Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, and the Chilean Coast

With one of us in recovery from our excursions in Chillan, we needed a relaxing break on the coast. We headed to Valparaiso, a colorful coastal Chilean city surrounded by mountains. Valpo is a port city and it's close neighbor, Viña de Mar, is a gorgeous beach town. We spent our first full day exporing Valpo and all it's magical splendor. Like the infamous La Boca in Buenos Aires, Valpo's hills are covered by brightly colored houses and it's port is full of strikingly colored boats, rafts, and battleships!

"The hills are alive.."

We walked the coast and the feria artesanal near the port. From the port we headed up to explore the surrounding hills. Back in the day, Valpo built local elevators to easily transport people up and down the various hills that surround the city. These funiculars are cheap and still used by locals and tourists alike. We took the ride up and got a glimpse of Valpo's real charm. Like it's houses and ships, the colorful theme continues with elaborate graffiti through the narrow slanting streets and various never-ending staircases. Although a bit run down, Valpo's unique and classic architecture mixed with it's modern graffiti street murals, make for an eclectic atmosphere. We walked the town's plazas, boutiques and art fairs until we could walk no longer.


Beauties at the port
Art al fresco

The next day we headed to Viña del Mar to explore the beaches. We were really hoping to rent a moto and provide ourselves with a self-guided tour on wheels, but unfortunately motos are not common place and we had no such luck. Viña was beautiful, touristy, and a classic resorty beach town. It sports Vaplo's old school elegance (just a bit more well-maintained), with the luxury of sandy white beaches rather than a ship-filled port.


Viña's Playas

We explored the town and the beach, and when we couldn't find a single affordable place to eat, we hit up the local Pizza Hut for a little taste of home! Delicious!Spent after another full day on foot, we returned home to Valpo to plan our next adventure!

Valpo & Viña del Mar Photo Gallery

Classic Valpo centro
Up in the hills
Battleship anyone?
The local funicular
King of the hill
Que hermoso!
My name is Aaron and I'm an...
Jews and Chileans unite!
Sun baking & marinating
Lovely headless statue!
Crashing waves
White sandy beaches

Snowboarding at Nevados de Chillan

Depressed after leaving Pucon, we headed north in Chile to Chillan. Chillan is 70 km from another skiable volcano and we were ready for a day on the slopes! As soon as we got off the bus, Aaron got to talking with a taxi driver, requested a hostel recommendation, and contracted him to take us all in one fowl swoop. When we showed up at El Rancho Criollo, we asked him to wait while we took a look at the rooms because we weren't very convinced!

Welcome to El Rancho Criollo!

After seeing the dingy back room they had available, we decided to check a few other "alojamiento" options. We drove past the next gross option without even bothering to get out of the car, and the third (although more bright) only had a set of bunk beds for us. Bunk beds were fine by me, but Aaron felt strongly that it would be best to return to the first place, so the driver took us back to square one. Not feeling super comfortable with his recommendation, I was reluctant to stay at El Rancho Criollo. Luckily, they had a much bigger, cleaner room up front that although currently occupied, was going to be available later that night.

We dropped off our stuff and headed to check out the town. We ate delicious churrascos (like a Chilean philly steak sandwich), walked the market, and checked out how we could get to the slopes the next day. Of course the only bus left at 7:50 am and only took you to Las Trancas, 8 km from the ski resort. The rest of the way had to be reached "a dedo," a.k.a. hitched. We woke up bright and early, had breakfast, packed sandwiches and finally made it to the slopes! After figuring out my shoe and board size, we set out on our first snowboarding lesson: Instructor Aaron and Pupil Daniela!

Looking ready??

After testing our patience for nearly two hours, Aaron released me to go practice on my own. I decided to take one of the "easy" routes down through the forest and only hoped to make it down in one piece. Needless to say, I was like a shit show, wiping out every 10 seconds... full frontal face plants, side swipes, 360s, and ass plants. I had a 9 year old ask me if I needed help, that she and her 6 year old sister whizzing around me on skis could help me get up! Additionally, the Chilean Carabineros (police) were on a two week winter camp learning to ski, and this also happened to be their first day. They went down in groups and would gather on the side of some runs to continue instruction. Finally standing, "riding a snowboard," feeling the breeze in my hair, I approached a group of Carabineros and without fail, ate shit right in front of a whole line up! I couldn't disappoint! After practically an hour and a half, I finally made it to the lower lodge... in rare form, but alive! Aaron and I rounded out the day and headed back to town, exhausted. If only I had a video camera on me all day, you'd be able to see why Aaron had to rub tiger balm on my ass! Surprisingly, the hostel turned out to be wonderful; tons of hot, hot water, great water pressure, and a nice breakfast. Couldn't ask for anything more...

Chillan Photo Gallery

A gorgeous place to snowboard!
Headed up to the real stuff..
Views from the diamonds!
I made it to the lower lodge..
And back up for more!
Alive and in one piece!
Surprisingly quaint hostel..
Three legs are better than none!