Vina del Mar and Valparaiso
Today we were treated to a day in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Valparaiso is one of the major ports in Chile and is where many of the initial settlers landed. It started as an English colony and some of the streets have English names - a bit jarring.
There is a lovely plaza in Valparaiso that is decorated with the spoils of a war with Peru. An amazing fountain graces the center of the plaza and there are many interesting statues around the perifery.
Valparaiso is built on the sides of hills (much like San Francisco). The streets are steep and winding so funiculars were built to take people up and down the hills. Most of the existing funiculars are a century or more old. We rode down the hill on one near the Naval Museum that had spaces between the floorboards. We all survived so it was safe enough it's doubtful it would pass any safety inspection in North America.
After our death defying funicular ride we headed to Vina del Mar. We strolled along the beach where we saw puppet shows and looked at the wares of the local artisans. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset as we sat in a waterfront restaurant. (We had all ordered coffee but the waiter forgot our order so we ended up with a front row seat at no cost.) The beauty of this place made us all a bit whistful for our loved ones. It would have been lovely to share it with them. Perhaps another time.
We did finally find a lovely cafe away from the beach where we had coffee and onces (snacks). It's apparently THE meeting place in Vina del Mar. The coffee was great and the tortes and sandwiches delicious.
Several of the team members had purchased wine at the various wineries we have been visiting so we did a bit of wine tasting this evening. Vladimir (our GSE laison in Chile) has an apartment in Vina and we we watched the night lights of Vina and Valparaiso from top of his 21 story building.
Tomorrow we have almost the entire day with no program. We've had a number of outstanding experiences so far on our trip, but it will be nice to stroll along the beaches, sit in the sun and not worry about a schedule for a day.
There is a lovely plaza in Valparaiso that is decorated with the spoils of a war with Peru. An amazing fountain graces the center of the plaza and there are many interesting statues around the perifery.
Valparaiso is built on the sides of hills (much like San Francisco). The streets are steep and winding so funiculars were built to take people up and down the hills. Most of the existing funiculars are a century or more old. We rode down the hill on one near the Naval Museum that had spaces between the floorboards. We all survived so it was safe enough it's doubtful it would pass any safety inspection in North America.
After our death defying funicular ride we headed to Vina del Mar. We strolled along the beach where we saw puppet shows and looked at the wares of the local artisans. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset as we sat in a waterfront restaurant. (We had all ordered coffee but the waiter forgot our order so we ended up with a front row seat at no cost.) The beauty of this place made us all a bit whistful for our loved ones. It would have been lovely to share it with them. Perhaps another time.
We did finally find a lovely cafe away from the beach where we had coffee and onces (snacks). It's apparently THE meeting place in Vina del Mar. The coffee was great and the tortes and sandwiches delicious.
Several of the team members had purchased wine at the various wineries we have been visiting so we did a bit of wine tasting this evening. Vladimir (our GSE laison in Chile) has an apartment in Vina and we we watched the night lights of Vina and Valparaiso from top of his 21 story building.
Tomorrow we have almost the entire day with no program. We've had a number of outstanding experiences so far on our trip, but it will be nice to stroll along the beaches, sit in the sun and not worry about a schedule for a day.
posted by Maggie at
9:06 p.m.
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