This is Campeche, on the south part of Santa Catarina Island, where I was lucky to be born and raised. After visiting this paradise and my family for 10 days, we left the island heading west, to another South American country I have never been before: Chile!
Off the main island is the Campeche Island, the most beautiful beach around.
We got a low fare ticket with JetSmart and were able to flight direct from Florianópolis to Santiago, in only 3:40 hours, avoiding São Paulo. The ticket was cheap, but they get you on the extra charges: to book seats, to check in luggage and to buy food during the flight.
Flying over the Andes was one of the most beautiful flying experiences I ever had.
It was an astonishing view and it looked like we were so close to the mountains!
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,530 mi) long, 200 to 700 km (124 to 435 mi) wide (widest between 18°S and 20°S latitude), and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
Like a little kid in a candy store.
Glaciers.
Approaching Santiago, at the bottom of the mountain range.
Santiago's Airport was big, quiet and impressive.
We immediately got our rental car and continued to head west to the Pacific coast.
The scenery is very desert like, with low vegetation, lost of cacti and sand.
I felt the air dryness right away on my throat.
We picked a random town to have lunch and we scored!
The Restaurant Por Fortuna, in Curacaví, was a gem on our way.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curacav%C3%AD
Curacaví is a commune situated between the hills of the coastal mountain range in central Chile, located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, specifically in Melipilla Province, with an area of 693 km2.
Population: 35.000 people.
Carne, arroz and papas fritas. Simple but delicious.
But our favourite dish was the Mechada, a Chilean-style pot roast.
We ate that pretty much everyday after.
The landscape changes a bit as we are getting close to the coast. A bit more of green and palm trees.
Arriving at the picturesque city of Valparaiso!
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valpara%C3%ADso
Valparaíso is a major city, commune, seaport and naval base in the Valparaíso Region, Chile.
"Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Despite only being the second largest city in the metropolitan area of Greater Valparaíso, with the first being Viña del Mar, Valparaíso serves as the namesake for the region due to its historical and cultural significance. Valparaíso is located about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Santiago by road and is one of the Pacific Ocean's most important seaports. Valparaíso is the capital of Chile's second most populated administrative region and has been the headquarters for the Chilean Navy since 1817 and the seat of the Chilean National Congress since 1990.
Valparaíso played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century when it served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Valparaíso experienced rapid growth during its golden age, as a magnet for European immigrants, when the city was known by international sailors as "Little San Francisco" and "The Jewel of the Pacific". Notable inheritances from its golden age include Latin America's oldest stock exchange, the continent's first volunteer fire department, Chile's first public library, and the oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world, El Mercurio de Valparaíso. In 2003, the historic quarter of Valparaíso was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This photo of part of Valparaíso was taken from the hotel rooftop.
The city of 300 thousand people was built on a cliff. The buildings look like they are all on top of each other, overlooking the Pacific ocean. It's a huge wall of buildings and people.
A cute visitor.
The first of dozens of cats we have encountered here.
My gringas (with sandals and socks) overlooking the beautiful view.
The city's art work.
This is the very fancy gate of our parking garage.
Right beside Valaparaíso, only 10 kilometers away, is another city called Viña Del Mar. This is more modern resort town, built on sea level, which makes it a completely different city.
While Valparaíso resembles San Francisco, Viña Del Mar has a Miami Beach vibe.
Aloe Vera.
FROM EXPEDIA: One of Viña el Mar’s most famous sights is a big working clock made of flowers that bloom throughout the year. Set on a sloping lawn at the foot of Cerro Castillo is the Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock), a masterpiece of landscape gardening made using an abundance of colorful flowers. This botanical landmark is an actual working clock and was inaugurated in 1962 as part of the FIFA World Cup, for which Viña del Mar was one of the host cities.
I absolutely love this tree on top of the rock!
Viña Del Mar has tall buildings and a great tourist infrastructure with lots of options of hotels and restaurants, but it's not as charming as Valparaiso - in my humble opinion.
Having grown up on the east cost, I always appreciated the sunrise on the ocean, therefore I will never miss the opportunity of a sunset on the west.
And where is the best place to be? On the beach, of course.
The ocean was rough, so the kids could not swim, but we still had a good time on the sand, mesmerized by the beauty of the big star.
The temperature was about 8-10 degrees cooler than Santiago.
On the hills, behind them is Valparaíso.
Succulents plants are everywhere.
I will shut up now and let you appreciate these beautiful shots.
No explanation required.
Almost gone.
The streets of Viña Del Mar at night are busy and full of tourist walking around or eating and drinking on patios.
A little scary moment at 10pm, when we were about to go to bed back in Valparaíso, made us leave the hotel where we were staying. It was a forest fire alarm, that turned out to be nothing, as we realized pretty soon when locals didn't move at all. But for us, if an alarm says "evacuate", we get in the car and leave right away.
After driving for a couple or hours looking for possible danger and trying to figure out what to do in case of an emergency in a foreign country, AND having a daughter extremely sick in the car with allergies from an Alpaca blanket from the hotel, we just decided to change scenery and find another hotel to spend the night... back in the very touristic place of Viña Del Mar.
We figured it would be an easier escape from there if we really needed to evacuate. Thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm, but still I think we did the right thing leaving, after reading that another forest fire had killed 130 people in Valparaíso just a month before. Not too far from where we were staying.
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