Viña del Mar, Chile

Harbors and Beaches

I finally made it to Viña del Mar, an hour drive to Santiago, with 3 days before it was time to let go of the bike.

Viña was a good place to take a last breather.  It´s a modern, clean and bustling city directly west of Santiago on the Pacific.  It has good beaches and good restaurants.  It´s also nearly empty in May, since its too cold to enjoy the beach, which wasn´t necessarily a bad thing.  The place gets really crowded during the summer when the crowds in Santiago try to escape the heat and the smog in their city.

Valparaiso is Viña´s older, more colorful and more ragged cousin further west along the coast.  For most of Chile´s history it was the largest port in the country, as well as a major stopping point for ships heading around Cape Horn.  The result is a city full of maritime character, but with its vices as well.

Today Valparaiso has rebilled itself as an artist´s city - real estate is cheap and the views are spectacular.

I spent a couple of relaxing days here, wandering, along with a day-trip to wine country in the cool-climate Casablanca Valley.  It was a good book-end to the days of driving.

Colorful homes in Valparaiso, Chile

More colorful architecture, Valparaiso, Chile.  This kind of color is everywhere.  It´s a unique place.

Valparaiso, Chile

At the home of Pablo Neruda, Valparaiso, Chile

Pablo Neruda´s house, Valparaiso

Colorful street, Valparaiso, Chile

Valparaiso, Chile

Colorful, expressionist graffiti.  Valparaiso.

Art or graffiti?  Valparaiso.

Valparaiso, Chile

Is it just me or do even the dogs have a little bit of an old sailor vibe to them?  Valparaiso.

Psychedelic graffiti, Valparaiso

The hippie quarter in Valparaiso.

Another weathered and mellow dog in Valparaiso.

Valparaiso, Chile

South America´s first stock exchange, Valparaiso, Chile.  Originally used to trade shares in outbound trading voyages.

More modern but with less character - the coast near Viña del Mar, Chile

New luxury highrises in Viña del Mar, Chile

It´s too cold for most beachgoers so the dogs and pigeons have taken over, Viña del Mar

Some of the best manicured parks in South America, Viña del Mar

Central Viña del Mar

A look down the center of Viña del Mar

Chilean Volcano

Boston.com has some incredible pictures of the eruption.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/06/volcano_erupts_in_chile.html

The volcano is located is the south, between Puerto Montt and Bariloche.  

Incredibly, a lot of the roads in those pictures look familiar.... the road with the woman with the red umbrella, the border post, San Martin de los Andes... I hope everyone there is OK.  

Polish Airlines

To protect our customers from loosing money in case of an airline bankrupcy, we are offering this ticket insurance. This insurance covers refunds due to airline bunkrupcy up to max. 1.500,- EUR per ticket.


Not sure what is worse, the fact that there is bankruptcy insurance or that they spelled bankruptcy as ¨bunkrupcy¨and losing as ¨loosing.¨

May 18-19: 1,001 Miles of Atacama

Being back in Chile has been better and worse than I expected.

The minute I stopped at a COPEC - with its espresso machine, free wi-fi, and endless supply of 93, 95 and 97 octane gas - I felt both completely relieved and completely deflated.  I was safe.  But my adventure had just ended.  

This part of the drive was long, and parts were just as beautiful as anything before, but coming back through Chile I knew that every mile would be safer and more comfortable than the mile before.  There wasn´t any more anxiety about Bolivia, or getting lost, or having a problem with the bike.  If the bike broke down, I could throw it in the back of a pickup and haul it to Santiago.

The road is the only north-south route through the desert and takes most of the mining traffic.  If it wasn´t for the mines there wouldn´t be anything out there at all.  It is dead all the way to La Serena, where I stopped at the end of the second day, and where signs of life start to appear.

My first night was in a fishing village basically in the middle of nowhere.  It was a nice place.  I caught an inn by the water and could hear the ocean outside my window (what a change from 4,000m at Potosi!).  I got dinner at a hot dog cafe where the whole town goes for a hot dog, soda and some soaps or sports on the big screen TV.  There were kids, families, grandmas, married couples - it was like something out the 1950s.  There´s something comforting about small town Chile.

I stopped in La Serena for a few days to decompress and get back online.  The city has a gorgeous 10 mile stretch of beach which is nearly deserted at this time of the year.  Rates are low, and I grabbed what could be a studio apartment for a shockingly low price.  There are some good places to eat along the water too and it´s been good to fill up on steak and wine again... the prices aren´t quite as good as Argentina but they aren´t bad either.

So from here it´s a straight shot to Santiago - although I have so much time that I´ll make another beach stop at Valparaiso along the way.  It turns out I was way too generous with the time to get here... I almost expected to get stuck somewhere in Bolivia for a few days, but here I am.  Just over a week to go...

All mining, all the time.  Here are those giant mining trucks making it down the highway . all the traffic from the opposite direction, move over!

They are so freakin big.

Then there´s this in the middle of the desert.

It´s taken a bit of wear and tear from the locals.

Shredded tire... looks really grim out there.

Just follow the road... and don´t break down!

A different look at those mining trucks.  They make the fence look like a fake miniature fence.

Working on my tan in the sunniest place on the planet.

Smelters and other exciting mining industry in the desert.

Open road.

My token mars lander shot.  It kind of looks like Mars from this angle, doesn´t it.

Everything is so far away!

Nice little beach at the fishing town.

Another bizarre phenomenon - the world´s most productive fishery right next to the most dead part of land in the world.  There would probably be more fishing villages, but there´s literally no way to get water out there, so folks live around the few places with some fresh water.

More shrines for drivers.  

It´s like the big sur, but more brutal and desolate.

Detour through the red desert.

There are tons of seagulls and pelicans out in the water - you can see that huge flock floating there in the middle of the picture.

Cool contrast of jet black road, earth and sky.

Here´s a sandy beach - it would be inviting with some palm trees and shade!  But it just feels so isolated... beautiful, but not really a place I`d want to stop and relax.

More mining-related industry... these are tanks full of sulphuric acid.

A little pro-Chilean copper company advertising.  The loading point of copper for all Chileans.

Back to civilized society... private cars, nice gas stations.

Even a place to wash your hands and face!

Did you forget anything?  They are so nice.

Delicious.  Follow the truckers.

These guys run some awesome gas stations.  There´s usually free wi-fi, an espresso bar, hot sandwiches, clean bathrooms and good service.  I love them.

Wind turbines in a valley - I definitely felt the wind!

Ginormous cranes - probably still under construction.