We've been to the mountain top!

On Friday afternoon, once again, our friend Ines picked us up and took us on another journey of discovery. In addition to taking us to the Universidad de Vina del Mar where I dropped off another resume, she took us to a place called Laguna Verde on the outskirts of Valparaiso. We weren't sure what to expect, but we headed off over the hills of Valparaiso to see what was there. Thankfully, Ines knew where she was going! As previously mentioned, Valparaiso is a city to the south of Vina del Mar, and it is built on a series of very high, steep hills. It is truly an architectural marvel as to how houses were built and how they remain standing on these hills. There appears to be no real system to the streets. It is a mishmash of curving roadways that intersect with the occasional yield or stop sign thrown in. How there aren't more collisions is
amazing!

Since we have been in this area, we have always been on the ocean side of the hills of Valparaiso. We wondered what might be on the other side, and Ines helped us to find out. Once we were on the outskirts of the city, on top of the hill, we moved into an area of green vegetation. Ines said people go to the area for camping and day trips to the beach.

Along the way, there were lookout points to admire the view....
The video was shot at 4:00 with the sun descending over the Pacific.







We then began the long journey down the hill to the playa (beach).....



This is the pueblo (village) of Laguna Verde with the road down the hilside in the background.....



This is the playa....



We had noticed these trees the day before in the park at Laguna Sasaulito, but we weren't sure what they were. Ines told us they were eucalyptus trees. They appeared to be at the end of their season, but we weren't sure. We couldn't quite communicate with Ines regarding our questions about the trees. We're not sure if they always shed their bark as the following picture shows....
We do know that the "berries" that fall off the trees smell really good!





While enjoying a cold treat in Laguna Verde, we received a call saying that the phone company would be coming to hook up the internet in our apartment. Wooo Hooo! That was an appointment that we didn't want to miss so we quickly headed back to our side of the mountain.
There was, however, time to stop at this lookout point (punto de vista). This shot looks over Valparaiso and somewhat north towards Vina del Mar.




OK . . . our apartment (departamento) is now wired and Saturday would bring a short bus ride (20 minutes) up the coast (via the inland route) to the gastronomic centre of Chile, ConCon (slight emphasis on the second syllable).

When you don't know where you are going, finding the right place to get off the bus can involve a little guesswork, and perhaps a little faith. We parted ways with the bus and looked up to see a sign for a tourist information booth. Yes, it was open . . . and yes, the host spoke English! Good start.

The first stop on our tour of ConCon was a wildlife sanctuary. Apparently unparalled in Chile, it seemed like it would be home to several species of birds. I say "seemed" because we didn't see any. We were given a personally guided tour by the young man in in the picture. You can see display panels in the background that outline the different species. Ironically, if we were to look 90 degrees to the left, there was an oil refinery and a chemical plant!






Earlier, I mentioned that we were in the gastronomic centre of Chile. This was good because we had previously wondered about the seeming lack of seafood on the restaurant menus. This is a country dominated by two geological features . . . . mountains and ocean. There must be fresh seafood here! The street that fronts the ocean is literally lined with restaurants and proprietors in front trying to convince you to try their particular establishment. Essentially, we flipped a coin and picked a spot where it appeared some locals were hanging out.

Charlene picked some sort of fish and shellfish soup. While ordering, she was given the option of ordering a larger size with a greater variety of sea critters. She wasn't sure just what might be in the soup, so she proceeded with caution and got the smaller size!



Ummmm . . . interesting is the word I will use for now! The waitress told Charlene that this was a large mussel and assured her that it was indeed edible.



My pick was a shellfish omlette. Now I don't normally take pictures of our meals but this had to be done!



I finshed mine because I was hungry and can rarley bring myself to leave anything on my plate.
Charlene however, just couldn't bring herself to eat most of what was in the bowl. The broth was good!! I am sure it was good . . . . just not for our particular pallettes.

The next few hours were spent miandering southbound down the coast. The plan was to walk for as long as we felt like walking and then catch the bus back to Vina. For the most part, the further we walked, the nicer the surroundings became. The highway separates the beach and walkway from the homes so we could stay on the ocean and see the homes along the way. (sorry, no pics of the homes)



Pelicans are plentiful around here. Plenty for them to eat I guess.



The next two shots are what local buses here are like. (The reason for these shots will soon become clear.) They are much smaller than the transit monsters in Canada. This one is quite new but most are not.





On with the story . . .
When the time came, catching the bus was easy.
The ride home . . . not so much!!
When we got on, there were no seats available, but that is normal and not a problem. As we continued on, more and more people began to cram on board. Just when I thought that we were at about double capacity, the driver stopped and more people got on, and then more! This picture was taken after a dozen or so had gotten off and I had room to take the shot. Rounding the coastal corners and hitting the bumps in the road made for quite a ride.



Having made it safely back to Vina, we disembarked and walked the remaining mile or so back home. ("home" . . . it's a nice word that can now use!)

In an earlier posting we mentioned the popularity of flying kites. There are normally several in the sky along the beach and today was no different.



Random notes: This could prove to be an interesting week as Thursday is NATIONAL DAY. (I believe that it will be Chile's 198th birthday) We have heard much about this holiday. There are normally plenty of Chilean flags visible, but over the past few days we have noticed even more. Many cars are being decorated with flags and ribbons bearing the red, white and blue of Chile (and the Montreal Canadiens!). We have been also told that this celebration can last up to a week! Tomorrow we will stock the shelves as we understand that all stores will close on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Stand by for National Day updates and hi-lights!

Amor,
N & C