January 20-23, 2017 Valparaiso, Chile - 2017 - Cruise to South American & Cape Horn

January 20, 2017 - Valparaiso, Chile

After two nights in Santiago, our taxi picked us up at the hotel at 10:00am. The driver was excellent and spoke very good English.  The distance between the two cities is about 90 miles and is reached by a four lane divided highway.  Our driver gave us a mini-tour of Santiago before getting onto the highway. He explained that the smog which we thought we saw in the city was actually smoke from a number of forest fires between Santiago and Valparaiso. 

Smoke from a forest fire

We passed through two nice valleys as we crossed several mini-mountain ranges toward the ocean and saw evidence of several forest fires from the past plus large columns of smoke from current fires.  The first valley was a large agricultural valley with many large farms producing mainly vegetables which are exported to the US in our winter.  The second valley was Casablanca Valley and the town of Casablanca, Chile which is a major wine production and vineyard region.  There were vineyards as far as you could see plus large wineries.  The Casablanca Valley produced primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay wines.  Red wines are produced in another region of Chile. 

When we arrived in Valparaiso, our driver gave us a tour of the city which is built on steep hillsides coming up from the bay.  Less than 20% of Valparaiso is flat land, the remaining 80% is housing built up the side of the hills almost to the ridge line. The city along the waterfront is flat, but the rest has narrow winding streets and steep sidewalks reaching up into the hills. It was not our favorite thing, but the city not only allows graffiti, but encourages it.  There is writing and street art everywhere. We stayed at a beachfront hotel and spent the remainder of the day exploring the city along the flat part of the waterfront area.

           

January 21, 2017 – Valparaiso, Chile

We began the morning with a boat tour of the waterfront then explored some of the port area. 

     
Elaine and Edward enjoy being on the water and enjoying the views of Valparaiso from the water.


     Elaine viewing the bay map and map of Valparaiso, Chile

In the afternoon, we stopped at a tourist office where the nice lady drew us a detailed may that showed us a way to explore the upper city without taking the very strenuous steps and steep sidewalks. She recommended we stop at Altemira which is a brew pub and winery making both wines and craft beers. Just outside Altemira was a funicular up the side of the hill.  For a mere 30 cents, you are able to avoid a series of very steep steps and sidewalks. At the stop, we followed the map and found a lovely hillside church and some interesting houses, nice restaurants, and boutique hotels.  There were also a number of magnificent views over the city to the ocean.  We had dinner at a restaurant where they spoke almost no English. For some reason, the waiter thought we wanted to share a plate so I did not get served the dish I ordered. No problem, Elaine’s portion was plenty with food to spare. We adjourned to our hotel and had Amaretto coffees and dessert. When we checked out the next day, I pointed out that our dessert and coffees were not on the bill.  The hotel clerk decided that they must have chosen us to have a free meal. He clearly did not want to have to track down the invoice and add it to the bill.

   
Altemira Craft Beer

     
One of many funiculars up the side of the hill. 
     
Elaine enjoying the views from high up on the hills above the waterfront.  The colorful houses and steps.  Yes, we walked up those steps.  I'm glad I wore my hiking shoes that day. Ha!

January 22, 2017 - Boarding Celebrity Ship “Infinity”

A short taxi ride brought us to the port. There had been a report of stomach virus on the ship on its trip from Buenos Aires so a thorough cleaning delayed the boarding for two hours.  Check-in went very well and one of the local vineyards kindly had a wine tasting in the terminal. Since you are allowed to take one bottle of wine per person onto the ship, they were making sales. Since we had an onboard drink package, we did not feel the need to make a purchase.  Finally got on board and had a lite late lunch. That evening we meet up with the other travelers from Robson Ranch. There were 44 people from Robson traveling on this trip sponsored by the Road Runners Travel Club. The ship was smaller than our usual cruise ship holding just over 2,000 passengers rather than the normal 3,500.

January 23, 2017 – On board Celebrity Ship “Infinity”

Today was a lazy day at sea as the ship made its was south out of Valparaiso.  Got up late in time for brunch, spent some time in the hot tub then the afternoon reading and simply enjoying being at sea.