Share Viña del Mar y Valparaiso, Chile
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Over charged in a taxi and the worst burger of my life started Viña off well.
Walking Tour
Made our way to Valparaiso on a local bus with a driver that thought we were on the converted streets of Monaco for the F1. We were not, but we sure got there quick! We took corners without breaking and when someone wanted to get off, we sure did hold on to our teeth!
So with whatever dentures I had left we had a walk to the harbour as as usual we were an hour early for the tour. Got to see some sort of bird diving into the water from a great height trying to catch fish below the surface. Great sight to see.
On the tour we wound round the twisting maze of streets, a lot of the ‘streets’ marked on the map were in fact staircases and not streets at all. We found out the different fire stations in the area and how none of the architecture made sense. Of course we picked up the obligatory pack of stray dogs on our way round too, they really are the most stupid but friendly dogs you can meet.
Valparaiso used to be the most wealthy port in Latin America until the Panama Canal was opened In early 1900s, it was now a completely different story with buildings rarely maintained. Sections of the city are world heritage site but even that is falling to pieces. If you want to renovate one of the wrecked houses on the site you must use all of the original materials making it more cost effective to start from scratch.
Mastodonte
On a recommendation from Max we went to a restaurant called Mastondonte as they have ‘the best’ Chorrillanas. It’s a good sign when you make it into the basement that pretty much the whole place is eating the same thing. It was pretty amazing!
After a couple of Mojitos in a local bar we caught the Metro back to Viña and stopped off for a drink or several. We got well watered and the next day Brogan suffered the worst. Being the top gent I am I volunteered to go to the shop, a 15 minute walk away, to get us some water and recovery food.
So after being gone for about 45 minutes I realise as I get to the gate of hostel I had forgot the water. Instead I came back with a large tub of brownie ice cream, gummy bears, bread, sausages, crisps, a tub of mayo and a tub of hot sauce. I was the only one that enjoyed the hot dogs I made as we watched Toy Story 3 and played the waiting game.
Terminal on Fire!
After waiting all day for our bus we got to the bus terminal to see it was on fire. Everyone was waiting in the street for their buses where fire hoses were breaking and almost drenching a couple walking down the street.