Valparaiso

We were up relatively early this morning and at 8 AM were the only people at breakfast. After breakfast Allan rested and I worked on photos and the blog before we headed to Valparaiso at about 11 (the breakfast room was filled at that time).  The drive to Valparaiso is mostly along the beach road and the ride was uneventful.  We took the photo on the left from atop a hill leaving Vina Del Mar and the photo on the right from atop a hill we climbed searching for a funicular.  In contract, Vina is beautiful and Valparaiso is shabby, at best.

We spent the better of two hours walking, hiking and driving (Allan drove while I attempted to navigate) in “the hood” trying to find a funicular.  Ultimately, we did find the one we had been searching for, with street art from contemporary artists on the wall along the steep ride up and an open air art fair at the top, BUT it was closed for repair.  So, we gave up looking for funiculars and found our way to the port.  There was a small arts and crafts fair in Santomayor Plaza, an area dedicated to war heros.  I had chocolate covered strawberries on a stick and after a bit more strolling, we split a completo—hot dog on a soft roll with tomatoes, guacamole and mayonnaise.

We agreed that it was good, but would be better with a really good hot dog—Nathan’s.  After watching people and the boats touring the harbor we decided to leave Valparaiso for the relative quiet of Vina Del Mar.

The beaches along Vina Del Mar were busy, people jogging, children playing and swimming, a group exercising to music, people riding bicycle carts, and people shopping at open air markets.  It reminded us of Venice Beach in California.

We ate dinner at a small restaurant that Allan discovered on the Internet, Donde Willy.  It was obviously a local hit that didn’t really get started until we were finished.  Our food was good and after dinner we walked along an active street, past a busy park and along the sea wall.  We managed to find ice cream to close our stomachs.

The Vina Del Mar area is in the center of a widened horseshoe with Valparaiso at one end and (probably) Con Con Beach at the other end.  The lights of Valparaiso with Wolff Castle as seen from the sea wall at Renaca is below.