Today we woke up with the uncertainty of what we would do. So, we ate our free breakfast of cereal and bread and tried to wake up. We called a wine and bike tour; however, it was 80,000 pesos each ($160 CAN). We opted out and decided to go to Valparaiso instead. This is a city located on the ocean.
Getting to another city is an adventure in itself. The man at the hostel said it was very easy; I beg to differ. When you don't speak the native language and are given incorrect instructions then it's more complicated. Thank goodness for iPhone apps.
At Valparaiso, there was a lady that tried selling us a city tour. She told us all the good spots and then asked us to come on the tour. We didn't want the tour, but we now know where the good spots are. Darren and I decided to walk the city. We first walked through the market, even though most of the city is a market. We passed mountains of rotten food and mountains of good food. I think to myself, the health codes here are a lot more slack, as I look at a cat sitting on a large bag of onions. The stray dogs are numerous here as well. None of them are skinny, I'm assuming they eat the large mountains of rotten food. In the market, I was able to buy a pair of sunglasses for 1000 pesos ($2 CAN); excellent buy!
We stopped for lunch and Darren ordered a solo hamburger and I ordered a vegetarian sandwich. When the meal arrived, Darren found out that solo means only meat and bread; he should have ordered the complete hamburger. My sandwich was delicious with tomato, greens beans, avocado, mayo and eggs; I suggest making this at home.
Darren and I walk close to the ocean, which doesn't actually smell like the ocean. We see a staircase and climb up top too see the wonderful view of ocean, hills covered with colorful houses, graffiti covered walls, palm trees and lots of power lines with wires hanging out everywhere (Ian would lose his mind seeing these open wires). We can also see some 'elevators' going up the hills.
We walk through downtown where there are more vendors on the side of the streets, narrow sidewalks and busy roads. Everyone j-walks here. If there are no vehicles coming then people cross the street, even the dogs know when to cross the streets.
We head towards an 'elevator' to go to the old part of town. This elevator is a people mover (much like a tramway) and transports people up or down the hill for a small fee. This elevator was at about a 60 degree angle, apparently it was quite steep in comparison to the other elevators in town.
We arrive in an area with lots of colorful buildings with cafes, restaurants and more vendors. There is this one orange building that I've been attracted to since I saw it on the staircase. It is a hotel and restaurant with umbrellas shading the customers on the balcony. A cemetery is on the other side and is built into the hill as well.
We walk down the hill and notice the colorful walls of murals and graffiti. There are even trees growing out of the cement walls.
We venture to the port where there are more vendors (apparently handcrafted, but not handcrafted). We see tour boats lined up, big freight liners and an endless amount of sea-cans.
We then take another elevator which overlooks the ocean. This elevator was only 30 degrees. At the top there were more vendors and stray dogs. We stopped in a old building decorated with antiques for a refreshing glass of vino; spicy vino, but delicious. We sat beside an open window that viewed the endless ocean.
Now, it was time to make the trip back to our bus station. Darren and I walked quite a ways, so the walk was slow. On the bus ride back to Santiago, there are more vendors - water, snacks and bread (pan). There are pan shops everywhere and it is delicious here!
Back in Santiago, we go back to the hostel. We pass the bridge with what we call the chocolate milk river. So far, all of the creeks and rivers look like chocolate milk; I'm assuming it's because the soil here is a different color.
In the evening, we try the other big bottled beer 'Cristal' and we also went out for supper. The stray dogs watch you as you eat and they are so cute, but you know they have fleas and they won't leave you alone if you feed them. These dogs even have their own territories and growl at each other if another dog tries entering another dog's domain.
Now, back to the hostel. Another long day finished and time for bed!