Today is a day of rest and recuperation after two days of sightseeing, sun soaking and cerveza sipping in Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. Things didn't go quite as planned and my roommate and I ended up leaving Santiago considerably later than we'd hoped for. We didn't make it to Valparaíso until about five pm on Saturday but luckily it gets dark pretty late here. We got a little lost because we didn't have the best map (yes, it was the map's fault...not ours). The wind was crazy strong and it was blowing up all kinds of dirt and rubble into our eyes as we wandered around trying to find our barrings. Finally, windswept and covered in dirt, we found Hostel Licanantay, where we had already reserved two beds. We cleaned ourselves up and headed out for dinner and some bar hopping. Our hostel was surrounded by restaurants, bars and discotecas which was very convenient.
After the bars closed at five am, we headed back to the hostel and hung out with a bunch of new friends that we met there. The next morning, we took a little mini-tour of Valparaíso with some of them since they were more familiar with the area. It is a cool town with lots of neat street art but it is also pretty dirty. After that, we rode in one of the ascensadores (small outdoor elevators that go up and down the hills) which completed our to-do list for Valparaíso, so we hopped on a bus to Viña.
When we got there, we walked along the beach and checked out a little bit of the downtown area but we didn't have much time to explore beyond that. Our plan was to go to the station, buy the latest return ticket possible and then go back out into Viña until it was time to leave. It didn't work out because when we got to the bus station, all the later trips to Santiago were booked and our only option was to buy a last minute ticket for a bus that was leaving right away. We were a little bummed but super relieved because for a while it was looking like we wouldn't be able to find a way home at all. Luckily the guy working one of the ticket booths was super helpful. Six other companies had already told us that there were no more tickets to Santiago for the day before we talked to him. When we came up to his booth (probably looking a little panicked), he locked up the ticket booth where he was working and took us out to the terminal where we paid the driver for a last minute ticket right there on the bus (and no, we didn't get ripped off. It was actually cheaper than our ticket there). Thank God everything worked out but I wish we had had more time in Viña. It is so beautiful. I'm already thinking about moving there after my program in Santiago wraps up in March. Obviously, I'd like to spend more than two hours there before making my final decision though. We're already thinking about going back next weekend :)
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