Breezy beachtowns of yet still chilly Chile
Trip Start
Nov 27, 2008
1
3
10
Trip End
Jan 30, 2009
Concon, Chile
Friday, December 5, 2008
The first night spent in Ricardo´s house was the coldest i´ve been in a long time (well at least since I left Edmonton). With no central heating, I had to sleep in my long Lululemon pants, a camisole with my black sweater I wore for the past two days (gross!), plus a pair of socks and my pashmina. On top of that, I slept in my silk sleeping bag cover with two wool blankets Ricardo lent me... lol.. and yet my nose was freezing and I couldn´t get warm. In all fairness, I also took a shower before bed (as per usual) and went to bed with my hair still wet. I eventually fell into a light sleep in fetal position and woke up halfway through the night to find my hair still damp and not til I woke up in the warm morning sunlight did my hair finally dry off...So note to self- do not go to bed with wet hair here!
I realized on the same night that I am not cut out to be a true backpacker... for realz! I fully admit that my compulsive tendencies towards being clean and being in clean places has not eased up one bit and staying here in Ricardo´s place has been slightly challenging. He lives in what I can describe as a 500 sq ft box (literally).When you walk through the door, there is the small kitchen connected with the small living area. As you walk to the far back corner, you will find the small walk through bathroom and on the other side of that is Ricardo´s bedroom. The place was messy- Ricardo´s in the process of moving to another place inVina del Mar so there were clothes everywhere. The floors and bathroom not so clean as well...don´t even get me started on the tub situation! I vacuumed the next day and felt better but by that night Roxy and I both decided two nights here was enough and we made an executive decision to find a hostel to stay in for the rest of the time here. I am grateful for meeting Ricardo as he is one truly friendly and care free soul who opened his home to us and made us feel welcome. We hope to meet up with him again before heading back to the city.
When Roxy and I arrived to the coast, we took the bus in to Valparaiso as that is where Ricardo was meeting us prior to his Capoeira class at the nearby University. We had about 5 hours to kill between the time we got there and when Ricardo was to meet us so naturally Roxy and I explored the streets around the central area of Valparaiso. My first impressions of this coastal town is that it is visibly more cultural and authentic than any place in Santiago. One is bombarded by the ever changing sights and sounds and smells of the area. In the span of 30 seconds, you can smell the scent of fresh grilled meat kabobs sold by street vendors to the scent of freshly baked bread to the odour of rotting vegetables and garbage that line the sidewalks as well as numerous wafts of raw seafood. There are people everywhere going about their daily business. Numerous street vendors line sidewalks selling the most random items from knives and mandolins to pills of sorts, knick knacks and various foods and drinks of course. This area is also inhabited by more people of indigenous roots so their skin tones and hair are darker in colour. All in all, Valparaiso is a vast change from the comparably clean and odour free streets of Santiago.
Concon is about a 30 minute bus ride from Valparaiso. You will pass through Vina del Mar and Renaca before arriving in Concon. Vina and Renaca are the cleaner and trendier parts of coastal Chile, inhabited by majority of wealthier people with European descent (vs. indigenous).
Yesterday we started off by going to the beach as Ricardo suggested. However, I didn´t realize Ricardo´s idea invovled a two hour continuous walk along the coastline from Concon to Renaca. Seriously! My feet were killing and I had some more tan lines to account for. I´ll admit the walk was beautiful but by the half hour one can only see so much of the same coast line.
He wanted to go to Renaca as there was a empanada place he wanted take us to to eat. It was called Empanadas Mauricio. I tried a baked carne pino empanada- filled with beef cubes, onions, part of hard boiled egg and an olive in it- all with a stew-like consistency. Not as tasty as the deep fried ones I had in Bella Vista.
Afterwards, we decided to go to McDonalds because Roxy wanted a coffee and sadly that is one of the only places we knew where the coffee would actually be coffee and not the instant powdered coffees that Chilenos seem to sell most elsewhere. Surprising really since they are in somewhat close proximity to other countries (ie Colombia, Panama) that are major exporters of coffee. Anyways, attached to the inside of this McDonalds was an actual McCafe which was an entirely separate section that looked and felt like a real cafe. They served not only barista-made coffee drinks but also assorted pastries, cakes, and ice cream! Interesting.
We took the bus back to Concon thereafter. So what took us 2 hours by foot took only 10 minutes by bus... haha
The rest of the afternoon Roxy and I spent sitting outdoors at a table next to a beach side kiosk, me sipping on my favourite juice here- apricot juice, Roxy having a pistachio ice cream bar, both enjoying the beautiful but breezy weather overlooking the Pacific ocean.
