Everyone slept in until 9:00 am.
We are getting used to this Chilean lifestyle!
After a light breakfast we began our tour of the area, following the coastal
drive. We went from Vina to Valparaiso, stopping at several locations to hike
to view points.
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| View from the Apartment balcony |
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| Along the Coast |
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| Sea Lions Sunning Themselves |
In Valparaiso we parked and began walking through the old city.
We took a funicular (cable car) part-way up the hillside.
Everything is built on hills.
At all times you are walking up or down hills, there are no level areas. The old city of Valparaiso, settled primarily by Germans & British, had no plan or layout of the city – everyone wanted a view of the sea, so they just built where they wanted to.
To distinguish your house, you had to paint it a bright color – different than you neighbor's.
Valparaiso is known for its old colorful homes. However many of them are in need of repair.
It has become an artist area with boutiques of all sorts tucked in homes on these narrow hilly streets.
It was a very interesting and enjoyable morning.
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| Unusual Building Shape |
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| Colorful Restaurants and Hotels |
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| Unusual Restaurant |
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| Narrow Walking Street |
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| A long way down or up the stairs |
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| Colorful Houses |
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| Enjoying his tea and the sun |
We even went into an old German Lutheran church and an old Anglian church in
the old part of Valparaiso – very interesting.
Queen Victoria donated the organ (largest organ in city) to the Anglian
church.
When back in the car we drove
around the Naval Acadamy overlooking the sea.
This natural harbor on the Pacific Ocean is the focal point of both
cities.
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| Lutheran Church |
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| Anglican Church |
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| Large Organ Donated by Queen Victoria |
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| Stained Glass Window over the Alter |
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| More Streets of Valparaiso |
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| Group Photo from Valparaiso Overlooking the Harbour |
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| Entering the Funicular |
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| Down we go |
Back in Vina Del Mar we had reservations at "The
Calipso Restaurant".
Once again we began
our lunch with a Pisco Sour! Seafood is a must, as a fishermen’s union
owns the restaurant, so everything is absolutely fresh.
Our host knew the waiters so we had an extra
special meal.
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| A Delicious Lunch of Sea Food at "The Calipso" |
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| A Pelican Sunning Himself |
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| A Friendly Sea Gull |
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| Another Coastline View |
Back at the vacation apartment we had a short nap
before beginning the return drive to Santiago at 6:45, arriving back at the apartment by 8:30.
Our co-host's
children were already at the apartment along with their special friends – the
son is getting married in June, and the daughter’s new boyfriend was there to
meet the family for the first time.
The
new boyfriend is reported to make wonderful Pisco Sours, so he volunteered to
make them for everyone tonight. Wow! They were good!
After two, everything was good!!
We had a wonderful evening visiting as we
continued to eat!
The son BBQ’ed several
great pieces of beef to go along with potato salad and other fixin’s.
As I said earlier, Chilean’s dine instead of
just eating.
It was 1:30 before we went to bed!
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| Our Host Family after Dinner |
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