Maipo Valley

Today, an optional all–day tour to Valpariso and Vina del Mar was offered by Gate 1. We drove from Santiago to Valpariso, about a 1 1/2–hour drive, through Maipo Valley, one of Chile’s vineyard regions having a number of wineries.

Wine Store

We stopped at this wine store for a break. I wouldn’t doubt that every kind of wine made in Chile is available here. Chilean wine has a very good reputation, but since if you are a U.S. citizen, you allowed to bring back only 1 liter of wine without paying duty and IRS tax on it. Chile probably adds a tax as well. Might be better just to buy Chilean wine in the U.S. unless there is a hard to get one that you want to buy. I remember lugging three bottles of port back that I bought at a port factory in Portugal, only to discover that they were less expensive in the U.S. than in Portugal. At that time, you were allowed to bring in more than 1 liter.

Valpariso

Valpariso is a major seaport and eight of its hills are part of its historic quarter, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The houses on the hills are ramshackle to very nice, and on the hill that we visited, which I think was Cerro Conception, there were numerous murals and many brightly colored houses.

Valpariso

The mural were varied and were on walls, buildings, gates, and doors. Some were brightly colored such as this one.

Valpariso

Another mural.

Valpariso

And some almost like a photo.

Valpariso

Some of the painted buildings on a cobblestoned street.

Valpariso

Looking up a street we climbed down with brightly colored steps.

Valpariso

We also climbed down these piano steps.

Valpariso

There are 15 funiculars in Valpariso to get you up the hills and down them. We took the Ascensor Concepcion funicular down from the hills, which was the first funicular built, in 1883. Ours didn’t give us much of a scenic view, while other do. Photo: the funicular we took down.

Valpariso

We walked to the Plaza Sotomayor. Photo: The Edificio de la Comandancia Naval (Naval Command Building), built in 1910, inspired by the Hotel de Ville in Paris.

Vina del Mar

We next drove to Vina del Mar, a seaside resort next to Valpariso.

Vina del Mar

We were given time here to have lunch, but it seems not enough time. I ate at the Hot Chili Peppers, a Tex–Mex restaurant, with three tour mates. The service was so slow that we didn’t know if we would even have our meals in front of us before we had to go back to the bus. People who ate at a next–door restaurant had better luck, but others at a sandwich shop didn’t fare well: only half an order served after much time and then the second half much later.

Our local guide said that the bad service was because it was out of season. No, it was just really bad service. There was a McDonald’s across from us––recommended to eat there if you are let off in Vina del Mar. It should work into your time schedule nicely. McDonald’s in foreign countries really do serve tourists well, in addition to having clean free bathrooms.

Vina del Mar

Definitely the strangest (funniest?) description of a taco I have ever seen:

“two tortillas of wheat you fill of bird or Young bull accompanied By lettuce, peak of rooster and cheese, two accompaniments to Election.” “Peak of rooster” is “pico de gallo,” a common sauce on Mexican menus (it has nothing to do with a rooster or a rooster’s peak, which should have been “beak”). They should have left it alone. “Bird” is chicken and “Young bull” is beef.  I had a quesadilla, which was more eatable than what the others had ordered.

We drove back to Santiago. Our farewell dinner was this evening. The Gate 1 tour will end tomorrow and we would fly home. My cold was bothering me, so I didn’t go to it.

I have put my photos of Valpariso and Vina del Mar on three slideshows. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/valpariso–part–1/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Valpariso––Part 1).

http://www.peggysphotos.com/valpariso–part–2/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Valpariso––Part 2).

http://www.peggysphotos.com/valpariso–part–3–vina–del–mar/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Valpariso––Part 3 & Vina del Mar).