Bathing Optional

Chile: Sept & Oct. 2006

Continents

Continents

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Incredible Andean peaks all around as we made the crossing into Chile! Looks chilly? It was!
First day of spring in the Chilean Andes!
Some of the most amazing mountains weÂ´ve seen along the Chile-Argentina border.
Fantastic!
Winding our way down, down, down into Chile. No more snow!
More mountains in the distance.
Following a beautiful creek as we made our way further and further into Chile. Are those California poppies we see? Our time in Chile so far has been like coming home to California!
Rest stop during our bus ride and Ashe grabbed the first kitten she could find!
Parrot at the rest stop restaurant.
The parrot greeted us with about fifty `holas`.
Ashe with the kitten.
Maciej with the same kitten biting his finger.
Leaving the amazing Andes behind as we headed for the Chilean coast.
Horcon, a tiny fishing village along ChileÂ´s central coast was our camping spot for two nights as we used it as our base for visiting the nearby cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.
Fishing boats on the beach and hillside homes in Horcon.
More hillside homes in Horcon. This could be the northern California coast...
The beach.
Tiny town church in one of the alleys off the main street to the harbor in Horcon.
Fishing boat.
More fishing boats.
On a rock in the harbor waters sits this shrine to San Pedro, patron saint of the sea.
Early morning views from Horcon's beach.
The sun's first light over Horcon.
Fantastic sunrise!
Sunrise adds some light to the sky and beach.
Fishing boat going out.
Another boat.
Pelican at sunrise.
Another great beach view.
They use horses to pull the boats out to sea!
Bringing the horses back home up HorconÂ´s main road.
Homes along the beach.
Valparaiso, the most famous of ChileÂ´s historic port towns and an incredibly beautiful city with colorful homes stretching into the hills, alleys with great grafitti art, and a historic center along the port at sea level.
The port, less important than it once was.
Rush hour traffic.
The Naval Headquarters.
Bumper to bumper traffic.
Fine old buildings like this one line ValparaisoÂ´s historic port.
More great buildings.
Statue.
Home and church up in the hills.
Statue.
Another statue.
Rooftop statue. Don't jump!
Clocktower.
Pink or salmon?
Great, colorful historic block.
Stairs or elevator? Transporting citizens from the sea level center and port to the residential hills above for more than 100 years are ValparaisoÂ´s famous hillside elevators.
Hill elevators! Many of these stations help Valparaisians get up to their homes in the hills.
View from the elevator.
Residential area above.
Valparaiso's old observatory, Chile's oldest.
Canon and bell at the observatory.
Ashe at the observatory.
Vines.
Ashe with daisies at the observatory.
On the observatory patio.
Views from the observatory patio -- Valparaiso looks great!
Hillside homes.
View over to another nearby hill.
Along the patio.
View of a large mural just outside the observatory gardens. Our introduction to the wonderful art that covers many walls in residential Valparaiso.
More of the same mural.
And even more.
Another mural -- they're everywhere!
We saw lots of these faceless guys on murals all over town.
Flags and flowers, two more things that could be found all over Valparaiso.
Fountain in a plaza.
Hanging out in the plaza.
Mangy dogs get food and water wherever they can.
New and old.
By accident we found this great staircase lane leading up into a group of homes in a lush setting.
Another home in the alley.
And another. This little staircased lane with old, wooden homes really reminded us of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.
The wheels keep turning at the funicular elevator station.
More great graffiti art.
An old mansion.
Same mansion, other side.
Another great hilltop home with a view.
Same home.
The hills of Valparaiso are filled with fantastic historic neighborhoods.
Cliffiside plaza with incredible ocean views.
Colorful alley in the hills.
Another one.
More great art.
Valparaisos hill homes -- clashing colors never looked so great!
More luxurious homes sit in the hills too.
Fantastic!
School children... grab a sleeve and go!
Homes.
Still searching for the message in this one...
Twins!
Somehow, in this city, it looks good!
Fluorescent colors never looked so good!
A bit beat up, but sill beautiful.
More color.
Inside a local church. Who needs Jesus when youve got your national flag?!
Local street market.
The cow/cat that jumped over the moon?
Nice!
Nice entrance!
More great art on the neighborhood walls.
Looks good.
Homes climbing the hills.
Cat and ??
Fantastic street corner!
Sure!
Youve probably figured out by now that we love Valparaiso. Everything about it.
This country is mine, mine, mine!
More art.
More color.
More art.
Some Tudor mixed into all that wild color.
We would never think of mixing these three colors but they did here and it looks great!
Apartment blocks should look like this everywhere.
How about fixing up the other side too?
Lots of cats mingle with murals and colorful homes in Valparaiso.
Another kitty.
More great wall art, this time part of a formal effort known as the Museum of Open Walls.
Another cat.
More wall art in the Open Wall Museum.
Flags everywhere!
Vina del Mar, Valparaisos more ritzy neighbor to the north.
Coastal rocks in Vina del Mar.
Strolling along the beachwalk in Vina del Mar.
Castle home in Vina del Mar.
Fancy hotel in the shape and image of a ship in Vina del Mar.
Coastal views in Vina del Mar.
Coastal castle with views in Vina del Mar.
Vina del Mar is definitely the rich brother to Valparaiso.
The castles turret stands on its own rock in the ocean.
Inside the castle the walk from the castle to the turret tower looks like this!
Views while climbing the castle tower.
Pelican on restaurant roof.
More pelicans on the rocks below.
Riverside walkway in Vina del Mar.
You choose your mode of transport in Vina.
Carriage in the park.
The Palacio Vergara, one of Vina del Mars more outstanding historic mansions.
Lions guard the approach to the Palacio.
Ashe in the Palacio gardens.
The park surrounding the Palacio Vergara has an incredible assortment of flora.
Interesting carving in the garden.
Palms.
Inside the Palacio.
Ashe through a Palacio mirror.
Poor image of a great painting, a copy of one we saw in the Louvre, I believe.
What a haunting image! Its everywhere we go!
Butt shot.
An unhappy Mary.
Elephants in the gardens.
Another great tree in the Palace gardens.
Downhill views in Valparaiso.
Art.
More art in the Open Wall Museum.
Too close!
Art on every piece of open wall or fence. Valparaiso is great!|
Alley.
Childrens contribution to the plethora of street art.
Another of Vina del Mars old mansions.
Carriage passing at sunset.
Sunset in Vina del Mar.
Us enjoying the sunset from the beach in Vina del Mar.
Sunset views.
One last fishing boat out in the waters at sunset.
Sunset fishing in Vina del Mar.
Sunset on the beach boardwalk.
Our custom camping spot in someones backyard (yes, we had to go door to door asking locals if we could pitch our tent in their yard) in Horcon.
Ashe in the tent, early morning.
Taking a walk through our fishing village, Horcon.
More homes in Horcon.
As we got closer to the wild coastal stretch known as Cau Cau, the homes got more and more interesting!
Farmer walking his cows in the early morning.
Another nice home on our way to Cau Cau.
Another great one!
As we said, the homes got nicer and nicer as we neared the coastal cliffs. Here, someones dream of owning a home in the Greek Islands came true along the Chilean coast.
The Cau Cau coast. Great!
Us along the Cau Cau coast.
Great coast!
Nice!
Ashe along the coastal trail.
Wildflowers.
Fantastic, healthy succulents. Love them!
Maciej along the coast trail.
Ashe doing what she always does when she finds a clean, refreshing water source.
Coastal views.
Rocky shores.
Waves crashing!
Ashe, still on the coastal trail.
Wildflowers.
Careful...
... or you might get splashed.
Great trail -- we loved it!
Interesting plant.
Horses.
Adorable girl on the bus down the coast.
Views out our bus windows were great as we went south down the coast from Valparaiso to the oceanside home of Pablo Neruda in Isla Negra.
Approaching NerudaÂ´s oceanfront home and images of him already greeted us.
Part of the three part home.
Images of fish and the sea fill both the inside and outside of the home.
A beachside hut, a writing refuge for Neruda.
Fantastic Pacific views from every room inside NerudaÂ´s home.
A lifetime lover of the sea, Neruda filled all three of his homes with nautical images and relics.
Another passion of his: colored glass.
Fish statue with wonderful eyes in the courtyard overlooking the sea.
Bells, also in the garden.
Bell.
Also on Nerudas seaside lot, a small fishing boat.
Amazing coastal views from his garden.
As this was his favorite of his three Chilean homes, NerudaÂ´s tomb is also found in his Isla Negra homes garden.
More great views from his courtyard.
Following Nerudas garden path down to the beach.
The beach below the home.
NerudaÂ´s face carved on top of a large boulder on the beach.
Crashing surf.
Another one of these...
NerudaÂ´s neighbors arent doing too badly either.
The streets, lanes rather, of Isla Negra wind through coastal cypress and dense shrubbery exposing a home here and there. Kind of like a Chilean Carmel for all you Californians out there.
The sun begins to set over NerudaÂ´s beach at Isla Negra.
Sunset.
Nice light!
Enjoying the sunset.
This statue resembling a moai statue perpetually faces the sea on Nerudas beach.
Great little homes right on the beach!
Happy at the end of a great day on the coast!
Sunset.
Santiago, ChileÂ´s fantastic, sprawling, modern, metropolitan capital.
We began our day in Santiago in its bohemian quarter, colorful Barrio Brasil.
Art on the walls of a restaurant in Barrio Brasil.
Almost right away, we came across a huge Sunday flea market in the streets of Barrio Brasil.
At the flea market, MaciejÂ´s stolen fleece was not hard to replace with a great (and warm!) wool sweater.
More color along the streets of Barrio Brasil.
Another colorful building.
Barrio Brasil block.
Local market.
Local church.
Blue house along the plaza in Barrio Brasil.
Why donÂ´t all playgrounds look like this?
Street scene in Santiago.
Things got more and more fancy as we approached downtown Santiago.
Man in the park.
Things looked a bit communist in the square in front of Santiagos old coin mint.
Old cannon at the Mint.
Downtown Santiagos streets are an interesting of old and hyper-new.
Old bank building.
Main building at the University of Santiago.
More downtown Santiago.
Old and new.
Looks good!
Church reflection.
SantiagoÂ´s oldest colonial building, the old cathedral (the one on the right).
In all the colonial churches weve visited, weve seen nothing quite like the ceiling of Santiagos old cathedral.
Replica moai statue in small plaza in the heart of Santiago.
SantiagoÂ´s main plaza and main cathedral are dwarfed by modern glass towers.
Another church.
Building along the main plaza.
More buildings along SantiagoÂ´s main plaza.
Art Museum modeled after a museum in Paris and it shows!
Trojan Horse?
Old plaza hidden away in central Santiago.
Statue.
Santiagos main cathedral.
Great ship statue sailing through Santiagos Parque Forestal along the river.
Sailing.
Closer look.
Ashe taking it easy in the park. ItÂ´s been a long day of walking already.
Santiagos natural saving graces are its wide, rushing river, riverside parks, and the Andes above it all and not too far away.
River and mountain views in Santiago.
Crossing the Rio Mapocho north into the trendy Barrio Bellavista is like wandering into another world, exiting the hustle and bustle of downtown and entering a relaxed, leafy neighborhood with streetside cafes and lots of restaurants and arts to choose from.
Streetside dining in Barrio Bellavista.
Mural in Barrio Bellavista.
Enticing image by the entrance to one of Barrio BellavistaÂ´s many, many restaurants.
The wall art changed a bit the further we strayed from Barrio Bellavista.
Scary looking horse with Chilean flag.
On our way to Pablo Nerudas Santiago home.
Rooster art.
Liking the art and trying to fit right in.
Image of Neruda as we approached his home.
Nice art.
Pablo Nerudas Santiago home.
Inside the homes gardens.
Nice views from Nerudas home.
Sun image.
Neruda picked a nice place for a home. The entire neighborhood is filled with great, old mansions.
Flowers.
More flowers.
Another mansion in Nerudas neighborhood.
The streets of Santiago.
At the foot of Cerro San Cristobal, the 485 meter green hill towering over northern Santiago, a small park invites visitors.
Park benches.
One could (we didnÂ´t) ride the funicular rail to the top of Cerro San Cristobal instead of making the tough hike up.
Climbing Cerro San Cristobal was a fantastic experience. Here, wildflowers along the path.
More wildflowers along the hike up the hill. This time: California poppies! There are more of these poppies in Chile than in California, without a doubt!
Poppies up close.
Central Santiago from on top of Cerro San Cristobal.
How many capital cities look like this? Amazing!
The Andes at sunset as seen from Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago.
Beautiful!
Love those Andes!
What a city!
SantiagoÂ´s skyscrapers and towering apartments and condos seem to go on forever in every direction. The size of this city really surprised us.
More skyscrapers in Santiago.
The sky turns pink at sunset.
Central Santiago looking great at sunset!
Another city shot.
A main drag.
Late sunset orange.
Riding the subway out of the city in the late evening.
On our way into the Maipo River Canyon southeast of Santiago the bus terminated in San Gabriel, 20 kilometers short of where we wanted to get to. No onward bus service until the weekend and it was Monday. Well, not such a bad place to be stuck in.
Ashe, searching for a good spot along the dirt road from which to hitch a ride further into the Canyon.
Mountain views.
After getting a ride with a semi-truck driver, we reached our destination.
Views of Monument Natural El Morado, our hiking destination for the next day.
The local grocery store.
The Maipo River.
Multi-colored mountains.
Our campground for the next two days. Nice!
The village of Banos Morales. The springs, at 25 C, are a disappointing lukewarm!
Ashe crossing the creek at our campground.
View of the colorful village from our campsite through bare poplars.
Spring blossoms.
View up from our campsite.
More color in the mountains.
As usual, we befriended the local pack of wild, street dogs. Here, Mini Mange, as we dubbed him, fell asleep on Maciejs foot.
Our tent.
More of our street dog friends hanging around our campsite.
Sunset in the Maipo Canyon as seen from our campsite.
Sunset clouds.
More sunset clouds over our campsite.
By the next morning heavy clouds had rolled in over our mountain village. The hike must go on!
A mountain home we wouldnÂ´t mind having.
Colorful village home.
Old home, half painted.
Maciej with Mini Mange, checking out the mountains.
Great mountains, all around.
Ashe with Mini Mange. For a cat person, she sure was liking this dog!
Beautiful peaks!
Our hike into the El Morado Valley begins.
Ashe on the trail up into the Valley.
Snowy mountains.
Lots of horses grazed in the upper valley.
More horses.
Maciej on the trail.
Our goal for the day: to get right under that peak!
Ashe on the trail. The closer we got, the more patches of snow we had to cross.
Snow runoff created a muddy swamp everywhere there wasnÂ´t snow.
Us in the El Morado Valley and loving it!
Ashe at the confluence of two creeks, one clear, one sulfurous orange.
Red meets blue.
Once things got too muddy, we followed the very edge of the rushing creek deeper into the valley.
Us, along the creek.
At some point, we entered snow and never got out. We were knee and waist deep in it for the next few hours.
Ashe, making our own trail towards that peak!
Ashe and Maciej, high in the valley, deep in snow.
Getting closer.
Great views of the icy San Francisco Glacier.
Looking back the way we came.
ThatÂ´s it! We wonÂ´t go any further -- our hiking sticks mark the end of our trek.
Passing sulfurous, thermal springs on our way back.
Erosion at the springs.
A bubbling, natural pool. Cold, not warm, unfortunately.
View of Banos Morales as we descended back down to our campsite.
Another evening in the Canyon, another fantastic sunset!
Fantastic sunset pink over the mountains.
Us at sunset.
On our way south from Santiago to the Lake District, we made a second stop at the Reserva Radal Siete Tazas, a Reserve protecting rushing rivers and waterfalls, seven of which resemble little cups. Here, our fantastic riverside campsite under giant pines.
Beginning the hike into the Reserve.
Spring blossoms.
We followed a beautiful, leafy path deeper and deeper into the mountain valley.
Small cottage along the way.
Pig with piglets on the trail.
The first waterfall of the day: Bridalveil Falls.
Following the road deeper into the Reserve.
View down from the top of Bridalveil Falls.
The Siete Tazas (Seven Cups). Here you can see 3 or 4 of them.
One of the Â´cupsÂ´ emptying into another.
Us at the Siete Tazas.
The last waterfall for the day: Lionness Falls. We loved this spot, deep in the forest and not one person around for miles and miles.
Gazing at the Falls.
Ashe on the forest trail along the creek leading to the Falls.
Ashe under bamboo shoots along the trail.
Maciej confronting a local ram.
Ram.
Maciej with snake.
Trailside grave.
Views as we continued our journey south.
The fantastic Salto del Laja where the Rio Laja rushes over a sheer cliff.
Salto del Laja.
Bottom of the Falls.
Another perspective.
Further downstream.
Water rushing through where ever it could through the volcanic rock.
More jagged peaks close to the border.
Beautiful.

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