The Rest of the trip by Dad

This post is an attempt to chronicle the rest of the trip by Dad. There has been no input by Brian and he has reserved the right to correct the record as he sees fit at any time.
After the hike to La Campana, the next day needed to be a little bit of a recovery day. We basically hung out in Vina Del Mar and visited the down town area. We scouted out some shopping areas and basically went around the city. While down there we walked by a bank advertising 100% financing. I wasn't going to go in but then I figured what the heck what's the worst that could happen. I was kind of interested to see what they do down here. They didn't seem real happy to visit with me. So it was a wasted couple of minutes. I suspect they thought I was the cause of the mortgage crisis in the states and was in Chile in hiding. We had an el guarcon for lunch. This is the largest sandwich I've ever seen. It is lettuce, tomato, cheese, meat, avocado, and mayonaise stacked about 12 inches high. It is a sandwich for two and you need a knife and fork.
Thursday, after Brian's classes we went back into Vina Del Mar and did the souvenir shopping. I tried to get things from Chile, hopefully the people will like them. We then went off to Valparaiso which is the town just down the coast. The guide books call Valparaiso the San Francisco of Chile. It has a different feel from Vina del Mar. It is a serious working port city with tankers, freighters, cranes, trucks and containers. It is also the home of the Chilean Navy. As a side note Valporaiso University in Indiana is named after this city in Chile. Evidently a prominent citizen from Indiana was the captain of a ship in the US Navy that lost a battle in the waters off Valporaiso in the 1800's. Valporaiso is basically built into the hillside and everything overlooks the harbor. It is also a little bit of an artsy type place. It has a different feel to it than Vina Del Mar. Brian and I were looking for the place that served Choriana's (sp?). We didn't have the name of the place or the address but how difficult could it be to find for two intrepid explorers, one of whom who spoke the language. After walking around the area of Valpo for awhile we tried this one small alley way and found the place. How we actually did this I'm not sure. The choriana is basically a gigantic meat, onion, egg, and french fries dish. Everything is just jumbled together on the plate. There was no hint of the ever present avocado or mayonaise. It was very good. It is a dinner for two. We had gotten there at around 3 so the place was busy but not packed. Mid day is the big meal time in Chile. There was a guy playing the guitar and singing Chilean songs. It was a lot of fun.
That evening we were to go the beaches are Renaca and Con Con with Brian's Chilean family. To get there Miguel was going to drive. On the way he was going to show us the hospital where he was currently working on the building project. He is renovating and expanding the cafeteria at the hospital. It was kind of funny because in spanish words can have sometimes have two meanings. Evidently casino can mean a casino as we would think and as they have down by the beach in Vina, and it can also mean cafeteria as Miguel's building project is called. I was trying to figure out why they were putting a casino in the hospital. We had a good laugh about that.
On the way to the beaches we had a little incident which I think exemplifies the Chilean people that I met. The cars tend to be much older there. By Miguel's work project at the hospital a pipe from the radiator burst in the car and the car overheated. We pulled over to the side of the road and about 10 Chilean workers from the nearby businesses come running out and start working on the car. Everyone is involved fixing the problem and coming up with suggestions for short term fixes. Everyone was very helpful. I don't think they have AAA. To make a long story short some of these people stayed with us for an hour. Miguel went off to see if he could find the thermostat he needed. After awhile Miguel called and said he couldn't find the part. So we got some silicon adhesive and hooked up the hose and limped the car home. All the strangers had been very helpful and concerned. It wasn't meant for me to make it to Renaca or Con Con.
On the way back to the house we drove by a super mercado and picked up Miguel. He had evidently been food shopping. We went back to the house and had a great dinner. During the dinner Miguel talked about how the car would get fixed tomorrow or the next day, the day after that or the day after that. What was important to him was that we all had this time together and that we should enjoy it and not worry about what we couldn't control. I'm not sure that I could have handled it so well. His attitude really put things in perspective. It was really nice to know that these were the people with whom Brian was living while in Chile.
The next day Brian and I explored the rest of Valporaiso. We went up cable driven acensiones, walked up and down stairs all over the city. While on the tour there were several building that had been destroyed by fire. We couldn't understand why when there was a fire why a ton of buildings didn't go up in flames. A closer look at the buildings showed that they were all either stucco or sheet metal. All the roof's were sheet metal. It looked like the only thing that would burn was the inside of the house. We walked all over the city. Late in the afternoon we started t head back to Vina. It had finally warmed up so I went down to the ocean and at least put my foot in the south pacific. The water was pretty cold. I guess it comes from Antarctica. We missed the bus we were supposed to take to Santiago that evening but we caught the next one which was basically 10 minutes later.
We stayed in the hostel at the Plaza de Armas that Brian stays in while in Santiago. It was kind of like Indian Guides. It was a great place on the top floor of the building overlooking the plaza. It's a terrific view. We had dinner and settled down early because Saturday was going to be a long day.
The plan for Saturday was to go to Cajon de Maipo and hike to a glacier. There is one bus in to this place and one bus out. You either catch this bus or you don't go. Some things are meant to happen or not. The trip to Renaca and Con Con was not meant to happen. The trip to the glacier was meant to happen. Only Brian would plan on taking someone who has traveled 5000 miles to a place called Banos Morales. I think that in this case banos translates to springs and not bathroom. The plan was to get up at 6:30 take the 7 am train to where the bus to Banos Morales is and then hike to the glacier. We get up at 6:30 we head into the train station a little before 7 and find the station locked up tight. Chile is pretty much a Catholic country and Easter is a big holiday so the trains didn't open at the usual time. Our options were to wait until 8 and hope the bus was still there or take a cab to where we needed to be. The only problem was that there weren't many cabs either. We end up catching the first train to where the bus is supposed to be and find that it has already gone. We take the next bus to the closest city which is San Jose de Maipo. This city as it turns out is a good hour on a dirt road from Banos Morales. As we pull into the city we decide to get off and we start looking for the bus which is hopefully still here. As we are walking down the street the driver of the bus from which we have just left toots the horn and signals for us to get back on the bus. He drives us about another half mile and points to a bus parked on the side of the road and tells Brian that is the bus to Banos Morales. The bus is stopped in front of a little market because the driver wanted a 2 liter bottle of water for the drive to Banos Morales. That is the only reason the bus was still here. It was meant to be. We get over to the bus and it is right out of the movies except no chickens. This bus seats maybe 40 people. There have to be 80 people on the bus before we got there. Brian talks to the conductor who encourages everyone to squeeze together and we are able to get in the bus. I am on the first step leaning up against the door. Every time the bus turns Brian's back pack whacks me in the head. A lady in the first row takes Brian's back pack on her lap for the hour drive to Banos Morales. We're on a dirt road with a cliff pretty close to the edge. There are cars, busse, bicyclist and walkers on the road. People actually get off the bus at a couple of stops. To do this I need to push Brian up and get on the next step so they can open the door. Then I need to get off the bus so they can let the people off. At one of the stops maybe about 20-25 minutes in about 10 more people get on the bus. I lost my spot. Now I'm up by the driver. All the buses are standard shift on the floor. So the first time the driver shifts into 3rd he whacks me in the butt. To keep this from happening I grab ahold of the ceiling hand rails and hold on with my hody tilted at about a 65-75 degree angle so I don't accidently shift to a new gear. This was a little tiring. We drive this way for the next 35 minutes or so. We drive along the mountain road, through a couple of creeks and finally arrive at Banos Morales. During the whole trip everyone is laughing and not one person is complaining. I wasn't complaining, my hands and forearms were just really tired. We pull into Banos Morales and there is a stable, some small cabins, tent sites, a make shift bar, and of course a bathroom. It is in a little valley surrounded by high mountain peaks. We register with the park ranger and head out. It is about 8 Kilometers to the San Francisco glacier at the end of the valley. We have a steep grade for the first maybe 2k and then we flatten out in the valley. The views are incredible. I don't know if the pictures I've taken do this place justice. The last 1k is more uphill across a rock field to the glacier. It was something else to be on a glacier in the Andes on the Argentina/Chile border. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was probably 75 degrees. It was incredible. After we hiked back we had some time so we went to the bar and had a couple fo Crystal's, which is beer. We deserved them after the hike and waited for the bus back. The bus ride back was somewhat uneventful. We obviously didn't have a place to sit because we were in the bar instead of in line but that was ok. We basically rode back with 80 of our closest chilean friends.
The next day was Easter Sunday. We went to Church at the cathedral in the Plaza de Armas. This church had to be a football field long. It was amazing inside. After Mass we had breakfast on the way over to San Cristobal. As I've said before I liked these empanada's that they eat. This morning we have a shrimp emapanada which is the best one we have had since I have been here. th go over to San Cristobal which is hte highest peak in the city limits of Santiago. Santiago is surrounded by high mountain peaks but this is in the city and gives you great views of the city. There was an open air mass up there while we were there with the city in the background. Evidently the Pope said mass there when he visited. On the way back from San Cristobal to the city we are walking throught the nicest residential section that I have seen since I have been here. It is very definitely the upscale neighborhood. The houses are big by Chilean standards. They have the security walls and fences. In some cases the fences are electrified. I still find this to be amazing. I never felt unsafe in Chile. Later that afternoon we go to the Fish Market before we need to head to the airport for my flight out. This is an operating fish market that was built 145 years ago. They have now converted a large part of it to a restaurant. I end up having salmon margarita which is salmon, scallops, shrimp, and octopus with some type of white cream sause. It was sooooooo good. It was a Frequency moment. Frequency was a movie that I really, really liked. It was a perfect ending to the Chilean adventure.
I have to admit I really didn't want to leave. I had a terrific time. I did a ton of things that I newer would have imagined. I ate some stuff I would never have imagined. I kind of liked Brian being in charge and paying for everything. He also liked being in charge and paying for everything even when I would give him the money. It was quite an adventure.