Lots’o’Chile Category: Travel and Places
Well we were at sea for a day before getting to a place called Valpraiso. Its aways down from our last stop in Chile. (Coquimbo). We were all crazy about coquimbo. Too bad we won't be back there again. Wasn't so crazy about Valpraiso. In the first place , you have to take a shuttle or bus pretty much across yhe town to enter the city. Then if you wan't to go to the interesting part of town, (which is the old part), you have to go all the way back to where the ship is. This would cost about $5 in a cab. I took a bus which was only 350 pesos. (My exchange here was 600 pesos for $1. ). Anyways , I took the trolley thing up the hill & the view was spectacular. Also the view was nice along the beach getting there , just not as pretty as Coquimbo , & the cityis kinda funkier. So , still no pictures unfortuneatly , but I have been taking great wacks of them , & doing random shots everywhere I go , so at some point I will open up some albums I guess , as I'm not sure how to put them in a blog anyhoo.
So enuff already. I missed a lot of cool old restaurants & buildings in Valpraiso apparently. I will be back though, & I did walk around a funky market area downtown where people are selling whatever right there between the streets.
We had three days at sea after Valpraiso.Chile is 4,300 km. in length , with an average of 175 km. width. Due to this , the country has a hugely varied climate, ranging from the worlds driest in the north ( the atacama, throught to a mediterranean climate in the centre & a snowy alpine climate in the south. Southern Chile is rich in forests & grazing lands & features a string of volcanoes & lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting penisulas, glACIERS, LAKES ,& islands. (this from the navigator). Yesterday we stopped by the Amalia glacier. This is a tidewater glacier originating in the Patagonian ice fields. It was similar to the Alaska type of glacier recently viewed while I was doing the Coral & Diamond cruises, but the land is much different, & so are the skies. To me it seems like a mixed bag of mountains, jungle, swamp, Icefield, & tundra. It just doesnt want to be any of these things I guess, or rather it wants to be all of them. I guess there aren't bears here, but there are cougar type critters, & am looking forward to some whales by the cape. Also Penguins are in great abundance I am told. & of various types.
This brings me to today , which was a stop in a very cool city called Punta Arenas. There are over 130,000 inhabitants , made up of many different cultures. It is the southernmost city in the world.It was settled Dec.18th, 1848 when the colonists of Fuerte Bulnes (under the command of Jose Santos Mardones arrived).
There was a great park similar to the one visited in Coquimbo , but much more active with locals & vendors & dogs. There are lots of wild type dogs & we donated to the needy s.p.c.a. Also Colin & I visited the local Naval museaum. ( I saw his name in the guestbook). I walked to the university as I was off early , & didn't stay long because I'm not a mall fan , & didn't really want to shop. Besides , none of the things I want were available here. Went back the ten km. or so in a cab & had coffee & wrote some postcards. I forgot addresses though , so they were limited. Stamps were 500 pesos, & my exchange was 650 for $1.oo here . Postcards were 300 pesos , till I found some free ones in a fancy hotel.
Looking forward to coming back here. Maybe I can meet someone to take me fly fishing at one of the nearby lakes ? Oh, I forgot to mention , another wierd thing about this place , is it totally reminds me of Dawson Creek B.C. , where I grew up (or rather, didn't), or maybe Whitehorse Yukon. I say D.C. (or Dodge as we call it), because of the low hills behind that totally look like the ones back home behind the city , & the few tall buildings look like the grain elevators. The ocean is a little incogrous to the image , but the resmblence couldn't help but strike me repeatedly. As well the local native population & streets have a certain "Dick Twang" type of publand I should take some photos of. Will be heading around the Cape soon now...