We arrived at the bus stop in Viña and our host, Eduardo and his friend, Carlos picked us up and brought us back to his house to put our stuff. Within the first 5 minutes in the house, his mom plopped 18 day old Maximiliano in my arms.
The whole house gave an impression that we were on a boat. He showed us our room and our bathroom, then we set out to see the town. The first item on the list was La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's houses located in Valparaíso. It was a lovely house, one I would aspire to have of my own one day, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so here are a few images from their website. On the top floor, Neruda's poem he had written about the house was displayed on his desk. You can read the poem here, and translate it here.
We then went to El Museo del Cielo Abierto, The Museum of the Open Sky, which is a street tour of graffiti done by some of the most popular artists.
After walking around the town the whole day, our host Eduardo informs us it's his birthday. Amazed by his hospitality, we wished him a happy birthday and headed back to his house for his celebration (Did I forget to mention he has a bar in his house?). We met some more Marines and passed the time with his friends and family. Eduardo has travelled to many countries across the world and has built up quite the worldly liquor collection. One of our favorites was the pistol shaped tequila bottle.
We later headed in to town with Carlos and Eduardo to a live salsa club.
The next day we were chauffeured around town once again. We made it to the dock, took an ascensor, and headed to the Marine Museum.
There were two sets of these windows, the neatest stained glass I've ever seen
.
The last attraction at the museum was the Fénix, the actual capsule used to rescue the miners this past year.
After that, we headed to the famous cemetery. The first grave I saw, I found a treasure inside.
Some people really do live and die for soccer here.
Aaand after that, we headed to first lighthouse in Chile. Also, the first lighthouse I've ever been inside.
That night we stayed home and exchanged pictures and stories with the Donoso family.
Sunday, we woke up and decided to take our hosts out to their first sushi experience ever. (I think you can tell they liked it).
After hearing all about the Esmeralda, the boat the marines had taken on a training trip to 12 different countries 2 years prior, we got on board!
After our personal tour, we headed to the battleship, where we had coffee with the captain.
Our visit to Viña and Valpo was great. We got incredibly lucky with our hosts and had an amazing Chilean experience, full of the benefits of being with Marines.
I'll be updating my photo link soon, as I know have a functioning camera again.
Always at home with the sound of the sea,
Lauren Adele
1 comment:
Sounds like a beautiful adventure. Tenga un buen viaje!!
Chris Thoman
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