{"id":274,"date":"2010-04-17T11:46:52","date_gmt":"2010-04-17T18:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisaandtony.com\/?p=274"},"modified":"2010-04-17T11:46:52","modified_gmt":"2010-04-17T18:46:52","slug":"vina-del-mar-chile-expectation-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lisaandtony.com\/travelblog\/2010\/04\/17\/vina-del-mar-chile-expectation-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Vina del Mar, Chile – A Lesson in Expectation Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When we started planning our trip, we thought that Vi\u00f1a del Mar would be THE place we “unpacked” and lived for a month or so, because of the way we heard people describe it. \u00a0We had pictured it to be the Santa Monica of South America — plenty of great restaurants, on the beach, easy to walk around, laid back and great (warm) weather — all in an exotic locale. \u00a0And of course, after hyper-inflating our expectations to unrealistic<\/strong> proportions, we were disappointed (imagine that!)\u00a0with the reality of Vina del Mar.<\/p>\n

When we arrived in Vina, it was chilly and everything was about 50% more expensive than Argentina – from lodging, to restaurants, to transportation ($8 to go 1 mile in a cab!). \u00a0It would be OK if we were getting better quality with the price, but we left feeling that we over payed for everything, even by U.S. standards, nevermind comparing with Argentina.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the lesson here is to temper your expectations and keep an open mind when visiting new places and you just might enjoy them more.<\/p>\n

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Vi\u00f1a del Mar is billed as the nicer more upscale sister city to Valparaiso (a.k.a. “Valpo”) to the south, which is an artsy, grittier port town (which we’ll write about in another post). \u00a0Because of its proximity to Valpo though, cargo ships, oil freighters, cruise ships (and even the odd submarine) dot the horizon, which detracts a little bit from the beachy feel.<\/p>\n

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The beaches are not the broad white beaches you see in Rio de Janeiro or Los Angeles, but little beach “nooks” interspersed by rocky areas, more reminiscent of northern California. \u00a0I can only imagine what happens in the summer, when every square inch of these small beaches are packed with people.\u00a0 Alas, since we were there after summer (April), the weather had started to get chilly, so we didn’t spend\u00a0 time sunbathing or relaxing on the beach.<\/p>\n

Vina is a summer town – where many people who live in Santiago, Chile’s capital, own a second home\/apartment\/condo. \u00a0 It (and Valpo) also has several universities (some of the best in Chile), and so there are many college-aged people roaming around. \u00a0 This makes for what I’ll call a “unique” feel, where the town is sleepy during the day on weekdays, with a lot of young people hanging out at local dive bars\/cheap restaurants on weeknights and weekends.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the restaurant scene, most of the action is centered around Av. San Martin.\u00a0 It’s reminiscent of Cancun in that there are MANY Mexican restaurants hawking cheap food\/tacos\/margaritas (catering to students) as well as a lot of other fast food joints.\u00a0 There are a few higher end restaurants here and there, catering to tourists. \u00a0We tried some of these places (they charge almost U.S. level prices) and were disappointed. \u00a0Even though the seafood is fresh, it definitely isn’t worth paying for the preparation. \u00a0In fact, the seafood didn’t agree with our stomachs (Imodium and antibiotics – azithromycin – are “must brings” when travelling.\u00a0 Together, they solved the ‘disagreement’ with minimal discomfort).<\/p>\n

The 8.8 Earthquake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friends and family asked us if Vi\u00f1a and Valpo were affected by the recent earthquake in Chile.\u00a0 They were, but not nearly as much as we expected.\u00a0 We saw a few red tagged buildings (especially in the center of Vi\u00f1a\u00a0– where the foundation is more sandy).\u00a0 But we were told most other buildings and homes suffered only cosmetic damage.\u00a0 The older buildings, like churches,\u00a0 were hit hardest, and, if they were newer buildings, then people suggested that one could see who cut corners on their building codes. \u00a0Here’s one building that was damaged:<\/p>\n

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And another that was structurally damaged – notice how the balconies are all tilted to the left:<\/p>\n

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Learning “Castellano”<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the time we arrived in Vina, we had been in South America for five weeks.\u00a0 Both of us had a solid understanding of Spanish from past years of studying \/ living in Spanish-speaking countries.\u00a0 But even with this base – and after 5 weeks of constant practice, we realized there were some things we just couldn’t understand.\u00a0 We had built up a long list of questions – Spanish phrases we kept hearing that we didn’t know, or words\/phrases we wanted to learn to speak like the locals.\u00a0 \u00a0 If only we could find someone with whom we could have a few hours of private classes…\u00a0\u00a0 We were in luck!\u00a0 Across the street from our Bed and Breakfast lived an English teacher –\u00a0 Nina.\u00a0 She had spent time in the US many years ago and offered her services to us.<\/p>\n

Here’s a photo of us at our final class:<\/p>\n

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A quick note about Castellano vs Espanol:\u00a0 Since citizens of Spain speak a number of different languages by region, it\u2019s become somewhat politically incorrect to use the term \u201cSpanish\u201d or \u201cEspa\u00f1ol\u201d. Instead, most people\u00a0 say they speak \u201ccastellano\u201d -originally the language of the Castile region.\u00a0 It’s the most common language spoken in Spain and is the language spoken throughout “Spanish”-speaking Latin America.\u00a0 In Argentina and Chile, everyone has adopted the use of “Castellano”.\u00a0 So when you go into restaurants – for example – the host will ask whether you want menus in English or Castellano.<\/p>\n

Re\u00f1aca and\u00a0Conc\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Re\u00f1aca and\u00a0Conc\u00f3n\u00a0are smaller, more residential and exclusive beach communities, 20 minutes north of Vina, with more tranquil and picturesque beaches. \u00a0We caught a warm day so we headed there to check them out to see if they would offer us a better place to stay.<\/p>\n

But to get there , we had a little adventure.\u00a0 We had to navigate the bus system, which doesn’t publish its routes anywhere.\u00a0 The “buses” are more like minibuses – and there are tons of them all with about 10 place cards on the windshield and side door which are meant to indicate where the bus goes and how much different fares are.\u00a0 So, first you need to speed read your way through the list of places and then hop on before the bus leaves (they drive fast and stop quickly and for a very short time).\u00a0 Once we found our bus (to Conc\u00f3n), we realized we didn’t really know where to get off once we got to Conc\u00f3n.\u00a0 So we rode and rode and soon, we were the last people left on the bus.\u00a0 We ended up getting off along the outskirts of the town\u00a0and started walking to the beaches. \u00a0Here’s Playa La Boca on the north side of town.<\/p>\n

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They say that Conc\u00f3n is the gastronomic capital of Chile and that it boasts the best empanada restaurant. \u00a0 Maybe that’s true, and one would think that you can try almost any restaurant and not go wrong. \u00a0The one we did try was OK but not spectacular.\u00a0 There seemed to be a lot of hole-in-the-wall type places that hawk you as you walk by. \u00a0Maybe they’re good, maybe they aren’t. \u00a0In the end we decided that Conc\u00f3n wasn’t very convenient for living without a car, so despite the promise of having great restaurants, we decided to pass on finding a place to stay and move on to Renaca to the south.<\/p>\n

Renaca is supposed to be where the rich people live – it’s lined with high-end condo buildings and homes. \u00a0You have beach “nooks” like the one below:<\/p>\n

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And a wide sandy beach next to the center of town:<\/p>\n

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Downtown Renaca seems like it could be neat, with several restaurants and bars clustered around a few blocks and next to the beach you see above.<\/p>\n

Here’s an interesting concept we saw in Renaca – COFFEE AND SUSHI! \u00a0Imagine those tastes together. \u00a0But, I guess if you’re looking for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up in between lunch and a late dinner…<\/p>\n

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Chile’s Bicentennial – naval style
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Finally, we were lucky to be in town when Chile celebrated its 200th birthday. \u00a0There was a parade of antique naval vessels from various countries across the bay from Valparaiso to Concon.\u00a0 We had a front row seat from the living room of our bed and breakfast. \u00a0Here’s Chile’s “valero”:<\/p>\n

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Here’s one from Mexico – maybe you can see all of the sailors on deck, standing evenly spaced around the entire boat.<\/p>\n

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So, all-in-all, Vina, Renaca, and Concon are worth a visit – I’d say probably doable in 2-3 days total if you’re limited on time, and closer to summer time if possible (although you’ll pay out the nose for lodging and activities). \u00a0 Be ready to pay close to U.S. prices for a lot of things.<\/p>\n

Next up, we’ll talk about Valparaiso. \u00a0But in the meantime, enjoy photos from Vina, Renaca, and Concon:<\/p>\n