6 days in Vina del Mar… so much to say. We were fortunate enough to be lent a colleague’s vacation apartment right on the beach in Vina - away from the Gringo hotels in a prime area. Our own place afforded us the flexibility that we really needed with the kids. We explored the beautiful coastal city – drove up the coast as far North as Maintencilla, where we passed through gorgeous coastal towns lining the cliffs of the Pacific but also through some interesting Chilean industry [this part added by Jeremy for industry nerds: we passed by a Codelco copper refinery and LNG regassification facility at Quintera, as well as the ENAP refinery just north of Vina which supplies Chile with about half of its refined oil products]. Earthquake interrupted operations only temporarily - its back to business as usual]. Maintencilla was very laid back and off-the-beaten path beach town – had it been warm and sunny, it would have been flooded with people, but given the foggy cooler day, we had the beach to ourselves. Jackson was a real dare-devil, heading straight into the waves and William explored the rocks and collected kelp specimens. We enjoyed a few beers on the beach and a snack before continuing back South-bound towards Vina, and stopping for lunch at a sea side restaurant where we enjoyed fresh calamari, chili shrimp and conger (a kind of white fish native to the Chilean coast). Jackson was in a particularly disruptive mood and insisted on screeching at a couple of older fellows in the restaurant, who thought he was really cute and amusing, which only fueled the fire! It was one of those meals in a fancy restaurant where you wolf down your food and gulp down your wine as quickly as possible, so that you can get the heck out of the restaurant before your kids overstay their welcome! Needless to say we got expedited service.
On other days we strolled around the city, taking in a tour in a horse-drawn carriage, visiting a 19th century castle built by a German industrialist, museums and enjoying a dinner of cheese, baguette, roasted chicken and fine Chilean wine on the beach while the kids chased (and were chased by) waves on the sea shore. Most days the chilly fog that rolls off of the Pacific and gets trapped by the seaside hills did not clear until mid-afternoon, but by Thursday we were lucky enough to get a stretch of beautiful sunny and hot days that started in the early morning. The city was very quiet during the week but by Maundy Thursday it regained its spirit as people flooded in from Santiago and surrounding areas to enjoy the long weekend. Fortunately Vina has a Starbucks and is filled with playgrounds – which is all any parent really needs :)
Jeremy and I alternated taking runs up and down the coast, along the beautiful cliffs overlooking the strong Pacific waves that roll in onto the mixture of rocks and sand.
On Good Friday, we ventured South to the historic port city of Valparaiso, where we drove along the costal cliffs and circled into a random neighbourhood looking for beach, but finding a beautiful street high up in the hills looking over the port of Valparaiso. We watched the freighters loading and unloading shipping containers, enjoyed some shopping and ventured down through the twisting and turning streets to the city below (after visiting the Naval Academy Museum). We found ourselves in a sketchy part of town, but soon landed in the main Sotomayor square in front of the picturesque Armory were we had a traditional Chilean lunch. The architecture of the old city of Valparaiso was fascinating – most buildings were late 1800s and beautifully detailed - clearly it was a city of wealth at one time (before the Panama Canal rendered Valparaiso less prominent). We took a wrong turn and ended up on another mountain in the city, with another beautiful view, then had to painstakingly make our way back down the steep hill with the stroller and kids, only to retrace our footsteps back up another steep incline to where we parked the car. It was extremely beautiful and an awesome workout!
We just arrived back in Santiago and finally have internet again. We'll get better at posting messages on this blog and WILL add pictures soon!
On other days we strolled around the city, taking in a tour in a horse-drawn carriage, visiting a 19th century castle built by a German industrialist, museums and enjoying a dinner of cheese, baguette, roasted chicken and fine Chilean wine on the beach while the kids chased (and were chased by) waves on the sea shore. Most days the chilly fog that rolls off of the Pacific and gets trapped by the seaside hills did not clear until mid-afternoon, but by Thursday we were lucky enough to get a stretch of beautiful sunny and hot days that started in the early morning. The city was very quiet during the week but by Maundy Thursday it regained its spirit as people flooded in from Santiago and surrounding areas to enjoy the long weekend. Fortunately Vina has a Starbucks and is filled with playgrounds – which is all any parent really needs :)
Jeremy and I alternated taking runs up and down the coast, along the beautiful cliffs overlooking the strong Pacific waves that roll in onto the mixture of rocks and sand.
On Good Friday, we ventured South to the historic port city of Valparaiso, where we drove along the costal cliffs and circled into a random neighbourhood looking for beach, but finding a beautiful street high up in the hills looking over the port of Valparaiso. We watched the freighters loading and unloading shipping containers, enjoyed some shopping and ventured down through the twisting and turning streets to the city below (after visiting the Naval Academy Museum). We found ourselves in a sketchy part of town, but soon landed in the main Sotomayor square in front of the picturesque Armory were we had a traditional Chilean lunch. The architecture of the old city of Valparaiso was fascinating – most buildings were late 1800s and beautifully detailed - clearly it was a city of wealth at one time (before the Panama Canal rendered Valparaiso less prominent). We took a wrong turn and ended up on another mountain in the city, with another beautiful view, then had to painstakingly make our way back down the steep hill with the stroller and kids, only to retrace our footsteps back up another steep incline to where we parked the car. It was extremely beautiful and an awesome workout!
We just arrived back in Santiago and finally have internet again. We'll get better at posting messages on this blog and WILL add pictures soon!
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