The squeegee kids have nothin' on these guys! This was at an intersection in Santiago. The previ0us red light was a three person gymnastics performance . . .followed by a request for donations of course. We were on our way to catch catch a bus to Valparaiso. It was about a 40 minute cab ride to the bus terminal ($10 / 5,000 Pesos) and we were able to see more of the city along the way. Some good . . . some not so much!
The picture below is typical of the terrain west of Santiago.
Valparaiso is a port city on the coast. It took about 1 1/2 hours on the bus to arrive and we were unable to book a hotel before arriving. We must have looked lost and bewildered as a young woman approached us and put us in touch with a tourist operator with some English. She in turn got on the phone and found some accommodations for us. As you can see, she did OK!
Look closely and you will see Charlene in front. Below and to the left is a deck overlooking the city where we had a most lovely supper.
Our room . . . yes that's a bottle of wine on top of the bureau!
View from our window looking out towardsVina del Mar.
It was just about the time that we were taking in the view from the room when we realized that I had lost Chrlene's jacket. We still have hope that it can be retrieved but those hopes are fading. As we have come to expect, the people of Chile go above and beyond in trying to help us out. Our hotel people have been most helpful in trying to help us find the jacket. We think that it may have been left on the bus from Santiago. We will go today to the office at the station and see if it turned up.
We still had time before it got dark to do a short tour of the downtown.
The locals were gathering in the park. Check out the tiles. They appear to rise and fall but of course are flat.
We made quick friends with a local artisan . . .
and made our way back home for supper. Para mi (for me) steak with mashed potatoes.
Charlene had Seabass and mashed potatoes. We also shared mushrooms in a red wine sauce and a Greek salad. (Not like any Greek salad we've seen before but good just the same)
Supper on the deck also gave us the opportunity to relax and evaluate where we were, what our expectations were and re-evaluate the master plan. We were both feeling the need to be somewhere that feels like it could be "home". Skype and email are good but they don't replace a hug or a smile from a loved one.
Random notes of interest from our travels so far: Chilean people are warm and friendly even in the big city of Santiago. More than once, people would stop to offer help when we appeared lost. Two women offered to make a phone call for us to our hotel operator in Santiago, when that didn't work, one of the women took us with her to a call center. Two men in the bus station in Santiago made sure that we got to where we needed to be and one man stayed with us until right before we got on the bus. Road system is good, highways are good from what we have experienced. Everyone seems to listen to North American music. The cab driver couldn't speak English yesterday, but he said "Elvis" when he started singing on the radio. Johnny Mathis was up next! We have even heard Celine Dion!!
We are suprised, even in the warmer climate of Valparaiso, how people are dressed in parka-type jackets, scarves, some touques. There doesn't seem to be a great variety of color in their dress, mostly black and earth tones. Women often have spike-heeled shoes that appear impossible to walk in.
It's now 10:30 on Saturday morning, the sun is shining, and we are off to meet with Inez (Our neighbor's cousin). We will report again soon.
Hasta luega!
Norm and Charlene
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