Viña Del Mar (Sat 4/3)

Well, we survived night 1 in our less than desirable hotel room.  I have a bunch of bug bites to go with the experience.  They must have itched a lot in the middle of the night because they were pretty raw and red this morning.

We had toast for breakfast and headed out for some exercise.  Arn went for a run while I went for a walk.  The morning temps were cool and very pleasant for running and walking.  There were quite a few runners and walkers along the ocean this morning.  There were also all the guys with their horse drawn carriages preparing for a day of tourist rides.  It was like something out of Central Park in New York City times ten!  Yesterday, we noticed that quite a few people actually seem to take a carriage ride.  It is not for us.  But then, we are the people who say, "a horse killed Superman".  After our respective run/walk, we stopped at Starbucks.  We both ogled the pastries in the case.  It looked like home...chocolate chip muffins, raspberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and lemon cake.  We left with a coffee for Arn and iced tea for me.

We found a place to drop off our laundry.  It must be express service because of Easter.  This is the fastest turn around time of the whole trip --- 2.5 hours.  Yes, the place was more expensive, but it also probably the only place that is open near our hotel.  We spent a couple of hours in the internet cafe waiting for our laundry.  For lunch, I proposed Pizza Hut.  We did a bit of the "El Camino" crawl and decided on Mexican food. The place was packed with Chileans.  In the same way people in Argentina seemed obsessed with sushi, the people in Viña del Mar seem obsessed with Mexican food.  It was actually pretty good and definitely better than Pizza Hut.

After lunch, we figured we would try another movie.  On the way to the theatre, we walked a different street.  We were stunned by the earthquake damage.  Two high-rises were completely evacuated.  In both cases, the buildings were between 10 and 12 stories.  Windows were shattered throughout the buildings.  In one case, rebar punched through the plaster.  Both buildings had large cracks and slumps in the structures.  Through the windows, it was clear that people had completely moved out.  Signs were posted indicating that the buildings are inhabitable.  They both appeared to have been built in the 1970s or early 80s.  It is frightening to consider --- the distance from Vina del Mar to the epicenter is about the same as San Jose, CA to San Luis Obispo, CA.  Luckily, the buildings are still standing and people made it out.

On a lighter note, we have noticed a big difference between Viña and Valpo.  We think there is someone in Viña rounding up all the dogs and dropping them off in Valpo.  The streets are clean here and we have seen way fewer stray dogs.  Don´t get me wrong, we still see them, but in much fewer numbers.  We have also noticed "fake dog poop" for sale along the beach.  There are all kinds of stalls selling everything you can imagine --- hats, t-shirts, jewelry, and fake dog poop.  We think there is some enterprising guy that drives to Valpo, carefully scoops the poop and sprays it with a special sealant.  It is like the people in New Zealand that use the fur from dead possums to make houseslippers.  They have a great marketing name --- "New Zealand Mink".  

For dinner, we returned to the same place we ate last night. We had another good meal and another awesome wine from the Aconcagua Valley. We ordered tiramisu. We just need to wait until we are home and I make it.   

P.S. Today's movie? Daybreakers. A story about vampires. Not bad and a very different twist on an old story. 

P.S.S.  I finished Jon Krakauer's book about the Pat Tillman story. If I had it to do over again, I think I might have read the book that Pat's mom wrote. Krakauer can't tell the story without lacing in his politically views. So, now I am reading, "Body Signs"....another medical book.