Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Puerto Montt, and Bariloche...A Round-Up For Those of You I Haven´t Lost...
It´s been a hectic week with a lot of bus travel. I have no brilliant cultural observations to offer you at this point. Well, not that I ever did in the first place, but... here goes.
Viña del Mar, Chile
A beach town on the Pacific Coast, kind like what you would get if you combined San Francisco with some little town on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Summer is the high season, and it is autumn here, so the place was definitely a bit subdued. Still a very vibrant and attractive place in winter, with a lot of students and a lot of young people running around. It has an easily navigable bus system and a cool downtown area with plenty of markets and bars.
Valparaiso, Chile
A bit more of the blue-collar answer to Viña, and about three minutes away by bus. In fact the cities could almost be considered one, but the locals might have something to say about that. The city used to be one of the world´s busiest ports before the Panama Canal was built, and is still a thriving port city. The city extends onto a number of cerros, or hills, which are reachable by little train-like contraptions called ascensores, I think. The hills each have their own character, with the small stone houses built on 45 degree angled streets, and miniscule alleyways cutting everywhere... I got lost on one of the cerros for about an hour, no joke. Visited one of Pablo Neruda´s houses and ate a typical Chilean dinner overlooking the bay.
Isla Negra
This is a little artists community about two hours outside Viña and Valpo, where Neruda had another house. I can only describe it, since I took no photos, but it was layed out right on the rocky beach coast of the Pacific, surrounded by palm trees and incessantly caressed by the wind from the ocean. He was a collector of many things, including bowsprits, pipes, seashells, and paintings of food. He wrote in green ink, because he said it was the color of inspiration. He was in love with boats and the ocean, but was deathly afraid to sail.
Also visited his private writing cabin on this place called Punta de Tralca, or Thunder Point, a rocky outcropping that overlooks the Pacific. It was the most gorgeous view I´ve ever seen. I can say that without reservation. I saw it at sundown and could barely bring myself to leave. I have no idea how he could write anything while sitting so close to a view like that, but apparently he did, and quite a lot...
Puerto Montt, Chile
About 1,000 km south of Santiago is Puerto Montt, a medium-sized fishing village on a sort of inlet, and close to the island of Chiloè, which is a national park here. I came to this uninspiring place to get a better view of the volcano that is, or was, erupting at Chaiten. Unfortunately Chaiten is about 200 km from Puerto Montt. Yes, I knew this before going there, but I had heard that the volcan was still visible. Whoever said that was woefully inaccurate, and all I could see was a line of grey smoke somewhere on the horizon. My hostel was well out of the "downtown" area, the streets had no names, the weather was damp and cold, and the smells of wood smoke and raw fish were everywhere. I hiked to the top of this island in the middle of the inlet, saw another spectacular view, ate more seafood, and then succumbed to a nagging headcold and crashed at about 7:00pm.
Now, there may be many fine cultural and social activities to be found in Puerto Montt, but I was in no mood to stay and look for them. I awoke at 9:00am and was on the bus out of town by 11:00am. Puerto Montt, I hardly knew ye...
Bariloche, Argentina
A six or seven hour bus ride through the Andes put me back in Argentina, my adopted South American home, and the ski resort town of Bariloche. I planned on just spending one night here and then back to BA, for whatever reason I had at the time... However, I´ve decided to stay for a while. Bariloche is a small city in the middle of some unbelievably beautiful landscapes; huge and clear lakes, high mountains, and the weather has been perfect autumn weather for the past day or so. The city even has a great nightlife which supposedly only gets better as winter sets in. Indeed, I´m a bit early in the year to experience the real fun of Bariloche; the skiing. But still, there are so many outdoor activities to do, it doesn´t matter what the season. This is without doubt the best place I´ve visisted so far.
After this, it will be back to Buenos Aires...
Viña del Mar, Chile
A beach town on the Pacific Coast, kind like what you would get if you combined San Francisco with some little town on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Summer is the high season, and it is autumn here, so the place was definitely a bit subdued. Still a very vibrant and attractive place in winter, with a lot of students and a lot of young people running around. It has an easily navigable bus system and a cool downtown area with plenty of markets and bars.
Valparaiso, Chile
A bit more of the blue-collar answer to Viña, and about three minutes away by bus. In fact the cities could almost be considered one, but the locals might have something to say about that. The city used to be one of the world´s busiest ports before the Panama Canal was built, and is still a thriving port city. The city extends onto a number of cerros, or hills, which are reachable by little train-like contraptions called ascensores, I think. The hills each have their own character, with the small stone houses built on 45 degree angled streets, and miniscule alleyways cutting everywhere... I got lost on one of the cerros for about an hour, no joke. Visited one of Pablo Neruda´s houses and ate a typical Chilean dinner overlooking the bay.
Isla Negra
This is a little artists community about two hours outside Viña and Valpo, where Neruda had another house. I can only describe it, since I took no photos, but it was layed out right on the rocky beach coast of the Pacific, surrounded by palm trees and incessantly caressed by the wind from the ocean. He was a collector of many things, including bowsprits, pipes, seashells, and paintings of food. He wrote in green ink, because he said it was the color of inspiration. He was in love with boats and the ocean, but was deathly afraid to sail.
Also visited his private writing cabin on this place called Punta de Tralca, or Thunder Point, a rocky outcropping that overlooks the Pacific. It was the most gorgeous view I´ve ever seen. I can say that without reservation. I saw it at sundown and could barely bring myself to leave. I have no idea how he could write anything while sitting so close to a view like that, but apparently he did, and quite a lot...
Puerto Montt, Chile
About 1,000 km south of Santiago is Puerto Montt, a medium-sized fishing village on a sort of inlet, and close to the island of Chiloè, which is a national park here. I came to this uninspiring place to get a better view of the volcano that is, or was, erupting at Chaiten. Unfortunately Chaiten is about 200 km from Puerto Montt. Yes, I knew this before going there, but I had heard that the volcan was still visible. Whoever said that was woefully inaccurate, and all I could see was a line of grey smoke somewhere on the horizon. My hostel was well out of the "downtown" area, the streets had no names, the weather was damp and cold, and the smells of wood smoke and raw fish were everywhere. I hiked to the top of this island in the middle of the inlet, saw another spectacular view, ate more seafood, and then succumbed to a nagging headcold and crashed at about 7:00pm.
Now, there may be many fine cultural and social activities to be found in Puerto Montt, but I was in no mood to stay and look for them. I awoke at 9:00am and was on the bus out of town by 11:00am. Puerto Montt, I hardly knew ye...
Bariloche, Argentina
A six or seven hour bus ride through the Andes put me back in Argentina, my adopted South American home, and the ski resort town of Bariloche. I planned on just spending one night here and then back to BA, for whatever reason I had at the time... However, I´ve decided to stay for a while. Bariloche is a small city in the middle of some unbelievably beautiful landscapes; huge and clear lakes, high mountains, and the weather has been perfect autumn weather for the past day or so. The city even has a great nightlife which supposedly only gets better as winter sets in. Indeed, I´m a bit early in the year to experience the real fun of Bariloche; the skiing. But still, there are so many outdoor activities to do, it doesn´t matter what the season. This is without doubt the best place I´ve visisted so far.
After this, it will be back to Buenos Aires...
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