Valpraiso and Vina Del Mar

January 4th and 5th
They made us get off the ship, we tried to stay, but they said someone else paid for our room and we had no choice but to leave. We were very sad, but I think if we were on the ship for another 2 weeks, i would need all new clothes as nothing would fit me.

So here we are in Valpraiso/Vina Del Mar Chile. Our friends (tablemates) Gian Carlo and Sylvia that speak Spanish, came with us for the day. We toured the home of Pablo Neruda, a very special person here in Chile he was the first Chilean to win a nobel prize. His poems are very famous and have been translated into a number of different languages. Will probably try to pick up an English version when we get back to the states. His house was very cool and crazy at the same time. He designed it to remind him of a ship and also of the multi colored homes in Valpo. We could not take pictures inside, but the view from the windows was amazing.

(I would add in pictures but our computer is having issues with the wi-fi here so I can not upload any pictures. I will try to add them later if I can. So for now it will only be text.)

GC was on a hunt for a resturant that served a speical kind of Spikey Crab, so he asked around for a place that served it. I must admit, the food could very well be the best seafood we have ever eaten. We tried abalone for the first time which was absolutely excellent. I have pictures and full descriptions but i will save that until you can see for yourself.

Unfortunately, Gian Carlo and Sylvia were set to meet up with some friends in Santiago and could not stay in Vina Del Mar with us. It was still great that they were here, though. We got back to our B&B just as the sun was setting and we overlooked the ocean and the beach of Vina Del Mar.

Today, we headed north to the wealthier sections of the Coast and ended up walking about 13 miles (12 legitimite miles and 1 because Jayson made a wrong turn on the way back). The walk was beautiful and we stopped by a wonderful restaurant in a town called Reñaca. The food was wonderful and we learned you really only have to eat once a day in Chile because they feed you so much at any restaurant that if you had more than one meal you would probably explode.

Tomorrow we are heading to Santiago. We are going to see if we can change our reservation to only 2 nights in Santaigo and spend one night it the Mountains at the park we planned to visit on the 9th. We think that would be more fun, and since the air quality in the city is really poor, i am sure my lungs could use the break.