Day 44 - Santiago

Friday, 26 September 2014

My last full day in Santiago! It's a good thing I decided to stay a day longer here too, what with the mix up at the tour agency yesterday that took forever to sort out. I wanted to go to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar yesterday, but there was not enough time so I used yesterday to see as much local things as I could, and today is my excursion to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

First I took the Metro to the bus station, and at the bus station I bought a bus ticket to Vina del Mar. The trip was for about 2 hours. When I reached Vina del Mar, there were many tour agencies there offering day trips to see both Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, and I went with one of the tour agencies for my own ease of movement.

Vina del Mar is a small town with about 450,000 people, and is a sea side village which is now becoming bigger and bigger as more and more people move here. It is a nice, quiet town, pretty and pristine but not cheap. In Vina del Mar, we saw the flower clock, which is a clock made of flowers. We also passed by the Quinta Vergara, which is the house of Vina del Mar's founding family, the Vergara family, Vina del Mar's Casino and the Vergara Pier. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant along the beach but I did not eat anything because the price was exorbitantly expensive. I walked along the beach instead which was nice.

After lunch we visited the Fonck Museum, where I saw a real moai from the Easter Island! I was actually quite keen on visiting the museum which had a section on the history of Easter Island, but unfortunately there was no time.

After this we went to Valparaiso, which is known for its bohemian culture, colourful houses and sea side views. It is a very hilly area, and the houses are built along the hills. I cannot imagine walking up and down the hills everyday to my house. There are about 15 funiculars going up the hill, but they are scattered all over the place so even if you take a funicular, your house may still be far away and you may still have to walk uphill. No thanks! There are about 350,000 people living in Valparaiso, and the main occupation is fishing. We passed by the University of Valparaiso, which is the oldest university in Chile.

Then we stopped at Plaza Sotomayer, which is the gateway to the Muelle Prat Wharf, a bustling port in Valparaiso. The headquarters of the Chilean navy is located here as well. The most famous monument that stands here is Monumento de Los Heroes de Iquique, which honours Arturo (Arthur) Prat, who was a captain when Chile went to war with Peru and Bolivia in 1874 (after these countries declared independence from Spain). According to the guide, in one battle, The Peruvian navy overpowered the Chilean navy, but offered to spare their lives if they surrendered, but the Chilean naval force, led by Arturo Prat, refused to surrender and chose to fight till their deaths. Hence, the tribute to them. 

Finally we went to the house of Pablo Neruda. He is a Nobel prize winning poet from Chile (in 1971) who had 3 houses - one in Santiago, one in Valparaiso and one in Isla Negra. At the gift shop I found a book with some of Pablo Neruda's poems translated to English. I had been trying to look for such a book in Santiago but everything was in Spanish, so I bought a book although it was expensive. I was told by Felipe, the guide from the free walking tour in Santiago that books in Chile are very expensive so you have a lot of second hand book stores in Chile. I should open a bookstore in Chile and sell all my books, I will be a millionaire!

Here I met a fellow Malaysian who is travelling alone all over South America too! What are the odds! It was really good to meet someone from back home and speak Malay again! His name is Fahmi and he is from Penang. But he told me that he goes by the name Bob here, because whenever he says his name, the people here think he is saying 'fuck me'. I thought that was hilarious. I was in a happy mood for the rest of the day due to this chance meeting.

Then we were dropped off at the bus station, at about 7 pm. Here I bought some snacks and water for tomorrow, and then I took a bus back to Santiago, and then the metro back to the hostel; I only reached the hostel at about 10 pm, but before showering and going to bed I had to pack my bags as I leave early for the airport tomorrow morning.