This is the Cerro Castillo palace, the summer home of Chile's presidents. It is located in Vina del Mar. Vina was established as Valparaiso's seaside resort in the mid-19th century, and it is obviously a tourist mecca. We are here at the beginning of the spring season, and even now, it is possible to imagine what it might be like during the height of the summer. We looked into renting an apartment today for one month, and prices are elevated because of the national holiday that takes place on September 18. It would seem that everyone comes here for the holiday in both September and the summer season Dec-Feb. We have decided that we want to be as far away from here as possible during Chilean summer!
This is the casino in Vina del Mar. It is a huge building right on the waterfront. Ines said that gambling is not a big problem here in terms of addictions, etc.; however, we have noticed that many people are buying lotterty tickets in the grocery store as well as betting on the horses and listening to the races on the radio.
This was an unexpected view from the shore along the highway to Renaca. This is all sand up in the hills. Ines referred to it as "the dunes". The highway separates the dunes from the ocean.
More views along the coast. Looking south towards Valparaiso. This city was established as a major port in 1541 by the Spanish. It is one of the first Chilean cities founded and was the main port for Santiago. It became less important after the building of the Panama Canal.
Our friend, Ines with Valparaiso in the background.
A shot of Valparaiso from one of the many heights. It is an amazing city in that it is built on hills surrounding the ocean. We have never experienced streets and driving like we have in Valparaiso! We were thankful that Ines was an expert driver. She got through spaces and tiny entranceways that would seem impossible. She also could teach many of us how to parallel park; although often, there were street attendants guiding people into parking spaces. We never could figure out how the parking attendants actually were assigned to areas. They just seemed to be there, and Ines would pay them 200-300 pesos (25-30 cents Cdn.) for their service. We have yet to see a parking meter.
More examples of the twisty, winding streets......
Norm just had to go into the ocean. He was not only the only man wearing shorts that day (although it was a beautiful sunny day), he was the only person in the ocean!
People here are still bundled up in their warm clothes, parkas and scarves.
A Canadian in Valparaiso.....
The houses here are very brightly colored and appealing to the eye, although one doesn't have to look too hard to see the poverty. The higher in the hills we went, the more obvious the poverty became.
The other thing that is a real issue is the stray dogs and their waste. One must be very careful walking or an unpleasant surprise will end up on the bottom of your shoe! The dogs are a sad reality in the streets. Ines said that many people do not spay or neuter their dogs, and puppies end up on the streets to survive however they can. We saw so many dogs that were sick and thin. Some were injured from who knows what (possibly cars), and were limping along the street. They don't seem to bother people or beg for food, but are happy if they get a handout.
There are also many stray cats, but they seem healthier. Perhaps they have more access to food in the form of birds and mice....
Because Valparaiso is built on hills, the streets are very steep. People ride in ascensors/funiculars up the hills. There are 15 of these located throughout the city. They are like trams, hauled up the hills by cables. Some of them appear as though they shouldn't be carrying people anywhere, let alone up a steep hill, but they are apparently safe. Most of them were built in the early 1900's. We rode in one with Ines.....
Random notes......hotels don't seem to have facecloths. When we were in Santiago, I attempted to ask our maid for a facecloth. Of course, she didn't speak English, and it turned into her giving us a sponge to wash the dishes. Once we had checked into our third hotel, we came to realize that facecloths are not used here--at least in hotels!
Another thing we wonder about is the average Chilean income, what a monthly budget for food might look like, etc. They seem very family-oriented, and children seem to receive lots of positive attention. We wonder about daycare, etc. Do both parents tend to work? We will attempt to find out about these things.
In closing, our time with Ines was incredible, and we feel that we have made a true friend of the heart. However, I must mention that she spoke less English than we did Spanish. We communicated amazingly well throughout the day; however, one funny incident occured during lunch. We agreed to let her order for us, and when she asked us if we liked "choclo", we assumed she meant chocolate. We couldn't figure out why we would have chocolate with our potatoes, but we soon realized that "choclo" means corn!
Until next time.....Love, N&C
1 comment:
Great photos and interesting stories about the places and people. I have to ask. How warm is the ocean? I would imagine that it's a lot warmer than around Victoria. I tried chatting with you on skype and emailng and calling (skype)but no luck. Looking forward to hearing from you someday soon.
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