Of the nightlife of Viña del Mar

I'm in Valdivia now, but I still have more to post about my time in Vina.

I was busy for most of my time in Vina. Going out to do stuff during the day and being out till late at night didn't leave me enough time to post about everything I wanted.

From Chile D4

One big difference with Chilean culture is that people party till late. Very late. Most people don't go to the discotech or bar till a good bit after midnight. Then the places usually close at about 5:00am. I found myself making full use out of my midday siesta in order to keep up with the sleep I needed.

I went to one bar/disco several times during my stay. The place was just two blocks from the hostel so I couldn't pass it up. Everyone from the hostel would end up in Cafe Journal.

Cafe Journal   From Chile D4

Before heading to Cafe Journal I had margaritas with buddies from the hostel and the biggest fajitas meal I've ever eaten. From Chile D4

One of the nights I felt like taking it easy and going to bed early. It didn't happen. The hostel turned into a party. Visitors from Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, England, and Australia all ended up lounging in the hostel common room. I worked my way through conversations in Spanish with them and we all had a great time swapping stories of our travels.

From Chile D4

It was probably just how it was the middle ages where travels and traders like Marco Polo passed through towns. Lots of people, stories, languages, and of course beer.

One of the most popular beers in Chile is Escudo. I learned from the naval museum in Valpo that it actually means shield. Here I am with the 1200 peso bottle of it. I'm red-faced mainly from the sunburn I got earlier that day, but I'm sure the beer didn't make it any less red.

From Chile D4

I never ended up going to the club "El Huevo" in Valpo which has six different dance floors. Every floor plays a different type of music for people to dance to. If I go back to Valpo I'll have to visit. Cafe Journal played a lot of popular dance songs and one night it was American rock classics. I spent a good bit of the night dancing with the Chileanas .

Of Museo Maritimo Nacional; of Cerro Alegre; of Vaplaraiso;

On Wednesday I went to Valparaiso for the day. The city is just south of Vina del Mar and is one of the main attractions in Chile. It is an old city with many winding streets, buildings all over the steep hills, and a lot of urban art.

Here it is for the artillery hill above the harbor.   From Chile D3

Since it is a big tourist city there is also a lot of petty crime. It isn't one of the safest places. Everyone in the hostel was telling me to just watch my back and don't flash my camera around too much. I also went with my program buddy Max so I wasn't walking the small back alleys alone.

On top of Artillery Hill is the Naval Museum   From Chile D3

It was an easy metro ride to get into Valpo and then Max and I headed up to the Museum.

From Chile D3

It was all about Chile's naval heroes. Lots of boat models, firearms, swords, and things recovered from ships. There were about two rooms dedicated to the forts and battle of Valdivia (the city where I am now). Valdivia had the third largest fort system in the Americas back in its day.

Exhibit about the 33 Chilean miners      From Chile D3

From Chile D3

The museum was huge. So many rooms all filled with the history Chileans are so proud of. After getting through the museum it was time to find some lunch. And since we were in Valpo it had to be seafood.

I forgot to take a photo of my salmon, but here is the soup they gave us at the restaurant.    From Chile D3

We ran into two girls Max knew for a hostel in Santiago. They were both traveling Chile and joined us for a drink.   From Chile D3

Then we went up to Cerro Alegre which was filled with lots of art shops and streets decorated with amazing graffiti.

From Chile D3

From Chile D3

Of Valpo;

I'm heading off to Valdivia tonight. I have a lot more photos to post up but I've been busy. Went to Valparaiso yesterday. It is an amazing town. Art all over and lots of small streets winding up the steep hills.

Of the beaches of Viña;

I slept in till about noon today after partying it up with others from the hostel till about 5:00 last night. Today the plan was to go to the beach. I went with two other guys from the hostel. We took our time walking around Vina trying to find the best beach.

Hostel buddies Max and Harry

On the way we saw skim boarders on an small beach. They were a lot of fun to watch. The seawall created a second sideways wave which they would use to surf around the beach.

We made our way along the beach to a nice place to swim and relax. After warming up for a bit on the beach it was time to go into the water. The waves were huge and the water wasn't that cold. It was still cold enough that after a bit of time you start to chill down.

And some of the street dogs would pass through now and then looking for a cool place to sleep or someone friendly enough to feed them.

We spent a good bit of time at the beach. It was a lot of fun playing in the surf and being out in the sun. My white Seattle skin now has some red color to it.

Of the flight; of Obama

 After lots of flying I'm finally in Chile! I think it ended up at 20 hours of flying and airport time. But now the worst is over. Now I'm in Vina del Mar at the Che Lagarto Hostel and ready to rest.

But first I visited Santiago, the capital of Chile. I got in just after sunrise and couldn't even see the city. It is because it is all flat. All I could see were some distant hills obscured by smog and morning haze. Then it all easy getting through immigration and customs. I could finally feel relieved after seeing by bag roll by on the conveyor belt.

I hoped on a bus and went to the main bus center to meet up with Max who is also part of the Valdivia program. Since I got out of the airport so fast I had some time to explore. I went to check out Parque Quinta Normal. Since it was so early (Chileans like to sleep in) it was pretty much empty so I took the time to adjust all of my bags.

I saw this cool building, but it was closed so I couldn't find out what it was.

Obama also entered Chile today. My schedule is not going to meet up with his since I'm in Vina now. Chileans don't like him much. They had some anti-Obama rallies the other day and I have seen some posters and graffiti about him telling him to leave.

Just so everyone knows I'm loving Chile. It is nice and hot. I'm taking it easy today since I've done so much traveling, but tomorrow I'll be getting down to the beach.

Of the start;

I'm sitting at seatac now and ready to head off. A few hours and I'll be in Atlanta. In a lot longer I'll be in Santiago. I'm ready for this.I've had 7 Spanish classes and no I get to use them. Time to see the south. And I mean Chile, Atlanta. I'll post pics when I get out my laptop and if Atlanta has free wifi. Right now I'm just waiting to start my travels. How did those first explorers feel waiting for their ship to sail off to a new land? I'm sure they didn't have KEXP streaming, but I'll go for it.

Of the preparation;

In Just about two days I will be here! Viña del Mar, Chile.

But until then I still have a lot of packing to do.  I have already been surfing around Google Earth and around internet travel guides and I have found hundreds of places I want to visit. I know I'll at least see some. The country is so big there there are sure to be things I'll miss and other things I'll just stumble upon.

This post is a few about the things I want to see on my travels.