The weekend was fabulous again because I got to see more places on the must-see list! I went with Patricio to Valparaiso and on the drive to the coast from Santiago went over the coastal range, saw many vineyards and grapes growing, and beautiful mountain scenery. On Saturday some of his friends came there too and we had so much fun even though none of them spoke English. Valparaiso is very large and is all hills - you just can´t believe how people build on the hillsides. There are shacks and skyscrapers and it´s the main shipping port for Chile so is quite working class but with many tourists.
Things to do there: You can walk along the coast but it is a shipping coast so no beaches. We took a boat ride in the harbor to see the city from the water and hear about the churches, various historic buildings, museums, and the city´s long history. There are many funiculars (a small car that goes up and down very steep hills) that are used regularly, many plazas and paseos. The paseos are because the city is on hills so these are walkways that look out over the hillside and get you from one area to another. And there are billions of stairs to climb or descend. Graffiti is also abundant and accepted and much of the artwork is really good.
I bought a sweater in Valparaiso made from alpaca wool. The nights are chilly and the sweater is really warm. It will be great for Patagonia! I also bought a hat here because my baseball cap makes me stand out. But I am not buying much because I have to get everything into my backpack.
We also went to Vina del Mar which is adjacent to Valparaiso but is a bit higher class and is not a port. There are tall apartment buildings and a casino and a lovely walkway along the coast with some beach areas but mostly huge rocks with crashing waves. The weekend traffic was bad because so many people go to the coast for the weekend, but it gets much worse in the summer. School will be out for students in less than 3 weeks!
Did I mention Salsa dancing from midnight until 3:30 for the two nights in Valparaiso. Dinner at 9:30 or 10:00 followed by dancing is common. We went to a happening place called La Piedra Feliz - Happy Stone, which has 5 different rooms for music. The two live bands were great and the room with salsa, merengue and bachata music was where we spent the most time. I´m getting the hang of salsa and very much enjoyed watching the great dancers on the dance floor and trying to learn to move my hips like that while keeping my shoulders level. It is not easy.
Travel is ups and downs and I´ve had many ups and met so many good people. Claudia says that Chileans like everything western and will go out of their way to help westerners - that they will be more helpful to me than they might be to another Chileno. I don´t know if it´s true but I can´t even recount how many times I´ve asked for something and someone has walked me to a subway stop or asked people on the street until someone knows what I want (it took forever to find this tiny street that the school is on but enough people helped that I got here!). Of course there are people everywhere eho will rake advantage if possible. But so far it´s been a fantastic experience with kind, fun, and helpful people.
I know it´s getting close to Thanksgiving there and you are all making plans for meals, friends, and family. No Thanksgiving here. I´m sending a big hug to all.
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