Sister Visits Part II: Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, and Santiago

Hey there!  Welcome to the second installment of "A sister visits".  So, after our trip south (well, even further south) we spent a day or so in Santiago before heading east to spend a few days in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.  We spent most of the time in Viña, but I'm sad to say that after all of the previous traveling, we were a bit beat and although we did walk along the coast, we did not take many photos!  Here is one from our first night though:

We mostly hung out at the nice AirBnB place that we rented, enjoying food, wine, and beer!  There is not a big beer culture here (probably because wine is HUGE), and the "craft" beers that you can find in the store that are Chilean are still very pricey.  We did however find some Leffe Blond, which I had first had when I was in Europe... and it was actually a bit cheaper than the Chilean "craft" beer! It was thoroughly enjoyed.

So, Viña was mostly relaxing, but we did take the metro over to Valparaíso for an afternoon walking tour.  I really liked Valpo!  It will definitely be on the list for future exploration!  The walking tour focused on a bit of the history of Valparaíso and also on some of the many murals.  A bit on the history later, but first, photos!

There are 40 some odd hills that make up Valpo. So stairs... lots of stairs...

Fortunately there are also "Acensors" or funiculars!  This was one that we took.  The oldest one that is still running opened in 1883!

Street art!

This mural is by INTI, a Chilean street artist from Valparaíso whose work can be seen in cities across the world.

Some flowers on the hill.

I really did love all of the colors! This one is by Chilean artist, Teo.

Ok, so historically, Valparaíso was an important port because it was a stopover point for ships going through the Straits of Magellan to cross between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  However, the Panama Canal opening in 1914 was a huge economic blow for the city, and only in recent years has the city started making a comeback. Tourism has picked up due to the fact that in 2003, the historic quarter of Valparaíso was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I could go on, but I won't :-)

After our trip to the coast, we had just a weekend left before it was time for Missy to fly back to Chicago.  We relaxed some, ate some good food, and went on a wine tour!

This was taken in Santiago before we headed South. Of course, Missy and I loved this statue.

Sisters on Cerro Santa Lucia

While on the tour of Viña Concha y Toro we got to eat grapes!  They were ripe and tasty!

Texas Burger from Loom Brewing... seriously good! Oh, and some good beer!

Happy Camper!

Before Missy left we wanted to get in a typical Chilean dish... so here we are (and funny George face in the background).  This is Churrasco a lo Pobre ("poor man's churrasco").  A pile of fries, with thinly sliced steak, caramelized onions and fried egg on top. Missy enjoyed the steak and fries!

All in all it was super awesome having Missy visit and getting to do some traveling! This week I've just been recuperating and preparing for my next adventure (which begins tomorrow):  Chilean Patagonia!  Stay tuned!