based. The skies were incredibly clear and still with stars littered everywhere so we were lucky... Come 10pm we had a short but incredibly informative and enlightening presentation about the centre, the stars and planets and moons one can see plus a power point interactive explanation of how the galaxy operates and that. Wow! From there, we were sub-grouped into smaller parties and each had their own designated guide... we first went out to one huge telescope whose mirror is only 30cm in diameter but incredibly strong... using this bright illuminous green light, our dude indicated the various stars, constellations, planet Jupiter and 2 galaxies (looking like streams of cloud in distance)...then one by one, we had a clsoer look through the scope at the above-mentioned, individually... though they were merely amplified let's say, still impressive.... Jupiter was vivid from the other stars, we saw the southern cross, scorption, sagittarious thing, 4 moons orbiting Jupiter and 2 neighbouring galaxies, recognisable as long thin streams of cloud.... the 2 curved arms of the milky way were also notable! never seen anything so clear. Our turn then came to go up to the mamma telescope and view more stuff. proper revolving domes and zoom lenses etc.. def worth every penny in my opinion.
Returned at midnight to the hostel and was absolutely wacked. Turned dwon offer to go to Casino.

19th: inevitably I lay in and around middday arrived at the neighbouring city, the 4th region's capital, Coquimbo. only 15minutes bus ride out of La Serena. Despite conflicting opinions as to how nice the place was, I was pleasantly surprised and set about exploring. Went to the mirador first

....and after a sweaty steep climb up to one of the many hills, I arrived at the Cruz del Tercer Milenio (3rd milenium cross)...close up, an ugly concrete plain imposing cross, but from far and at night with illumination, a wonderful 360o panaormaic view from lifts. Didn't wana pay the entrance fee to go up, so just observed the city from above at the first level. Could see church spires, the coast line as far as La Serena amongst other things. Kinda got lost moping around the isolated hilltop communities along windy dirt tracks and got scared by barking ill-looking dogs...........
but eventually came back down to earth and from there headed in the direction of the English quarter or Barrio Ingles. Self-explanatory from its title, the English architecture is evident. The couple of squares and several blocks were done up in 2004. 0rigin of the stlye comes from Sir Frances Drake who embarked here on his sails in 16th century?.......... area is scattered with pubs and houses like those in Oliver Twist I guess...Notting Hill area maybe?.
Then I walked further along the coastline as fas as the Coquimbo fort (Fuerte de Coquimbo). quite small and plaint but effective. nice sound of the waves crushign against the rocks and all.

After 5 hours of touring I made my way back to La Serena and checked out of the residencial. Had to pass 7 hours though as night bus leaving at 1am... decided on cinema and saw a film called Poseidon.....very short and not that gripping so not overly impressed....less romantic version of Titanic lol....

20th: As dreaded, my night bus to Valparaiso (Valpo) was somewhat delayed with one of the more dodgy companies. Nonetheless, we set one our ways and safely arrived there at breakie time. Went to the first party-type hostal the Lonely Planet recommended (El Yoyo) like and woke one of the several wacky "administrators" up who went promptly back to bed...Likewise, I crashed out in a dorm til noon.
Awake, I rang Em & Yaz, those Colombian chicks I went on tour with and since they had already arrived and were beginning their sight-seeing, I joined them. We did a tiring city walking tour - highlights were the many different ships docked in the port and harbour ranging from passenger and cargo ferries to imposing massive second hand jobbies (British bought ships used in Falklands)...

All impressive... Emilia bargained us a little power boat private tour round the harbour to get close up. Another famous thing Valpo boasts is its numerous external lifts climbing diagonally up the sides of its many hillsides. We went for Concepcion, the oldest and best allegedly. From the top we got a nice birds' eye view of the port area of the city though the skies were ominously grey. Lunch was another thumbs up - bussed it to one of the beachfronts and were recommended a delicious seafood resto. To end our outing, we passed through the main assests of they city eg parks, squares, arts and crafts fair, and went inside the remarkable cathedral. Since it was Yasmin's birthday that day, she decided to go out on the lash naturally.

We parted company and I got merry at my hostal amidst the party atmosphere before meeting up again.The hostal ppl were even cooking a BBQ on the street side which was authentic. Being a Friday night and all in this vibrant student city, we thought it best to go out lateish....mistake: first call was a write-off : landed in this posh coupley showoff salsa/jazz club with 2 different rooms and table service. After sitting down at a table moping and watching the pro's at it ie feeling inferior and out of place, we headed out for somewhere more happening. The other recommended place had a ridiculous queue so we headed for somewhere else. La Torre it was: evidently a rowdy immature student night with unique clientele. We blagged it as ignornat foreigners and were shown in. Cover charge was equivalent of 2quid but we were EACH given a free 1.5l of beer lol.?! nonsense! Music was typically studenty with the latino reggatone appearing amongst the cheese and dance. Had fun boogying but was a meat market scene.

21st: taxi guided tour of Valpo's highlands and neighbouring Laguna Verde.

Rather than coughing up ripoff amounts for a tour, the 3 of us outlined our preferences and negotiated a fixed price for a 2hour or so guided ride around the city's outskirts. We scaled the hills, stopped at miradores to appreciate the view, drove along the windy and steep coastline towards Laguna Verde, a semi isolated beach town with no tourism at this time of year.... After the girls had got their shoes and socks wet due to strong unforseeable brisk tidal movements, we were dropped off in a high neighbourhood in Valpo where we would descend gradually, freestyle. On the way, we thought it only right to stop off at Pablo Neruda's house (one of 3 famous houses). This gentleman is a famous poet, writer and multi-international ambassador/political figure who was loved and admired by many in his time...Friends with likes of Picasso. Today, his old house La Sebastiana, very much still in its orignal ship-like form with magnificant view of city, is a musem open to general public. Cool.
Another late fish lunch was eaten at a restaurant beside the one we ate at the previous day haha. Come 5pm, we headed for the cities only true traditional vertical lift, Polanko, accessed via a tunnel carved through the rockface. From the heights, we scanned the skies taking in the silhouettes of the hills in the distance, the many multicoloured houses and the sea extending out...... In the eve, we had heard talk of an Easter Island party or Fiesta Pasquense, going on at a jetty. Our premature arrival at the gig was in vain but proved interesting while it lasted.... the 2 separate indigenous groups were only seting up stage and warming up instruments and voices but we heard a few tunes for free and saw an OHP video of the island's customs and scenery. Bored stiff by midnight and tired, we decided to get outta there.