‎⁨Viña del Mar

 

We decided to explore Valparaiso’s neighboring town Viña del Mar—

when I say neighboring I mean they literally run into each other.

The coastline of Chile reminded us a lot of Northern California and Oregon coastline.

We followed up on another recommendation, having lunch at Restaurant San Marino.

This charming seafood restaurant sits atop the rocks, 

where crashing waves send sea spray and foam drifting into the breeze.

We watched the Inca Terns swoop through the air and dive into the cold water for anchovies and other small fish. Further off shore we could see Sea Lions playing in the waves. Apparently the Inca Terns will also scavenge fish from the sea lions, dolphins and fishing boats.

They are very striking birds.

We enjoyed ceviche, mussels and a salad of smoked salmon, prosciutto, 

avocado, mozzarella and greens. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

After lunch we continued north and stopped at Roca Oceánica, Concón.

Concón is where the dunes ride sneak up on the city.

On our way back to Valparaiso, we spotted this villa. Can you imagine living here? It’s gorgeous.

We contacted our friends Alex and Vania from day two of the convention to ask if we could attend their meeting. They were surprised we would attend since it would be in Spanish. As you may know though, it’s the same program in English, so we just followed along. We met many of the friends but the one that really stood out…

…was this sister. As soon as she saw me she began to excitedly explain (in Spanish, of course) that she had given me a handmade doll as a gift at the convention (thank you Aaron for translating). It was just in passing. In fact I was heading back to my seat for the afternoon session. Now I know that we were meant to meet again, both to be encouraged by the beautiful brotherhood we share.

Back at the Airbnb, we walked down to the supermarket for something to eat.

We had to experience Cevasco’s completo—

a foot long hotdog, layered with salsa, avocado and mayonnaise.

It was no joke!

I’d like to try making my own version, just a little shorter.

When we returned to our village, Aaron wanted to explore. Fun idea in theory.

We ended up taking this one lane road, down the hill, only to find out there was no outlet and no place to turn around. Aaron had to back out. It was so steep, he had to floor it and almost ran over a pedestrian and his dog. Honestly, it was a little frightening!

Sunset was lovely that evening!