Santiago, Valparaiso & Vina

I’m not a fan of big cities, I’ve realised. My main reason for going to Santiago was for my Canadian visa.
While still in Chiloe, I’d chatted to Andreo on FB. We’d met at the hostel in B.A. He mentioned that he might join me when I headed north (in B.A.) so we caught up. Ironically he was in Santiago and once he heard that I was in going there, offered me a place to crash. Awesome!

Andreo worked about an hour from his place, so I had the day to explore Santiago. One of the first things that people associate with Santiago is the smog. It is so bad, you can’t see that there are mountains surrounding the city or even see where most of the streets end. At least there was some nice places to visit. There is a hill in town where there is a library and an old Spanish fortification. The water fountain is beautiful and you get to climb to the top of the fortification, giving you as good a view as you could hope for with all the smog. Afterwards, off to the Plaza de Armas to see the sights.

There is the usual at the plaza. Church, Museum and lots of people hanging out there. The museum was closed :( but the church was beautiful. The sculpture of an angel holding down a demon with his foot and about to spear it, got me thinking. I have had a fairytale picture in my head about the roles of good and evil, which I have tried to correct. Being good is not always being nice, accommodating and gentle. Sometimes there are things that need to be done, like killing a demon with a spear. Not talking sense into the demon. Sometimes it just doesn’t want to listen.

As I have mentioned before, it is nice to see that people are using the plaza’s in the South American cities. No different here. On a little stage, like the type where musicians would perform a summer concert, many people were squaring off at chess. Tables, chairs and even timers. This was serious stuff. About 20 people cluttered around one table, I’m guess these guys had an epic tussle going.

Sightseeing done, I headed for Andreo’s place. Well actually his girlfriend’s, Amparo, flat. It was great to catch up, but as usual I try to tell my whole journey. Much is lost in telling the story of my experiences. We had a great time none the less. Since I had completed my visa stuff, I had no real desire to stay in Santiago, but rather go to Valpariso and Vina del Mar. Amparo’s parents live in Vina and offered to have me stay at her folks house. Great!

Fountain in the middle of town – View from an a hill in town. See the smog? – The ruin on the hill

   
Stained glass window in the cathedral – Cathedral from the outside

Huge flag – Replicas of the Easter Island statues

So the next day I set off for Valpo & Vina. Andreo and Amparo were kind enough to allow me to leave most of my stuff at the flat, so travelling was a lot easier. Valpo & Vina are close to each other, so I went to Valpo first. Amparo recommended that I go to see the house of Pablo Neruda in Valpo. He was a Chilean poet and was a bit eccentric, as most poets seem to be, which showed in the decor of the house.

Valpo is a bit of a Bohemian town, I’ve been told, but I guess expectations are meant to be shattered…I was not super impressed. It has quite a dark feeling to me. Maybe I’d like it more with time. One cool thing of the town are the vernaculars that are scattered around the place. Some have become quite expensive as they have been turned into tourist attractions, but as usual I was able to find one that was still used by locals :)

The rest of the day I walked around Valpo and was chosen as the new best friend of a street dog. I scolded him at the harbour, which he thought meant that I was his new owner and followed me for about an hour. After listening to some Cuban music on the main plaza, I ditched him before leaving for Vina. Amparo’s mom and sister were home, and I had a warm reception. I also had to practice my Spanish because they didn’t speak much English.

I had a look around Vina the next day before having to return to Santiago. Vina has a colder feel than Valpo as it is where most of the business are based, but still not impressive. At least the walk did me well.

Pablo Neruda's house – Pavement decorations in Valpo – Random street (Valpo) – Jip, even these people park badly :)

 
View from the Vernacular – Chilean Navy headquarters – Canadian flag in Chile???

The Cuban band…who’s CD I bought had no music on it, just random photos $&*#

Flower clock in Vina – Seaside road – “Castle” on the rocks

Bridge over the river in Vina – Same “river” a bit further from the sea – Bible verses written on the rocks

 
Sand art: Homer passed out :) – Some more – Not sure what this statue is for, but it looked cool

Back in Santiago, I picked up my visa. I must’ve misunderstood the time it takes to process as I picked it up a day earlier than I expected. I didn’t mind :) I started making plans to go to Mendoza for 3 days to visit Tago (who I met through a mutual friend, Nick).

Andreo and Amparo were once again great hosts (thanks guys) and I was able to have a bit of a late sleep in before taking the bus to Mendoza. But honestly, I was happy to get out of the big city.