Viajando por Viña y Valparaiso

Yesterday I enjoyed a much-needed break from Santiago! As much as I love the city, the smog, traffic and simple hugeness of it can get overwhelming and tiring sometimes. That’s one of the reasons I like going to Los Andes on the weekends, but even then it’s fun to go somewhere new! Sarah, Cami (my best friend from church) and I really enjoyed the cool breezes, smell of the ocean and different atmosphere Viña and Valparaiso have. I can definitely seeing myself living here someday! The cities, which are right next to each other, are built on hills that lead to the ocean, so the layout is very different from other cities I’ve been to. I used to love going there when I was little with my family, and I felt those same feelings come back yesterday! Even though it was foggy and the sun didn’t shine, I thought it was beautiful!

Viña

We went to a lookout to take some pictures of the ocean. We ate lunch at this restaurant. The food was so so, but I loved that we had a clear view of the ocean during our meal! To get to the apartments, these tenants have to go up these elevators! I’ve never seen that before.

We had a blast taking pictures at the lookout and on the beach!

We were so upset that there were people working on the flower clock, ruining the picture! But it’s still very impressive… The clock really works and the flowers are beautiful!

Valparaiso

We then went to Valparaiso and found some of the touristy places to enjoy! I loved the colors of the boats at the dock! The houses at Valparaiso are all painted different colors. They call this Cerro Alegre (Joyful Hill), because of the bright vibrant colors. If the fog hadn’t been so bad, the colors would have popped even more. As it is, I still think it looks cool! We took a funicular up one of the hills to take some pictures and then had some coffee and chocolate cake at a super fancy restaurant up there. The view was spectacular! Here’s us going down the funicular. I though we were going to die- it was so old and rickety!

It was, like I said before, such a fun day! I’m glad we were able to do it before I head back to the States next week.