On Tuesday 8th November, I missed my Flash Pack crew as the final members left Santiago. However, I did the big tourist bus thing and booked myself a ‘Turistour’ coach day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar for roughly £40.
It was a big coach jam-packed with tourists, many of whom were older. Hence, less active than my recent excursions. Plenty of sitting on the bus and pitstops where we got out, took a few snaps and got back on! That said, I think it was worth it because the stops became longer as the day went on and I had the chance to see the sea. Our bilingual coach guide told us Chile has an average width of 177km and is roughly 4200km length (I’m taking his word for it) and so far in my travels I had not spent time on the extremely long Chilean coast.
Vina del Mar
Our main stops in the Garden city were the flower clock and the beach. The former stop required the quick tourist photo whilst on the coast we had a bit more time to walk in the sun. We also had our set menu lunch which included quite a bit of alcohol (pisco sours and wine) hence I was a bit sleepy when getting back on the bus! I made friends with Annette from Washington State, USA (in her 30s… we both wanted more walking stops) and Gerardo from Colombia (a doctor who was in town for a work conference without his family.)
Valparaiso
This port town was the star of the day. It is a Unesco world heritage site where we saw beautiful colourful neighbourhoods filled with street art and steep hills going down to the sea. Our tour group was told not to worry about the stop being over an hour because the walking was all downhill!
We wandered down the historical part of the city to Sotomayor square and the port. For about 6 USD, you could opt to go on a motorboat ride. I enjoyed it as I saw great views of the town from the sea and plenty of industrial containers, cranes and ships. We also were shown a couple of sea lions sitting on a rig. Quite random!
Goodbye Santiago and Chile
After the long coach drive back, I grabbed some dinner at Chipe Libre in Lastarria with Annette who I met on the tour. This was my second visit to the restaurant as we had our final flashpack dinner there the previous night. Excellent wine by the glass, fresh zingy ceviche and a nice long chat. I liked the setting of high ceilings and Republic of Pisco murals.
The next morning after picking up my washing (what satisfaction), I headed to see my old friend, Santiago airport (4th time I think in 2 and a half weeks.) I felt very content in the taxi ride through such a beautiful city in the sunshine. Chile has been wonderful… I was now embarking on part 3 of my South American adventure. Peru and Bolivia with my friend Adam from uni!
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