Valparaiso

Trip Start Oct 10, 2006

174

182

Trip End Apr 03, 2007

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Flag of Chile Valparaiso, Chile
Saturday, April 7, 2007

The girls get off the bus in Santiago. Arthur and I are the only ones continuing on to Valparaiso. We look around for hostels. His girlfriend, her sister and her Chilean boyfriend are joining him tonight. This is Easter weekend and availability is limited. Several places don't even answer their doorbells. We knock on the door of a place that has a B&B sign. Rooftop has amazing views of the hills, town and Pacific. We are sleeping in the otherwise occupied rooms of what I guess are their kids. I later find out that we are sharing 1 bathroom among a dozen of us. Lots of long waits and 1 cold shower. The bottom floor is leased to a high end restaurant. I get to listen to some good music from my room with their bands.

Arthur's friends are going to arrive around 9 so we walk around. It has many hills with turn of the century homes, reminiscent of San Francisco. The highlight is the dock which has a continuous flow of boats picking up people for a short tour (identical so any boat will do) of the coastline. At any given time, there are 6 boats fighting for the next loading spot on the dock to pick up a group of passengers. I calculate that a typical boat only makes $120 per day (pays for gas, 2 salaries, maintenance ...). With a loading time of 5 minutes, the pace is fast. Boats try to out maneuver each other to be next, including ramming into each other (very often). It reminds me of the organized chaos of Wall St trading floor. It is mesmerizing to watch.

Arthur and I enjoy the terrific view from one of the hills, Cerro Concepcion, along with a 6 pack as we wait for his friends. We all go for dinner later. After dinner, at 1 AM, I call it quits. Led by the Chilean, they go out to a dance club and return at 5 AM.