Valparaiso, Chile

After another border crossing from Mendoza we arrived in the ocean town of Valparaiso.  The city used to be a bustling port as it was on the trade routes that went around Cape Horn.  But after the opening of the Panama Canal, it has since transformed (declined) into the eclectic, charming “bohemian” place it is today. 

The view from our hostel.  With steep, winding streets, the ocean nearby, and closely-packed, colorful wooden houses, it slightly resembles San Francisco.

 

A series of old, wooden ‘ascensors’ (elevators) help residents contend with the steep hills

Graffiti art and murals painted on many of the buildings added to the unique charm of Valparaiso

 

Forests of Eucalyptus trees

Chile’s wine country, on the same general latitude as Mendoza but on the western side of the Andes.  One last winery in South America for good measure.

Another notable destination around Valparaiso is the home of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.  He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971 and was said to be a huge influence on Chilean society, both past and present. 

His home (called ‘Isla Negra’), perched along the Pacific coast, is where he did most of his writing and entertaining of Chilean high society.  The house looked more like a museum full of amazing artifacts from around the world… Neruda was an incredible collector of all things interesting and artistic.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside his house.

Winding along the Pacific coast, we stopped for a quick bite at the quaint fishing village of Quintay

During the remainder of our stay, we visited the nearby town of Vina del Mar, which was extremely accessible via a 20 minute train that ran right along the ocean.  As we spent so much time there, as well as had a wonderful Thanksgiving there with our friends Vicki and James, Vina will need a post of it’s own :-)

Take great care, be back soon!

Jen and Scott

Mendoza, Argentina

After an 18 hour overnight bus from Salta, we would reach long-awaited Mendoza.  Now further south out of the desert highlands of Chile and Argentina, we were greeted by cool, moist air, palm trees, flowers… and vineyards in every direction! 

It felt like a completely differently country from the north… very European-looking, lots of greenery and a more laid-back vibe. 

Our first day there, we walked around town to get our bearings and recoup from the long bus ride the day prior.  We spent time meandering around the beautiful Mendoza city park…

And, of course we had to do a wine tour!  Our tour took us to 3 wineries in the region (out of more than 1000 wineries in Mendoza) where we learned a bit about wine production, the history of their wines and the wine culture of South America.  We mostly enjoyed the beautiful countryside and vineyards. 

An enormous and delicious lunch spread… with all you can drink wine!   

Our last day in Mendoza, we caught up on some trip planning research, hung out in the courtyard at our hostel,  and went to our first “asado”… a traditional Argentinian barbecue. 

Currently in Pucon, Argentina (after another 12 hour bus ride we finally made it to ‘Patagonia’!), we’ll be catching up on another post or two before heading off on our treks. 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Salta, Argentina

 

We had some time to kill as our bus from San Pedro to Salta was delayed several hours.  We were quite entertained taking pictures of all the cute (and not so cute) animals that roamed the streets and town square.  Here are a few favorites  :-)

The “Michael Bolton” dog……..

While we were waiting in the square for our bus, a little girl was running around with two little puppies.  They snuggled up to our packs, we think they wanted to join us!

On our (12 hour) bus trip from San Pedro to Salta we came down out of the Andes, through the clouds and back to a more comfortable elevation.

Salta was merely a stop-over point for us before heading to Mendoza.  We wandered around the town square, taking in the sights, but didn’t really *do* anything (which was a nice change of pace!).

I (Jen) FINALLY got a tamale, it was fantastic!

 

We just left Mendoza, Argentina and are currently back in Chile (Valparaiso… on the Pacific coast close to Santiago).  In Mendoza, the internet was so awful that we were not able to post.  Hoping to catch up on posts this week before we leave to begin our treks in Patagonia on Friday.

Hope you are doing fantastic, and take care!

Jen and Scott