Viña del Mar

This was our last day of exploring Chile,  so we decided to visit Viña del Mar, a town just up the coast from Valpo. We walked down the hill to figure out which bus to get. There was a middle-aged couple waiting too, so we started talking and asked them which bus to get on. Turned out, their son married a girl from Iowa and lives in Ames! They knew Iowa City, Davenport and Chicago. They ended up walking us to a better bus stop a few blocks away and waited until we got on the right bus. Such sweet kindness! They, like everyone else, warned us to watch our things in Valpo, especially our phones, which thieves like to snatch.
Viña is a beach town. 
It has a much more modern feel, with lots of high rises and wide boulevards. 
We walked the beach and just kept walking. It was 12 kms back to Valpo and the sidewalk never ended so three hours later we arrived back home! We saw people biking, families playing in the sand, kids jumping on trampolines and on bounce houses inflated on the beach. January and February is summer vacation, so there was lots of activity. But no one swimming. Apparently there is a dangerous current that prevents swimmers.
The colorful flower pattern entrance to Viña.
The best travel partner ever!
Back home for a shower and then a trudge up the hill for our last dinner on a patio with a view.It's been an amazing three weeks and I'll treasure this experience forever. But it's time to get home..to see our place and our people, and to savor the memories.
Tomorrow we head to Santiago for an overnight flight back to Los Estados Unidos.






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