Back on the Pacific

Life is tough

We hadn't seen the ocean since the desolate deserts of Paracas in Peru, so it was such fun to reach the bright Pacific once more. To get there we crossed the border from Northern Argentina into Chile, an ordeal almost as bad as Australian customs. Everyone piled out of the bus, everything searched, x-rayed, sniffer dogged, then all piled back onboard. Chile is surrounded by natural barriers, the Andes, Patagonia, and the Pacific, so it has very few of the diseases that surrounding countries have, and it tries hard to keep it that way.

We spent a few cramped nights in Vina del Mar, a very touristy town, filled with bad restaurants and casinos. The main excitement being the wild fires burning just over the hill. No one seemed too bothered by them except for us, but the huge clouds of dirty black smoke billowing over the hill made for a spectacular back drop.

We moved on the the nearby town of Valparaiso. Set on a series of rolling hills, steep cobbled roads and old fashioned funiculars lead to streets filled with corrugated iron houses painted in bright colours and covered in beautiful graffiti. We spent a day or two just wondering and relaxing.

Liquid chocolate and churros dipped in dulche de leche