Aug 4, 2012 - Valparaiso

La prochaine étape du voyage est Valparaiso, deuxième ville du Chili. Nous avons beaucoup aimé cette ville avec ses nombreuses collines (une cinquantaine) qu'il est possible de gravir à pied, en bus, ou par de petits ascenseurs ; même si durant notre séjour uniquement 3 d'entre eux étaient en fonction. En plus, c'est un paradis des couleurs, les maisons sont très colorées et les murs tout comme les escaliers sont remplis de peinture. Des artistes du monde entier viennent ici exprimer leurs talents. C'est aussi à Valparaiso que Pablo Neruda,...

Jul 30, 2012 - Rapa Nui (île de Pâques)

Après avoir récupéré Nicole et passé deux jours avec elle à Santiago, nous voilà partis à l'île de Pâques. Et oui, cela n'était pas prévu à la base dans le programme. Mais, Nicole était bien motivée et n'a pas eu trop de peine à nous faire changer d'avis. Heureusement, car cela en a valu la peine. C'est l'île la plus éloignée de toute terre habitée. De plus, on ne connait toujours pas précisément à quelle époque remonte son peuplement ni son histoire exacte. Ses moaïs (statues) sont impressionnantes. La pierre qui a servit à leur...

Apr 17, 2012 - I murales di Valparaiso

Basterebbero le colline, disseminate di case coloratissime, le strade che discendono ripide da queste e il mare all’orizzonte per far innamorare di Valparaiso. Se poi a questo si aggiungono gli artisti seduti in ogni angolo, a ritrarre il mondo che li circonda, i ragazzi che prendono lezioni di musica e di ballo per strada, l’atmosfera decadente degli edifici distrutti dai terremoti e tipica di una città portuale, il rimanervi sedotti è inevitabile. Questa è una città di cerros, colli, divenuti famosi grazie all’UNESCO, che ha dichiarato...

Apr 13, 2012 - Nella terra delle teste giganti

Vorrei dire che la sua fama è immeritata, che non vale la pena fare un viaggio così lungo per venire fin qui, solo per vedere dei testoni di pietra giganti quando in Europa siamo pieni di statue antiche favolose. Ma lo direi solo per egoismo, per essere certa che questo posto non cambi mai, che i suoi 50.000 turisti all’anno rimangano tali e permettano a quest’isola di rimanere sempre così, incontaminata. Ma non so dire bugie e la realtà è che… questo posto ha superato tutte le aspettative. È semplicemente… meraviglioso. Incredibile. Non ho...

Mar 30, 2012 - Home away from home, Limache, Chile

Andre found a wonderful flat in a small town near Valparaiso, Chile. It was huge, airy, stunning views and Natasha and her family, the owners of the place, were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We would love to come back with family and friends and rent out all her rooms (she is building more) and spend a few days in her gorgeous garden, all organic fruit, vegitables and herbs, fresh fish and great Chilean wine. We spent one day exploring nearby Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. It is a huge port town with a strong Naval presence, whole...

Mar 26, 2012 - Andre's supermarket adventure

We arrived in Chile after a long day of some what bumpy travels including: - Boarder crossing where we nearly got who knows what by scary armed boarder people for trying to bring contraband into the country, yogurt and cooked chicken WITH bone, without bone would have been ok. It was harder to get into Chile than Cuba. - Getting on the right bus going to the wrong location - Franticly getting off the bus in a random town to have to find a local bus going back the way we came, a bus of course that was rediculously packed, (just to clarify we...

Mar 3, 2012 - Casablanca Valley & Valparaiso, Chile

We departed the Santiago Ritz Carlton at 8:30 and headed to the Intercontinental hotel to pick up Barbara. There was a huge moving truck outside the hotel filled with tons of luggage for all the other cruisers. Yikes! Barbara was ready and we hit the road. Leaving Santiago we drove through the long tunnel and headed over the mountains toward the coast. Once we cleared the mountains we crossed over into the Casablanca Valley. This area produces Chile's white wine. Hector asked the driver to pull over so we all could see the beautiful...

Feb 13, 2012 - As Sea in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean encompasses one third of the Earth’s surface making it the largest body of water. It covers an area significantly larger that the entire Earth’s landmass. It is hard to image how large it is until one crosses it by ship. Five days were required to travel the distance between Puntas Arenas, Chile and Easter Island (2237 miles). Our next port is Papeete, Tahiti and it requires another four days (2670 miles) at sea. We cross several time zones also. Almost every night we set our clocks back one hour. We joke that we gain an...

Feb 11, 2012 - Easter Island, Chile

The Pacific storm is not our only hurdle to reach Easter Island. Upon arrival, the ship’s crew finds that we are unable to anchor in the town’s harbor of Hanga Piko. Large swells prevent safe tendering operations. This is a little disappointing as it cuts down on our shopping opportunities. But our disappointment is short lived when we realize the efforts we have to go through to even get ashore at the alternate tendering site of Anakena Cove on the north side of the island. We have to exit one tender and walk through another tender and...

Jan 12, 2012 - Chili - Valparaiso

Nous avons passé notre dernière journée au Chili à Valparaiso, ville collée à Vina del Mar. Lors de notre passage en 2005, on n'avait pas eu le temps de visiter cette jolie petite ville colorée (à cause d'une trop grosse fête chez Falk, qui habitait à Santiago à l'époque). C'était donc l'occasion ou jamais de nous rattraper! On a arpenté les petites rues aux maisons de toutes les couleurs, visité la maison musée de Pablo Neruda, fait un tour en bateau, et mangé dans un resto typique en buvant quelques bières. Cette ville portuaire est...

Jan 11, 2012 - Chili - Vina del Mar

Nous sommes arrivés dans la nuit et sommes directement allés nous installer dans un petit hotel. Le lendemain, Falk et Ben ont trouvé un autre hotel beaucoup plus sympa dans une vieille batisse en bois, tenu par le fils d'immigrés allemands. On a donc déménagé nos affaires dans la matinée avant d'aller passer l'après-midi à la plage. Vina del Mar est une vraie station balnéaire, sans charme, ca me rappelle la Costa Brava en Espagne, c'est tout construit et envahi de touristes locaux (on est en pleine saison!). Vina del Mar - nachdem wir...

Nov 12, 2011 - Vina del Mar & Across the Andes

Hola - A friend of mine from Vanderbilt grew up here. Her father worked for W.T. Grace Shipping Company and had his office on Plaza Mayor in Valparaiso. I take the Metro train north along the coast to the nearby city of Vina Del Mar. Once a pleasand coastal resort it is now much larger and the favored beaches are still further north. Vina reminds me a bit of a Pasadena By-the-Sea. A nice, modern upscale place to live. Muy rico compared to Valparaiso. My first stop are the Quinta Vergara gardens. A huge old Italianate mansion is closed but...