We picked up a couple of hitchhikers and some extra luggage at the airport. Ana's mum, Eufi, and friend Maria will spend the next month with us on our journey North following the Andes. At the time, we doubted they knew what was about to hit them... a tiresome few weeks of racing through the Atacama in Land Cruisers, busing through the dead of night in Bolivia and Peru, countless city tours, visiting landmarks, climbing slopes of active volcanoes, hanging by zip lines, and swinging over the dense jungle and everything in between. "Bring it on," they would continue to say, they’re up for it all.
Whether I was just buggered from our hike or just not feeling the big city vibes, Santiago was a built-up metropolis that I could pass on. Adding the pressure of needing to be extra vigilant to the ‘so called’ street crime, it wasn’t and isn’t my favorite feeling. Give me camping in the wilderness any day!
All that being said, we did have a great few days exploring the surrounding regions. The hot springs in Valle de Colina were wonderful... after a rickety trip up a 40km dirt road, the pools with the amazing view of the rainbow mountains were well received. Our bodies soaked up and loved all of the mineral pools, varying from 25 to 55 degrees Celsius... somewhere in the Goldilocks zone for me.
Sweet tooth Adam was in heaven, twice stopping at this cute (somewhat touristy) ice cream parlor. On the way up & again on the way back. All my dreams had come at once with all different variations of Dulce de leche to be tested. If you haven’t, you must!
The following morning, we headed West towards the coast, to Valparaiso and neighboring Viña del Mar. Wow, how different could these two towns be!? One seemed busy, colourful, and graffiti-riddled, and the other clean, sleek, and modern. Two contrasting cities split by a bend in the road. Valparaiso was overwhelming, traffic weaved aimlessly, fighting for space on tight and windy roads was a whole lot of fun. A freeway, any day! On foot was better, we wandered around and admired the vibrant and artistic laneways; many Simpsons references and loads of unique imaginary creatures painted the walls around.
Delicious deep-fried empanadas as a snack before heading back inland and a wine tasting at a fancy vineyard, think one of the big ones in the Hunter. A variety of reds and whites from the Casablanca region and accompanied by a mouth-watering, but tiny, degustation.
After all, it was a fun few days, a good reset for the craziness to come.
