The new love for Hammocks and fear for Terremoto?

January 25, 2016

The new love for Hammocks and fear for Terremoto?

Valparaiso. It means no worries...well okay maybe it means, "Paradise Valley" but it Feels like no worries. Close enough.

Listening to suggestions and other travelers in Santiago, even in Cusco for that matter...they all told me Valparaiso was a must. It's a port city about 1 1/2 hours away from Santiago. Booked! Is this what it feels like to have no agenda? I like it!

That infamous voice that tends to talk in italics...she's present and she's a smart ass...Don't get too used to it Shayna, you ARE going back to home at some point. (At least she's learned not to say reality, she used home instead)

The truth is...this IS my reality. I AM traveling the world, so hush there little voice, enjoy the journey! And that we are! One train ride, one bus ride and a taxi ride (that i was hoping he understood my god-forsaken attempt at Spanish) later I arrived at Hostel Mariposas. I'm walking up this little alley in the hill when some older man is outside looking like he is dissecting his 90s laptop with some wire cutters...he said, "Please tell me you're an IT genius" There she is...if by IT Genius you mean I can type out a lame attempt at a blog and throw up some pics? Then YES! I have arrrrrrived here to make lives change!

Moral of the story, he was the owner of the Hostel and his laptop broke. My first glimpse that this isn't our ordinary Hostel. Ahhh. He invited me in, offered me coffee (that wasn't instant!), said well, I Will show you your room...we walk up a block to the hostel and shows me this fantastic, neat, wonderful gem. It's like a never ending place, I find out that it's 7 properties in one.

Kent, the owner, is originally from Arizona living his dream her with his beautiful and friendly Chilean wife. They've created the most wonderful place to stay in Chile. My room has a view of the sky with an open window! The rooftop terrace had hammocks and a bbq and a place to gather. Yes, the hostel appearance was appealing, but what about the atmosphere? Well...

There are 3 markets (and by markets I mean the size of a small liquor store back home) a block up the street, one sells meats and cheese, one sells vegetables and last and most importantly the third sells wine. The best part about that...it was the most convenient way to eat. Since there was 2 kitchens, everyone seemed to make their own dinner. Pasta, vegetables and even some be going on.

We all gathered round to eat our own meals, however, together like a huge picnic overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the hills of Valparaiso. We were probably 2-3 hills away from the main "touristy" area...which I definitely preferred for this reason alone. We were able to gather and socialize, even nap in a hammock all afternoon in peace and quiet. But if I'm being honest, the best part was I could drink all the wine I wanted and not have to worry about trying to stumble back! Although, still managed to gain some bruises from stumbling upon furniture that seemed to be 3 inches further away than it actually was. Ha.

As of this wasn't enough of an experience, we had movie night. I'm not talking, your average gather round and watch the flat screen. It was a huge canvas that was the size of the wall, the projector streaming "The Road to Tibet" (side note: it's just a very very long walk...if you're in to that sorta thing)

But now...the touristy part. Time to hop on a tour and learn a bit of background for where I was. We learned about the port, the history, the best place to get an empanada, the graffiti and my favorite part...some sweet treat that was delicious!!! Chocolate covered cracker with some filling...is that peanut butter? It couldn't be, not here! All my dreams were coming true...it was no Reese's but this is "roughing it" so my standards have lowered.

Mmmm...I take another bite, which led to an over abundance of disappointment in the most purest form...Dulce de Leche. For all you gringos, that is NOT peanut butter. Instances like this are quite possibly the reason I have trust issues.

The street art was amazing! So colorful, so abundant and very easy on the eyes. It was captivating and gave me A.D.D. At the same time, oh look at that one over...wait, this ones my favorite. Dory's got nothing on me at this point!

And of course...

I fell in love again...such a peaceful and neat city and definitely was a "must!"

The final day there I decided to make the trek over to Concón where there were sand dunes on the bluff. It was a nice day, I could use a longer walk...that hammock was bringing down my daily average of miles walked. It was a few cities over and I knew that, but it was along the coast so how could I complain?

Uhhhh, this is NOT the boardwalk we have back home. Very grungy, no true path for the first 2-3 miles. The tide was so strong that even sometimes it would spray up and soak the whole sidewalk...maybe this is why there was no Boardwalk. All in all, I managed to survive but let's just say...I took the road less traveled, maybe even never traveled! Ha.

I'm finally past Viña del Mar when I see how much further I still have and that was the point I said, you idiot take the bus! So I hopped on a bus and hoping it would go to where I needed. I was expecting some larger attraction than what I arrived at. Maybe a building where you rent your board? Pay the cashier. Get some water maybe? No? No!

That's what you get. A few beat down vans who set up their "sand boards" and you rent them for 1000 pesos (not even $2) from a kid with a spiral notebook writing down names and times of renters as a way to check-in. This seems solid. I try to find a board that was more of a "snowboard" than a piece of plywood, however, just like my walk I was a bit unsuccessful. The foot straps are nice and secure...if your foot is swollen 20 times the normal size. You don't wear shoes and unless you brought socks...you hope for no splinters.

As if I hadn't walked to Bumfuck, Egypt I had to climb that sand dune...every time I went down. The view itself was worth it. Absolutely amazing!

You're going to eat shit...you're going to fall off the bluff...you're going to get shown up by these 8 year old boys next to you. Oh well!

2 out of the 3 totally happened. I'll leave it a mystery...

It was a great way to sum up the visit there. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...Valparaiso was going to be the highlight of my Chile trip. Bitch, you need to stop questioning yourself...we all get in trouble when that happens.

I'm back in Santiago and the only thing really left on my to-do was to have a Torremoto...it's an infamous alcohol drink that means "Earthquake!" So I head to where it was all created...La piojera. Only the finest of dive bars. I told you my standards had lowered!

That's the "security guard" or owner or maybe just a local...didn't really comprehend his Spanish. Just took a picture and he happened to be sitting there so he joined in! Ha. (Relax everyone, my safety was never even questioned)

Terremoto. Holyyyyyy hell. Composed of their white wine, some other liquors and "pineapple" ice cream. Tasted more like ice than it did ice cream let alone any flavor.

The most god awful idea of a beverage I'd tasted...okay, I'm wearing my drama queen crown buuuut, it wasn't good. Ha. And after about half way through I didn't even care.

Since I'm on a roll of doing the "must haves" I head on over the their "Coffee Shops" Oh boy, are you in for a treat! Imagine a strip club...with coffee only, no alcohol. Yeah. That's where I was. Only opened during business hours and an interesting history behind it.

In sum, the coffee here sucks because they don't drink it. They drink tea...at night...with their family. The coffee business was struggling...so what do you do? Add some woman naturally...you're trying to appeal to a working male market. And here we have it...Coffee and Legs.

Check. Espresso and bounce. But hey, I did it. I experienced the culture. Legs and all.

Next stop...an unintentional celebration of Australia Day. I was now an honorary Australian and that meant a good time with some cool friends!