5th Stop: Chile

Although we have already been in Chile prior to this post I had to follow the pattern and label this country as my 5th stop!

We leave San Pedro around 5:30 pm, heading to Calama, an hour away, where we would have to switch busses, as we were not able to get a direct bus to Santiago, being they were full by the time we got money and could actually reserve a seat. The bus ride to Santiago is 21 hours and I was dreading it!! To my surprise the bus was surprisingly pleasant! Not too cold, not too noisy, just peaceful for once! We stopped at another terminal/hot dog stand along the way for a late dinner and then, back on the bus I was asleep by midnight, having 2 full seats to myself, as the bus was pretty empty. I was exhausted, after not having slept the last few nights due to the cold and having to wake up early for tours. I slept until 6am, when I woke up to someone who just got on the bus, telling me politely that I was in his seat. I have never slept a straight 6 hours on a bus; this was monumental! We watched plenty of movies, took naps, journaled a bit and took pictures out the bus window. We have spent many nights on busses, but this was a night and almost the whole next day type of ride!! We stop for a late lunch around 3:30 in the afternoon. The weather was nice at this stop and was probably the first time in days that I could remove some of my layers! We hop back on the bus, watch another movie and then arrive in Santiago in the evening. We have a couple days before our Easter Island flight and had planned on either getting our Santiago sightseeing done beforehand, or heading to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, two cities a little outside of Santiago. We decide on the later of the two. So, as much as we're tired of being on a bus, we decide to switch busses yet again and hop on one to take us to Viña del Mar, about 2 hours away. This bus ride was a cake-walk! We got snacks, crossword puzzles, and bible verses from our crazy, religious bus attendent, who wanted so badly to practice his English with us. At first he was cute, then it just got annoying and creepy!

We arrive in Viña and hop in a cab, heading to Che Lagarto hostel. It´s dark outside, we're tired and hungry, and of course our cab driver gets lost! After asking for directions quite a few times, we approach the hostel. It looks super sketchy and has long, dark stairs leading up to the entrance. It was like out of some kind of horror movie, making us hesitant to even ring the doorbell. The gate swung open and we walked up the stairs. Once inside, the scariness was lost as the hostel was filled with smiling faces and warmth! We get beds in one of their dorms, walk to the closest sandwich stand, which we fall in love with and end up eating at several times in Viña, and then head next door to Cafe Journal, where we indulge in beers and french fries! We then head home to bed, as we have a lot to see the following day.

On Tuesday July 20th, we wake up early and you'll never believe this but we realize that it has been 8 days since we last showered!! Gross! We did have good reason though. Well, in Copacabana we really had no excuse other than that it wasn't a priority at the time, La Paz we never actually had a hostel, our jeep tour there were not showers available, well there was one, shared amongst 20 plus people, but no hot water, so not worth it. Then in San Pedro it seemed pointless to shower because it was so sandy and dirty. And now this brings us to Viña, where there is finally hot water and we are finally going to shower, yay! The shower is amazing and I feel like a new person, ready to start the day!

The city of Viña del Mar, officially named vineyard by the sea, is known for it's beaches in the summer, and is lined by palm trees, gardens and parks. We walk along the beautiful coastline, trying to picture this as a beach town, but with the frigid air and lack of people around, it`s hard to imagine. Never the less, it's a beautiful area to take some pictures and stop for a beer along the coastline, or in our case, hot chocolate! We get a tour of the Castle, Castillo Wulff, along the shore and marvel at the abundance of hotels and casinos on the other side of the river, a more touristy area. We then check out some markets and a bookstore before heading back to the hostel in time for check-out.

It´s now time to explore Valparaiso! Thanks to Mike back home, I had been given some advice about this city and how things work, however we still found it very confusing to navigate! Valpo is known as being one of the most ¨unusual¨cities in Latin America, according to Loney Planet. It is a city lined with brightly colored houses, chaotic hills or cerros, a maze of steep streets/alleys and stairways, escaleras. It is filled with ascensores, or little cable car elevators that take you up to different cerros in the city, but for some reason we had a hard time actually finding these things, or at least functioning ones, as many were out of commision. We buy some carmalized nuts, get followed by a mob of stray dogs, and consult our map. We take a colectivo, taxi, to Pablo Neruda´s (a famous Chilean poet) house/museum because we got frustrated trying to find the ascensor to take us here and right as we pull up, it starts raining! Of course we came to Valpo with nothing more than a purse and our fleeces, no rain coat, no umbrella, not even tennis shoes, as we were told by locals that it was suppose to be sunny and warm up that afternoon. Not the case. We hide out in a little cafe drinking hot chocolate again and sharing a grilled cheese sandwich, but finally realize we don't have much time in this city and we have not yet experienced an acensor; I was determined to find one!! We decide we need to brave the rain. At this time it is raining cats and dogs, probably some of the hardest rain we have seen on this trip! We keep walking, laughing along the way about how wet and cold we are, wondering how we get ourselves in these situations. Literally we look like drowned rats by this point, and our wet shoes are squishing as we walk. We happen to see a really bright stretch of colorful houses and run over there to get a picture. Out of nowhere appears an acensor, and it's actually working! What a relief! I have been searching all afternoon for one and we finally found one! We hopped in the little cable car/elevator and off we went! This felt like how Valparaiso is suppose to feel! We were still bummed it was so cold and rainy, as this city is known for it's bright houses and colorfulness, and unfortunately some of the beauty was lost due to the weather conditions. It was still tons of fun and I can see why people love this city!

At this point it was gettig late and we had to get back to Viña to catch a night bus, so we stopped again for another hot drink, this time tea, and jumped on a bus back to our hostel in Viña. We change clothes, warm up by the fireplace (where we also try to dry our clothes, so we don't have to pack them soaking wet) and then return to both our favorite sandwich place and Cafe Journal for beer and fries, a total reinactment of the previous night We return to the hostel one more time, (buying some alcoholic beverages and bread from a panaderia along the way, hoping these will help pass time, as we'd be spending this night in the airport) chat with the guy at reception, teach him the Soulja Boy dance, as it's playing on the radio and then we head to the terminal to catch a bus to the Santiago airport. From here we will be leaving for Easter Island in the morning! Rapa Nui here we come!