All's well in Vina
It´s been a few days since I have been anywhere near a computer... which means lots of travelling around and an update on my plans.
We couldn´t make the trip to Buenos Aires because the hotels were sold out. This past weekend was a long one with Monday as a holiday, and it seems that everyone takes the opportunity to exit the country. That means no chance for us to get a cheap flight-hotel package but also fewer crowds at the places we´ve visited. We spent Friday and Saturday in Santiago, which is quite nice for such a large city. Stray dogs everywhere, but not too much trash. And every once in a while, we could get a hit of Starbucks just when we were yearning for home (or caffeine). Starbucks is the new McDonald´s (which are also everywhere, including special McDonald´s booths that sell only ice cream -- desserts are very popular here). When I travel and am craving a bit of home or something familiar, I used to go to McDonald´s. Now it´s Starbucks, even though it is incredibly expensive for here. Otherwise, things aren´t too bad. The subway is very cheap, modern and clean, with beautiful artwork at every station, so we used that a lot. Driving and taxis seem ... um... less tourist-friendly. Some might say downright scary, and definitely an adventure to figure out the routes.
A´s friend/colleague drove us up to the city overlook, and then we walked back down and around through the markets, past the Santiago home of Pablo Neruda and through the museum part of the city. Yes, I bought stuff. You know me! Prices here aren´t too bad, but neither are they a bargain. Now is the low season though because it´s the end of winter. Good thing for me if I want to buy good, cheap shoes (but I won´t because I don´t need them... as much as I may want them!). The other thing is that no one bargains here. You cannot haggle in the markets or get any kinds of discount for multiple purchases. The price is the price. The positive side of that is that foreigners don´t get charged more. The price is the price.
On Saturday, we took a bus down to a small pottery village called Pomaire, about an hour South of Santiago. We took the main bus down the highway and then hopped off at the exit to Pomaire where we followed an old man carrying a load of something (we couldn´t figure out what the heck it was). He started walking down the road towards Pomaire when a local bus came along, honked at us, and the three of us ran to catch it into the town. Definitely travelling local style. Pomaire was cute and quaint and full of pottery. Yes, I bought. Ugh, travelling back is going to be interesting with the breakables. Then, to get back to Santiago, we did the bus-hopping in reverse. Local bus to the main highway and then flagged down the main bus. Can you imagine standing on I-95 or some similar main highway and waving a Greyhound bus to stop? That is essentially what we did, and that´s just the way it´s done. There was even a young guy on the side of the road to assist us. I couldn´t tell if that was his job, but it seemed to be because he didn´t get on the bus. It was a fun little trip. Once back in Santiago, we hopped the bus to Viña del Mar, where A lives.
On Sunday (yesterday), we decided to go to the favorite house of Pablo Neruda in a small seaside town called La Isla Negra, about one 1/2 hours down the coast from Viña. The day started out gorgeous, but by the time we got there, it was freezing, and I didn´t have enough clothes on me for it. Oh well. Lesson #1 about Chile: changeable weather. Ooops. The Neruda house was really, really interesting. I have to admit that I didn´t know a whole lot about him before this trip, so I learned a great deal. Definitely worth the rather substantial entry fee (3100 pesos, about $6 US). For a communist, he certainly collected a whole lotta stuff! Masks, shells, glass, bugs, ship masthead figures... you name it. And a beautiful view of the sea from his bedroom.
Then we came back to Viña. Today is the holiday (something religious; we don´t know what), so it was a slow day for us. We did laundry, walked around the city, did some errands, etc. Nothing too exciting, but a good overview of her daily life. We saw dinosaurs (sand sculptures along the beach), jugglers at stop lights trying to earn a bit of cash and the ever-present sidewalk peddlers. There are also a number of street people/beggars, but nothing too shocking; nothing like North American cities.
Tomorrow, A will go to work, and I will spend the day in Valaparaiso. It´s supposed to be a lovely city, so let´s hope the weather cooperates. Wednesday afternoon, we jet off to Easter Island, a five or six hour plane ride into the Pacific. It should be really interesting. We´ll spend five days there, so I don´t know where I´ll next have the chance to give you an update. Easter Island should be fabulous though, so fingers crossed for good weather there too!
I am finding that my Spanish is holding up okay, especially given that I took one year back in 11th grade. I find the accent really difficult to understand, unfortunately -- and they speak really quickly here. But I´m getting along fine. Between butchering Spanish and English... I´m getting around well enough.
Hope all is well at home. Miss everyone!
We couldn´t make the trip to Buenos Aires because the hotels were sold out. This past weekend was a long one with Monday as a holiday, and it seems that everyone takes the opportunity to exit the country. That means no chance for us to get a cheap flight-hotel package but also fewer crowds at the places we´ve visited. We spent Friday and Saturday in Santiago, which is quite nice for such a large city. Stray dogs everywhere, but not too much trash. And every once in a while, we could get a hit of Starbucks just when we were yearning for home (or caffeine). Starbucks is the new McDonald´s (which are also everywhere, including special McDonald´s booths that sell only ice cream -- desserts are very popular here). When I travel and am craving a bit of home or something familiar, I used to go to McDonald´s. Now it´s Starbucks, even though it is incredibly expensive for here. Otherwise, things aren´t too bad. The subway is very cheap, modern and clean, with beautiful artwork at every station, so we used that a lot. Driving and taxis seem ... um... less tourist-friendly. Some might say downright scary, and definitely an adventure to figure out the routes.
A´s friend/colleague drove us up to the city overlook, and then we walked back down and around through the markets, past the Santiago home of Pablo Neruda and through the museum part of the city. Yes, I bought stuff. You know me! Prices here aren´t too bad, but neither are they a bargain. Now is the low season though because it´s the end of winter. Good thing for me if I want to buy good, cheap shoes (but I won´t because I don´t need them... as much as I may want them!). The other thing is that no one bargains here. You cannot haggle in the markets or get any kinds of discount for multiple purchases. The price is the price. The positive side of that is that foreigners don´t get charged more. The price is the price.
On Saturday, we took a bus down to a small pottery village called Pomaire, about an hour South of Santiago. We took the main bus down the highway and then hopped off at the exit to Pomaire where we followed an old man carrying a load of something (we couldn´t figure out what the heck it was). He started walking down the road towards Pomaire when a local bus came along, honked at us, and the three of us ran to catch it into the town. Definitely travelling local style. Pomaire was cute and quaint and full of pottery. Yes, I bought. Ugh, travelling back is going to be interesting with the breakables. Then, to get back to Santiago, we did the bus-hopping in reverse. Local bus to the main highway and then flagged down the main bus. Can you imagine standing on I-95 or some similar main highway and waving a Greyhound bus to stop? That is essentially what we did, and that´s just the way it´s done. There was even a young guy on the side of the road to assist us. I couldn´t tell if that was his job, but it seemed to be because he didn´t get on the bus. It was a fun little trip. Once back in Santiago, we hopped the bus to Viña del Mar, where A lives.
On Sunday (yesterday), we decided to go to the favorite house of Pablo Neruda in a small seaside town called La Isla Negra, about one 1/2 hours down the coast from Viña. The day started out gorgeous, but by the time we got there, it was freezing, and I didn´t have enough clothes on me for it. Oh well. Lesson #1 about Chile: changeable weather. Ooops. The Neruda house was really, really interesting. I have to admit that I didn´t know a whole lot about him before this trip, so I learned a great deal. Definitely worth the rather substantial entry fee (3100 pesos, about $6 US). For a communist, he certainly collected a whole lotta stuff! Masks, shells, glass, bugs, ship masthead figures... you name it. And a beautiful view of the sea from his bedroom.
Then we came back to Viña. Today is the holiday (something religious; we don´t know what), so it was a slow day for us. We did laundry, walked around the city, did some errands, etc. Nothing too exciting, but a good overview of her daily life. We saw dinosaurs (sand sculptures along the beach), jugglers at stop lights trying to earn a bit of cash and the ever-present sidewalk peddlers. There are also a number of street people/beggars, but nothing too shocking; nothing like North American cities.
Tomorrow, A will go to work, and I will spend the day in Valaparaiso. It´s supposed to be a lovely city, so let´s hope the weather cooperates. Wednesday afternoon, we jet off to Easter Island, a five or six hour plane ride into the Pacific. It should be really interesting. We´ll spend five days there, so I don´t know where I´ll next have the chance to give you an update. Easter Island should be fabulous though, so fingers crossed for good weather there too!
I am finding that my Spanish is holding up okay, especially given that I took one year back in 11th grade. I find the accent really difficult to understand, unfortunately -- and they speak really quickly here. But I´m getting along fine. Between butchering Spanish and English... I´m getting around well enough.
Hope all is well at home. Miss everyone!
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