Valparaiso

After surviving our court ordeal in Osorno, we had a nice lunch and then hightailed it to Puerto Mont to catch our flight back to Santiago, but only after making several detours off the highway playing cat and mouse with the volcanoes in the distance trying to get a decent shot.   It never happened,  we even accidentally drove onto a private dairy farm and the owner came out with a stern look.  I thought he was gonna kick our butts, instead he offered up his cute little teenage son to take us to one of his fields for a special viewing spot or to murder us, we weren't quite sure.  Turned out it just wasn't that great of a view but the kid was really nice and lead us to a shortcut to the airport.

We returned our rental car to a confused and dismayed rental agent and made our flight just in time.  We have yet to receive the bill for damages.

The next day our tour guide Sandra showed up right on time for our drive to Valparaiso for a two night stay.  At this point, we were happy to let someone else get behind the wheel.

We made one stop along the way for some empanadas and chicha, which in this part of Chile is made from grapes, unlike the Peruvian chicha that requires large amounts of spit to help with fermentation, at least that's what they told us.

Ok, you'll have to bear with me because Valparaiso is a very photogenic city, a bit gritty and rough around the edges but lots of photo ops because of all the colorful graffiti.  Needless to say I took lots of shots and I intend to post a bunch of them because I thought they were really cool and if you don't think their cool then well, you can't be my friend.

First things first, we took a drive down to the beach to stick our toes in the sand and take in some bird covered rocks.  The beaches are lovely here, but the water is Humboldt current cold.

That's our guide Sandra, she was really funny

That's a real Easter Island block head, the one on the left

Stopped for lunch and someone had a few beers

Took a few photos of the way up the hill to our hotel.  This town was once a major port before the Panama canal got built.  There were a lot of wealthy people living here and the old homes reflect that.  At some point, someone decided that these stately places needed a little color.

View outside the hotel room

Our hotel

It was decidedly Victorian

The streets of Valparaiso are covered in graffiti, the good kind the bad kind, it's everywhere on every street, alley, stairwell, outside restaurants and on storefronts.  I loved it.  We walked all over heading down the hill and then took a funicular back up 'cause that's how we roll.

Outside our hotel we met up with our unofficial guide.  He lead the way all through the street labyrinth and then disappeared, only to reappear at our hotel door.  Very cool dog.

Ok, here goes:

Since I have a rotator cuff injury this one was my personal favorite.

If you are from Austin you will appreciate this little guy.

This sculpture was attached to the side of a building on an empty side street.

We had an amazing dinner that evening.  Absolutely delish.

This little pupster was outside the restaurant.  Why is she dressed in flannel jammies?  Well, obviously it's her bedtime.

Fred contemplating molecular string theory, or waiting for a beer, not sure.

Hotel balcony

I need this passion vine pronto

Just hangin' out in his favorite spot

At 1:00 a.m. on the first night we were here a loud siren started blaring.  It took me about two seconds to realize it was likely a tsunami warning.  Hmm, what to do, what to do.  Not having ever been in a tsunami I sat up listened to the wailing and waited to see if there was the sound of panic either in the hotel or in the street.  Nope, nada, nothing.  I went back to sleep and the alarm stopped after 15 minutes.  I assume it was just an aftershock from the original earthquake that happened days before but no one seemed concerned so maybe they are used to it.

After we returned home, there was a devastating fire in Valparaiso destroying more than 2,300 structures and killing at least 15 people.  Too sad for words, I loved this port city and its history, people and friendly pups.  

On our way back to Santiago, we stopped for a short visit at yet another winery before our final day in Chile.

Here comes our wine order

Back in Santiago I made a new friend

Cough, cough, choke, choke terrible smog in the city

We weren't expecting to see any more interesting birds, but this red-crested cardinal in the park near our hotel was a nice surprise.

These guys are called chinchineros and they were amazingly agile dancers for old, pudgy dudes with heavy drums strapped to their backs

You know, I have to confess that Chile was not at the top of my list of places to visit.  But now I'm completely hooked.  I want to go back to see Patagonia and the Atacama desert.  I'd like to start at the bottom and work my way to the top.  I want to see more National Parks, more birds, drink more wine and eat more seafood. Even with the earthquakes and tsunamis and car wreck this was a very fun, easy trip with our friends Toni and Rich.  The volcanoes, the food, the people, the wildlife.  We will definitely come back, but next time maybe I'll think about springing for the collision waiver on the rental car.