Valparaiso and Viña del Mar

The culture and shopping capitals of Chile respectively, lie on the coast about 2 hrs drive away. Sadly we have no map, no language, no petrol and no money and we’re heading due north instead of North West – talk about well prepared. Luckily we find a garage with a cashpoint, some air and a map and I realize my error. We can’t take the map away or buy one, so I attempt to memorize directions on windy ‘b’ roads whilst trying to explain in my fledgling Spanish, to an increasingly confused assistant, that the tap won’t turn off in the ladies loo!

We manage to find the way up twisting foothills and down again. There are no signposts, but I convince Karen that all we need to do is follow the setting sun. This just about works but the bloody sun is setting by the time we find a reasonably priced hotel. It has taken 5 hours instead of 2, but at least we’ve seen a bit of the Chilean countryside at last which makes a pleasant change from a smoggy metropolis.

We’re in Viña del Mar at the Best Western as we couldn’t find anything in the more attractive Valparaiso. There’s not much here apart from Italian restaurants and shopping malls so we indulge in both. We even invest in some cold weather gear for the kids as not only is it chilly in Chile, but also we are hoping to hit the slopes at some stage.

It’s May 15th and Ruby’s birthday. Unfortunately for her she’s already had her main present: a helicopter ride to the Franz Josep Glacier. Still she is indulged further with High School Musical paraphernalia, including the sought after ‘Wildcats’ outfit; a horse and cart ride that costs 5x the price of a taxi; her favourite sashimi for lunch; a pig cake; another restaurant for dinner where the whole place sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in Spanish and a room full of balloons to add to the festive cheer.

Next we check out Valparaiso that is very pretty in a bohemian way. Houses and shacks decorate the hillsides with a variety of pastel shades. Driving is treacherous with steep gradients, potholes and a 6-point turn when we reach a dead end in front of a rather scary prison. Time for a bit of the old ‘shank’s pony’. Having enjoyed the Chilean version of Morris dancing with hankies instead of batons, we ascend the 48- degree funicular to the old historic centre. I enjoy the food here, especially the delicious wild boar and continued excellence of the locally popular Carmenère. Karen struggles more as the vegetarian option always seems to include bacon, ham or at the very least meat stock.

It’s time to head back to smogsville. Incredibly it only takes 1¼ hours as we find the quick Ruta 68 at the first attempt. We take a detour south to the recommended Pirque, but there’s not much there apart from a closed Concha y Toro HQ and some pleasant cow filled countryside where we stop for a picnic.