Chillin' on the Chile Coast

Following our Colca Canyon trek we have been taking it easy along the north coast of Chile.

The border crossing from Tacna, Peru to Arica, Chile was uneventful. For $12 we went in a 'shared' taxi (they go when the taxi is full.......3 in the front, 3 in the back) but it proved to be a good move because it was about 20 km's and the taxi driver took care of the paperwork so we only had to go through customs with our backpacks and passports, and then we got dropped off close to our hostel in Arica on the coast. We stayed there for 2 days and got some rest and laundry done (which most hostels will do for you at a very cheap rate....$2-3 per kilogram).

The next day we took a 22 hour bus ride south along the coast to La Serena, another nice beach town. The seats reclined into beds so we got some rest along the way when we weren't watching the 6/7 movies that they showed along the way........no repeats on any of the buses so far. While we were in La Serena we took a full day tour of the Elqui Valley (an hour inland) where we visited 2 Pisco distilleries/wineries, a huge dam (to support agriculture in the valley vs. power), a small museum dedicated to a very bright young lady and Nobel prize winner (Gabriela Mistral), and had a tasty lunch of Pastel do Choclo (cream corn, chicken, hard-boiled egg, olive done in a casserole) where everything was cooked in solar ovens. That evening the tour finished with a trip to the Observatory Mamalluca where, under clear skies, we had great views of the stars, galaxies, nebullas and the rings around Saturn.

We then took a 6 hour bus ride further down the coast to Valparaiso which is close to the central part of the country and 100 km's from Santiago where we will go to next. Because of the city's age, we have noticed more damage from last month's earthquake - nothing too serious but supporting our decision to not travel further south down the coast.

Yesterday we got our exercise in walking around the city which is built on hills facing the ocean. Many of the roads are cobblestone and there are many ascensors (a small cab/escalator on rails) to assist people getting up and down the steep slopes. We took one for the experience (50 cents) but the other times we walked up nearby steps (160 on the one we counted). The slopes provide wonderful views of the city and the ocean in this interesting port city (300k population). The homes are painted bright colours which on their own would look unpleasant but together it is an appealing visual against the hillsides. There is also a tremendous amount of grafitti, most of it tastefully done, and an incredible number of homeless dogs. The dogs are very tame, often sleeping in the middle of sidewalks, and the locals feed them but they haven't toilet-trained them yet so you have be very careful where you step.

Today we took a local bus to Vina del Mar, 15 minutes up the coast where there are nice beaches and many condos. It is a resort city for the well-to-do from Santiago. Tomorrow we will spend another day walking around Valpo before heading off to the capital city, Santiago, on Friday.