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AGAIN…SANTIAGO (the final days of our South American jaunt)

Nic and the view of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso

The foreshore at Vina

Nic talking to the dude from Easter Island (an original outside the museum at Vina, not one of the thousands of copies)

15-18 January

Our transfer back to Santiago was a most pleasant one. Margarina (who teaches English in Santiago) was our guide and worked for Christian, the Van Man (who had another gig and couldn’t be our man). She suggested that we swing past Viña del Mar, as we hadn’t made it there on our own, which was exactly what was on our mind. There was unbelievable contrast between these two cities. The manicured, clean, and oh, so expensive look of Viña (aided by the casino, castles and 5 star hotels) made it look like Chile’s own little riviera. It certainly didn’t have the bohemian feel of Valpo (nor did it appear to have the crime!). What was sad to see, though, were these lovely old buildings completely out of commission and cordoned off as a result of the earthquake in 2009 – still no sign of any restoration being done. It is such a shame that wonderful art galleries, and historic houses like the one in the botanic gardens, may have their doors closed for many more years, if not permanently, because of the quake (and a lack of funds, or motivation, to fix them).

Some of the earthquake damage on the mansion in the Vina Botanic Gardens

The beautiful palazzo (clearly influenced by the Venetians) in the Vina Botanic Gardens

From Viña we drove through the Casablanca Valley and stopped at the only bio-dynamic and organic vineyard in South America called ‘Emiliana.’ We had a tour of the vineyard and were fascinated by their use of organic and homeopathic methods to fertilise the soil and keep the pests at bay. They also had an excellent socially responsible view of being an employer in that area, ensuring that their workers had other means of income when it wasn’t the high season in the vineyards. The wine was excellent, and we bought a few bottles to share with our hosts and enjoy our last days in Chile.

John and Nic at the wine and cheese tasting at 'Emiliana'

Our 'upgrade' to Walter and Marcelo's sanctuary

On our return to Casa Moro we discovered that we had been ‘upgraded’ – due to a ‘full house,’ Walter and Marcelo had vacated their own sanctuary on the top floor for us, and they slept on the couch downstairs in the lounge. We were very lucky indeed.

Nic and the presidential guards - the horse is sucking on her fingers!

The fish markets

Panorama of the fish markets

Our plans to visit Palacio Cousiño were thwarted – yet another majestic mansion scarred by the earthquake. So instead, we visited Mercado Central, the big fish and produce markets near the river. We resisted the hawkers trying to get us into their restaurants for lunch (which really wasn’t that hard to resist, cause they shit us!), and headed instead to Bellavista for our meal. Good decision. We went to ‘El Caramaña’ for a traditional meal, and had our first “locos” – which is like abalone, but not (apparently!). We walked back to our digs by way of Santa Lucia hill as well as the Paris/London section of Santiago – which is really just one intersection of two short streets!

While this may not be the most flattering pic of Nic, it's a great shot of the graffiti covered wall in ‘El Caramaña’

Paris Street, Santiago

There are three other couples from Australia staying for a few days, so we joined them downstairs for drinks and epañadas before indulging in one of the very tasty meals prepared by our hosts. Walter and Marcelo had the bottom terrace table beautifully decorated with candlelight and other romance-inducing bits and pieces. It really was quite lovely, and while the props and set dressing were appreciated, they so weren’t necessary. Who knew we would be even more in love 11 years on?

John looking all relaxed for our romantic dinner at Casa Moro

The dogs watching Marcelo work in the kitchen

The next day we did some metro hopping to the markets at Los Dominicos. We visited here in our first days in Santiago, but didn’t buy anything – we didn’t want to be hauling stuff all over South America knowing we would return before our flight home. We bought some trinkets and souvenirs before going to lunch at the famous ‘Astrid y Gaston’ in Providencia. SO glad we did that. The food and wine were superb, and all still so reasonably priced compared to home. We had a seafood medley in a sweet curry sauce accompanied by a quinoa risotto, some seared scallops with ‘citrus air’ and ceviche, and finished with cannoli and peanut praline, with fruit lasagne. Just hope that the pants we plan on wearing for 27 hours of non-stop travel will still button up!

Our dessert at 'Astrid y Gaston' - fruit lasagne and cannoli

Our final day in Santiago was incredibly relaxing. Our flight was not until 11pm, so we had the whole day to play. We didn’t leave Casa Moro until lunch time, when we walked to a left wing political café called ‘The Clinic’ (suggested by Walter), and had a really fun lunch. Even though it was in the middle of the city, there was a garden terrace haven, shaded by big trees, with a fountain and lots of political cartoons in Spanish lining the walls. Our waitress was incredibly patient and sweet, and spoke slowly and clearly in Spanish, which actually helped our understanding immensely! We had probably the best prawn risotto we’ve ever eaten, as well as some tasty, easy to drink, Pisco sours (but, really, aren’t ALL Pisco sours “easy to drink”?). It really was a perfect last meal in Chile.

'The Clinic' - the left-wing restaurant where we had our final meal in Santiago

...And inside, with the great band and cool plates, that are soon to be covered in excellent food!

The afternoon was spent trying to catch up on the blog. We had indulged in some non-food guilty pleasures of late – watching the final episodes of Survivor and the red carpet special for the Golden Globes – which impeded the blog productivity. Then we made our way to the airport for our 27 hour door-to-door journey home. See you soon.

Coming in to land at Sydney

VALPARAISO

Ojos del Salado - the highest mountain in South America

Panorama Valparaiso

Nic in the courtyard cafe of Via Via

11-14 January

We were met at the airport (yay!! – no abandonment!) by Christian, the ‘Van Man,’ who provided us with a pleasant transfer to Valparaiso. His excellent English was a refreshing change, and his conversation made the hour journey pass very quickly. He asked about our plans in Valparaiso, and suggested a tour with Michael, the German Pirate (we had read about him on TA). We liked the sound of that and so he immediately got Michael on the phone. He had a German couple booked in for a pre-cruise-ship tour for tomorrow, but said that we could join them. Cool. Sorted.

The once-busy, now-deserted stock exchange for Chile

Inside the bar 'La Playa,' downtown Valparaiso

‘Via Via Café B&B’ is lovely. (Via Via Cafe & Hotel) Our room is large, has a balcony and windows on 2 sides (no dark, depressing boxes, used only for sleeping!). It’s a gorgeous old Art Deco building, and we have a view of the port. Once settled in, we were given a welcome drink of fantastic Chilean Merlot and went to bed. At peace.

One of the many lower socio-economic areas of Valpo

Poor, but funky

Breakfast the next morning was bliss – we were given avocado! Nic was so happy! Michael, the German Pirate, picked us up mid-morning, we met our new German friends, Helmut and Francisca, and off we went. We saw many interesting things in the city, while both walking and driving, beginning with the houses and history around the old town centre. The history in the 1960s and 70s was quite fascinating – basically some areas of the town had been completely deserted for years, and the hippies and students moved in and painted the places in vibrant colours and began making repairs. After a few years, they officially owned the buildings. Things don’t quite work this way now, however, so forget about moving to Valpo and squatting!

The German school across from our B&B

Graffiti corner

Neruda wall

Our guide, Michael, charms his way in everywhere. He showed us the house of a politician who only comes to Valparaiso once or twice a year (his friend is the caretaker), which was a wonderful old home with truly magnificent views of the city and the port. Such a waste for it to be only used a couple of times a year. He also has a mate who owns ‘Hotel Manoir Atkinson,’ so we all climbed to its roof for another great view (we can see this hotel from our digs). Other stops for our tour were the German Club (with its own Kaiser Salla), ‘La Playa’ (a pub with a rustic mahogany bar, wood panelled walls, and lots of pics of Jack Nicholson and James Dean), and the English fire station (where we spent time looking at the pics of Charles and Camilla’s visit in 2009, shown to us by a very proud fire chief). They have quite a few different fire stations in Valparaiso, due to the eclectic nature of the settlement of the city – they have German, English, American, Spanish and Jewish fire stations!

Rooftops and port of Valpo

 A lot of the graffiti is really beautiful

The hillsides at the highest point of Valparaiso, and the shanties where the very poor live

We went to a bit of a Valpo institution for lunch, ‘El Cinzano,’ for a very traditional set menu with a Pisco sour thrown in as well. We were surrounded by many sweet old waiters, lots of locals, and only one or two tourists. An entire wall of the place was devoted to the world cup draw and scores – they are passionate about their football!

The lovely Art Deco Via Via

Beautiful bee

Michael drove us up along the top of Valparaiso, up in the hills, which is the poor area of the city. It seems that the poor always get the best views in these Latin American cities! We finished the afternoon with a visit to the Naval Museum, which, (as to be expected!), has some wonderful views from its peninsular. It was quite an extensive museum – the Chileans are very proud of their naval history, but the artworks depicting these scenes were not always of the best quality.

Neruda's beach at Isla Negra (from his house)

Our lunch stop in Quintay - 'Miramar'

View from 'Miramar'

On being returned to our lovely ‘Via Via,’ Michael suggested that we join them again tomorrow for another tour down south to Isla Negra – another of Pablo Neruda’s houses (the one where he spent the most time). So we said, “sure.” We were more than a tad tired at the end of this day, so we settled into the courtyard of the café part of our B&B and ordered a bottle of chardonnay. Most satisfying, but combined with the fatigue, it may have influenced the error in judgement of ordering too much delicious food (there is a bit of a pattern developing here!). But, it was terribly yummy – tempura vegetables, hand made pasta filled with smoked eggplant in a cream sauce, and TWO desserts! Belgian triple (which was actually 4 desserts – waffles with strawberries, shot glass of some fabulous chocolate and cream creation, a fruit sorbet, maybe lychee?, and a cheese and almond cake). Had a full serve of the cheese and almond cake as well, as the ‘second’ dessert. Bad decision all round. Felt so bloody full and ick afterwards. Should’ve stopped at the end of the pasta.

Quintay

Shoreline at Quintay at Julio's place

The rocky beach at Julio's

The next morning, our German buddies turned up with all their luggage – they had decided to move from their accommodation in Viña del Mar to Valparaiso, and had liked the look of ‘our place.’ They had a few days to kill before going on their cruise, and wanted to experience more of this very charming city.

Julio's house and the observatory he built

The view from Julio's living room

We began the day with a visit to a winery in Casablanca Valley, Casas del Bosque. It could’ve been any winery in California or Australia – immaculate grounds, lush green lawns, plants trimmed with nail scissors – all designed to make tourists who drive in, tumbling off their tour buses, exclaim, “I MUST buy wine here!”

Valpo street - so very charming

We drove south to the house of Neruda. He named his house Isla Negra, and at some point in time, the mayor (have no idea who or when) changed the name of the town to honour him (or cash in on his name, whichever). Neruda was an interesting contradiction – he was a communist, but he hoarded (or collected) so much stuff. He was quite obsessive, actually. However, he definitely had good taste in choosing locations to build his houses! You couldn’t imagine a more perfect outlook. Bliss.

Dog and cat face off...next to Nic's leg

Hunger was clawing at us by the time we got lunch (because we have been starving ourselves the last few weeks!). We drove to a village called Quintay, north of Isla Negra, past a world-record breaking 1km long pool at a gigantic resort. We split some excellent fish dishes between the 5 of us, and were very glad we did – the meals were on huge platters masquerading as dinner plates – AND we began by splitting an appetizer of a crab casserole (basically crab in a creamy, buttery, garlicky sauce). The salad that came with one of the fish dishes was pretty much only eaten by the Bontaks pair – the others preferred the mounds of potatoes.

Nic at arvo drinks (her's is an apple sour, John's is a mango sour - both delicious!)

We drove further north to visit one of Michael’s friends, a man called Julio Manizuga. He is 84 years old, and is an artist/collector/mechanic/fix-it-man – basically a genius. He looks about 65, and is still an outrageous flirt with a wicked sense of humour – all delivered cheekily in Spanish, and translated by Michael. His current pet project is assembling a train set and building from scratch its village and landscape. He began collecting the pieces of this extensive collection in the 60s! No rush. In his living room he has a beautiful stone statue that he carved of his ex-wife – she doesn’t give him any grief in that form!

Neruda's Valparaiso house - 'La Sebastiana'

Neruda's View

Our third and final full day in Valparaiso began with a walk up the hill to catch the bus to ‘La Sabastiana,’ one of Pablo Neruda’s houses. ‘Twas our favourite of the whole three in terms of design, although they have all had lovely settings, and the two by the sea had absolutely magnificent views. This was the only house of the three where we were able to take an audio-guided tour at our own pace, rather than with a tour guide that moved you along a bit. This house had some of his poetry in his study translated to English, and it was interesting to see a similarity between Neruda’s poetic style and phrasing, and John’s. After our visit, we walked down the big hill through the Museo a Cielo Abierto (Open Air Museum). There were a few interesting pieces, but nothing that really inspired us.

More gorgeous and atmospheric buildings in Valpo

We walked through the main area of town down at sea level, and then caught the funicular back up to our little haunt of Concepcion. We ate at the highly recommended tiny French restaurant at the end of our street called ‘Le Filou de Montpellier.’ Once again, the fish was wonderful, and the warm gooey Camembert salad a real treat. Declined dessert, cause things really are just getting out of hand!

Colourful house con laundry

RIO DE JANEIRO 2

The view from Sugar Loaf

The Christo and Sugar Loaf in the distance from our amazing helicopter ride

The controls..and the pilot's hand

Ipanema Beach

Arpoador, the area between Ipanema and Copacabana beaches (where we stayed)

7-11 January

What a phenomenal day! We began with a visit to Sugar Loaf. Off bright and early to beat the crowds. So glad we did. We arrived at Sugar Loaf, just after they opened at 8am, and pretty much had the place to ourselves – there were only a couple of cable cars of people on the hill, and we all revelled in the beautiful view minus the smog that sets in later in the day (and without the press of hundreds of others at our shoulders). We caught the car to the first lower level and strolled and sat and looked for quite a while. Checked out the prices of the helicopter rides and then headed up the next leg to the top of Sugar Loaf. Of course, the vista was even more compelling from there, so we had a cool drink and just enjoyed the moment. Back on the lower level, the helicopter office was open, so we took the plunge and were the first ride of the day. We selected the 8-9 minute ride, which took us around the Christo (twice!), over Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and past Sugar Loaf before landing on the very cool helipad. Absolutely fantastic! We both loved every single millisecond; the adrenaline and exhilaration had us on a huge high, and the buzz lasted well after we had left the place.

Blind Justice

People in wheelchairs, sharing the road with traffic

The Teatro Municipal - modelled on the Paris Opera

We left Sugar Loaf and caught a cab to the Centro. This area presented us with some lovely surprises and a couple of disappointments. The first disappointment was the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes. This was talked up a bit in the guide books, so we were looking forward to it. The problem was that only half of the museum was opened, and what was there, was so poorly lit, we really shouldn’t have bothered. What kind of gallery lights their art works with weak, non-directional fluorescents? These people need to do the NSW VET Entertainment course! From there we had a positive experience – lunch! ‘Beduino’ had some of the best falafels we’ve ever eaten – not at all dry, but nice and moist and tasty. And such a great deal! The place was filled with busy and happy locals who knew a bargain when they saw it – Arabic food at its best!

More of Rio

Church interior...after a while, the names fade

Cool t-shirt

From there we retraced our steps to have a closer look at the National Library and the Teatro Municipal, and got sidetracked by the Centro Cultural Justiça Federal. This was an incredibly lovely old building that served as the Brazilian Supreme Court 1909 to 1960. The classical French style façade housed a graceful Art Nouveau wrought iron staircase, and gothic and Renaissance designs on the walls, doorways and ceilings. It now houses small exhibitions, but we were too enamoured with its architecture that we really didn’t mind what was ‘on show.’ The National Library was another lovely building, but we didn’t really spend any time there – just wandered around the huge entry hall, took some pics, and then left. Our next, “oh, bugger” of the day was finding the Theatre closed. It wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to be open AND offer tours, but it was as tight as a drum. Even the café was behind locked doors. Only reason we could think of for this deliberate effort to thwart our enjoyment of the day, was that there had been a big closing night the previous evening, and maybe they were all sleeping it off somewhere.

Rio has the obligatory city statues and monuments

Our nice cold beer at the average watering hole at Copacabana Beach

Done at the beach, and on their way home. Really, NO one takes 'stuff' to the beach

Sun going down on Ipanema

From there we basically ambled along Avenida Presidente António Carlos until we came over all tired all of a sudden, and decided to catch the metro home. This was the first time we had used it in Brazil, and it was kind of efficient – the only problem was that our first time of using it meant lining up for a damned long time to get our tokens (and we happened to be at one of the busiest stations in the city). If we had’ve caught it in the morning and prepared ourselves by buying tokens at our little station at Ipanema, it would’ve taken much less time (always made worse when one is hot and tired). When we got back to our digs, we were going to have our usual nap, but our room had not been done (it was the third day, so the towels and bird-poop stained sheets were supposed to have been changed – we’d completely given up any hope of the bathroom actually being cleaned, I mean, come on! – we were only staying a week!!!). So, we pointed out that the room needed the maid’s attention and went and had a drink at a really average bar along Copacabana Beach. THEN we came back to the room and slept.

Another aerial shot of the magnificent Christo

...And another

The next morning we hit the gigantic Rio Sul Shopping Centre, went there by way of a rip-off cabbie (not intentional!). Knob! Afterwards, had the thought we should’ve refused to pay and let him call the police – he would’ve soon backed down. But we didn’t think of it till it was too late. Oh well. Live and learn. We bought some Havianas for ourselves (much cheaper than home) as well as a couple of other things, before we went to Copacabana Palace for lunch. Well, that was our intention, but we hadn’t made a booking and there was no room. Found instead a really good por kilo restaurant not too far away called ‘Siqueira Grill.’ Headed back to room, dumped shopping, and had nap. And because Nic couldn’t bear to be in the room unless she was asleep (it was far too depressing!), we headed to the Sofitel for arvo drinks and work time on the computer and reading...which turned into evening drinks (with a bit of wine and cheese tasting thrown in) and we left at about 10pm!

Pretty impressive sandcastle on Copa

Nic with her wine and cheese tasting spread (and her expanding girth!)

Nic atop a tower in the Botanic Gardens

It seems the Christo can be seen from all corners of Rio

The pasty white chick isn't very well camouflaged

Our Sunday was spent in a most leisurely fashion. We slept in a bit and then went to the Jardim Botanico. They’re very lovely little botanic gardens, with outstanding orchid and bromeliad houses. The only problem with Rio and its gardens (which thwarted out plans a bit) is that they don’t allow laying about on the grass (unlike Argentina and Chile). Bugger that! After quiche and salad for lunch, we kept moving (since there was to be no lazing about on the verdant lawns!), and headed to another public garden, Parque Lage. This was once a privately owned mansion, which now houses a school of visual arts. The grounds were designed by a British landscape gardener, so there are many meandering paths and follies, including a refreshingly cool group of grottos.

The range of orchids was vast

And the bromeliads were just as impressive

Afterwards, headed for some airconditioning, and found ourselves at the Caesar Park Hotel on Ipanema Beach for some VERY expensive French Champagne which we sipped, rather than guzzled (!), while reading…although Nic DID have TWO glasses! The evening meal was had at ‘Zuka’ – rated the top restaurant in Rio (by DK Top 10). And we DID eat some pretty spectacular food. The whole dining experience was pretty cool – along one side of the restaurant was an open section of the kitchen with a huge grill, copper panelled trim and sparks from the open fire flaring spectacularly. Our choice was, once again, the most beautifully prepared fish, that simply melted in our mouths.

The once mansion, now art school...and cafe

Where's Edina and Pats??

One of the nearly thousand favelas in Rio

We took a favela tour the next morning (Favela Tour). It was an excellent eye-opener for what this city is REALLY like. The media paints favelas as being melting pots of crime and depravity, not just internationally, but to the people of Brazil. There is no room in their picture for the ordinary, everyday people trying to survive with hardly any money – these people have a very strong sense of community. In fact, their sense of community is such an integral part of who they are, that there are more and more of them who achieve success (as defined by those with money), who choose to remain in the favelas instead of moving to a “respectable” part of town – they have no desire to leave their families and friends, and so instead, they set up businesses in the favelas, and help their communities. It was particularly touching seeing the school that has been sponsored by the tour company. They basically have a couple of tiny dark rooms, with some old books on shelves, a kitchen and toilets. In Brazil, the children only have to go to school for half a day, either morning or afternoon (or they are SUPPOSED to!), and they then get up to no good for the other half of the day. This school supplies them with lessons for the time they are not in government schools, even in school holidays, to help give these kids an education and give them options in life (apart from working for the drug lords and dying before the age of 25!). It’s also hard to get teachers in the public schools. They only get paid 700 reals a MONTH (which is about $100 AUD a week). Yet an American private school has annual fees of $33,000 USD. And this private school was across the road from the favela. We certainly learnt a lot today. If you are ever in Rio, take a favela tour, we highly recommend it.

Electrical work that doesn't have to meet any city codes

The main street...which is an actual road, rather than a tiny alley way

Bowls made by supporters of the school to raise money for teaching supplies and facilities

A narrow alley way with homes above and below, crammed in to bursting point

The colourful walls and mosaics reflect the pride the residents have in their community

For lunch we went to ‘Expand Wine Store.’ This was a unique experience – after selecting our meals, we then had to go the wine room to make our selection, rather than using a wine menu. It was quite overwhelming trying to choose, so we decided on a grape variety, a price range, a country, and took their suggestions. So we had a rather nice chardonnay from Mendoza. This was a fine accompaniment to the lobster and squash gnocchi in a garlic, cream sauce, followed by a crème brulee. However, the real highlight for us was the cassis cheesecake – to DIE FOR! More walking was in order after such indulgence, always a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Men doing what men do - gathering for a smoke and a natter

Lunch at Expand Wines

Brulee being prepared at the table

We went to ‘Fasano’ for dinner – the newest (and most expensive!) hotel in Rio. The food was absolutely lovely, but it was hideously expensive – too overpriced, actually. But we coped with the luxury!

Now THERE'S a Barbie we haven't seen before!

Off to the beach

Our last morning in Rio was spent packing. We had arranged for Inia to meet us at 11:40am to settle our account. Of course, she arrived an hour early, didn’t check that we were actually there, took off again, and arrived back late. She really was some piece of work! We had friendly Anderson for our ride to the airport. That was nice. Rio airport really needs to get their shit together before the Olympics. It’s rubbish. There are hardly any facilities in the departure lounges – a token duty free place, and a small food joint where you can get a toasted cheese sandwich and a drink. Pathetic really.

How's the serenity?

Ipanema

The view of Ipanema from Arpoador at sunset