Valpo To Stgo

Yesterday morning it was time for us to leave Valparaiso.  Ten out of ten I'd come back...even with the protests and tear gas, we had a wonderful time.  The art, the food, the scenery, and the people all made it totally worth it.

We were picked up from our hotel (god how I hated lugging all our suitcases up the hill to our ride) and whisked to wine country in Casablanca Valley.  It looks (and feels) just like northern California.  We had a date with two vineyards and a local restaurant for some very local cuisine and wine.

Villard Winery

What's a winery without a cat?

La Recova Winery

We tasted a Savignon Blanc, a Rose, and a lovely red.

I don't have any pictures from the final stop...too much wine I suppose.  Time for a nap on the bus as we headed to Santiago.

Like Valparaiso, Santiago is in the throes of protests and demonstrations...there's hardly a building that is free from graffiti.  Today we had a walking tour that included three restaurant stops for "bites" of typical Santiago fare.  Our guide, Caio, was happy to explain the reasons for the protests: the people want better pay, better healthcare, better schools, better retirement, better housing, and for the rich not to be so greedy.  They want to unseat the current president because he is corrupt, and they want a new constitution because the one in place was written by a dictator for himself and all his rich friends.  Caio was artful in stepping around the fact that America is the reason for that dictator (Pinohet).  

It was a very interesting tour.

Statue representing atrocities toward the Mapuches (indigenous people).

Beautiful cathedral 

great floors

fancy post office

Took this on our walk home from dinner tonight.  It's the tallest building in South America.  Supposed to be their new World Trade Center....but nobody moved into it.  Their current offices are cheaper and they're just not interested in changing.  There are only a couple of companies in the whole building...you can see on which floors they reside (the lights are on).  You can go up to the top for a view, but it costs quite a bit to do so.  We just took a nice picture of it instead.  

We are on our own tomorrow, and I can't wait to sleep in!  We've identified a couple of craft beer bars, so we'll be scouting those and doing a bit of shopping.