December 14, 2005
Day 77
I got into Viña del Mar very early today, exhausted from my overnight bus ride. I took a walk around town and discovered what a charming place it is. Located on the coast, Viña has lots of beach resorts, parks, a casino owned by the city, and the biggest shopping mall in South America. Among many other things, the mall contains a huge Wal-Mart like store that has 68 checkout lines! I couldn't believe how big everything was there.
I decided to try couchsurfing again, and just like last time, it has been a great experience. Shannon, from California, and Cote, from Chile, are a young married couple living in a nice condo on top of a hill with a great view of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. They almost constantly host people. In fact, a girl from Argentina named Juliana is also staying there now. In February, Shannon and Cote will begin their own RTW trip, beginning with Easter Island.
I was too tired to do much of anything today other than walk around town for a bit, so I just had a relaxing evening with Shannon, Cote, and Juliana, and called it a night early.
Viña del Mar Photos
Condo Photos
i suppose you have allready answered this one dan, but when compared to the usa, how would you say chile stacks on the wealth table. Also, how does the currency compare? Also... Good one! About the sharks with laser beams I mean... but seriously were there sharks? Because sharks can be very aggresive fish and you don't want to mess with them. They probably don't even need to have laser beams to be dangerous.... so.... yeah... Also, that really is a nice view from the apartment or condo or whatever.
Good questions Mike. I'll get to them in the next week or so in my next Questions Answered session.
I don't think there are really sharks, at least not in the water. But you have to be careful on the land...
What do your hosts do for a living?
Pablo, from Calama, is a psychologist, Shannon, from Vina, is an ESL teacher, Cote (Shannon's husband) is studying tourism management, and Katty, from Santiago, is studying to be a lawyer. All have traveled to other parts of the world before, and probably will continue to do so in the future.
Oh yeah, I haven't written about Santiago yet. That's where I am now.
Dan, I did not expect the shark on the television... That was quite startling!