Sunday, January 17, 2016

New Years - 2016 - Day 18

It was beautiful with clear skies and hot when we woke up in Valparaiso, Chile.

Ed had breakfast and then we were off the ship at 7:30am and through customs and immigrations by 8:10am and our guide wasn’t there yet as we were to meet him at 8:30am.   He arrived in a little bit and off we went for a 10 hour tour of Valparaiso and the country side before arriving at our hotel in Santiago.

One of the exciting things that we got to see were several groups of sea lions as we toured along the coast.  Valparaiso has miles of public beach right in town and the suburbs.  It is also a town of 53 major hills so it was a little like driving in San Francisco, except the streets are steeper and narrower!

We also took a tram to the top of one of the major hills for some beautiful views of the city.

For lunch our guide, Hector took us to this very nice restaurant right along the sea and we had a sampler platter of sea food for two and it could have easily fed four.  We were stuffed by the time we finished our lunch.

Then we left the city for the drive to Santiago.  Along the way, we stopped at a vineyard and had a wine tasting.  It was fun as we tasted from their winery four different types of wines and sat with a couple from Florida who had also been on our cruise.

Then it was back on the road to Santiago which is 2 hours from Valparaiso.  We were almost there when our van started to overheat, so Hector called his father who came in his car and we transferred everything to Hector’s father’s car and continued to Santiago.

Finally we arrived at the Santiago Marriott and as soon as we unloaded the car we realized that

Ed had left his large wardrobe back at the pier!  After we got to our room, Ed called Marriott and they will send the bag to our house via FedEx.   None of the clothes that he needs for the stay in Santiago were in that bag; however, his warm jacket, gloves and hat were.  So, we hope that it is warm in Bloomington when we land in a couple of days.

They upgraded us to a 1 bedroom corner suite on the 18 floor that measures 50’ x50’ with a huge living room, a large bedroom, a very large bathroom and enough closets for a stay for a month.

We went up to the executive lounge and had finger food and something to drink and then came back to the room to unpack.  After that, we walked a block to a mall and had a sandwich while sitting outside watching the people.

We have downloaded a few vides of today and will download more tomorrow.

Night from Santiago, Chile
 
Sea Lions
 
Barb buying a ring
 
Lunch
 
Sampler sea food platter

Wine tasting

Snacks at the Marriott


Having lunch in Valparaiso

 
 
Sea Lions in Valparaiso
 
 
 
At the Santiago Marriott
 
 

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