Viña del Mar, Chile - Day 1
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Good-bye cruise ship! After 12 awesome days at sea on the Celebrity Infinity, this portion of our South America trip has come to a close. The ship docked at its final destination in Valparaiso, Chile this morning.
The cruise line gave us the option of checking our baggage with housekeeping last night, or carrying it off the ship on our own. We preferred to carry our backpacks off the ship ourselves, which meant we needed to exit the ship before 7:30am this morning. Passengers who checked their luggage with the porter were welcomed to stay on the ship longer this morning, as they were then called by groups to depart and collect their luggage in the port terminal.
Exiting the cruise ship was a breeze for us. We simply walked to Deck 3, scanned our sea badges as we left the ship, and then rode a shuttle bus to the port terminal. There, we had to go through Chile Immigration but that didn’t take more than a few minutes. Andi called us an Uber ride and we were on our way to our new airbnb in Viña del Mar, Chile by 8:30am. Ready or not, the four of us were back to adventure travel!
Viña del Mar is a suburb of Valparaiso located on Chile’s central Pacific coast. Andi and I decided to stay here for a few days following the cruise to experience a part of Chile before returning to Argentina. We also knew we’d probably need a day or two to find our bearings again after traveling easy on the cruise ship. Andi rented us a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Viña del Mar a few blocks from the ocean. Tory and Aden are so excited to have their own rooms & I think we are all looking forward to having a little more space to spread out the next few days.
Once Tory and Aden logged into the internet at our apartment, there was no way we were going to get them off their devices. After two weeks of no technology on the ship, the kids were more than ready to call their friends back home and play their favorite video games. And, Andi and I get that. We all like to relax and feel connected to friends and family in our own ways. Our airbnb apartment has a 24-hour security guard, plus the building we’re staying in has a locked entrance, so Andi and I felt confident in letting the kids stay in the apartment while we walked across the street for groceries.
It felt so good to be traveling on our own again. There was lots of life happening around us on the streets of Viña del Mar as Andi and I walked to the grocery store — vendors selling street foods, dog walkers with a dozen dogs tied to their waists with leashes, and people sitting together in a town square. Even wandering the aisles of the grocery store was fun to see what types of foods are sold in Chile compared to what we’ve seen in Argentina. I noticed right away that there are a lot more packaged foods sold here, and some recognizable brands we have at home in the USA. At the grocery store, I didn’t realize produce needed to be weighted in the produce department before reaching the check-out stand, but the woman working the counter was kind enough to call for someone to do it for us. All these little differences are what make traveling so fun.
We haven’t done laundry since Buenos Aires two weeks ago, so that was #1 on our list of things to do today. Andi tried asking the grocery store cashier for change, but she didn’t have any coins. We asked a woman working a lottery counter in the grocery store to make change, but she was unable to help us either. How could obtaining a few pesos be so difficult?
Andi and I returned to our airbnb apartment with a few groceries and breakfast — a loaf of French bread, two croissants, and an apple strudel. The kids were thrilled to have Froot Loops and Classic Lay’s potato chips (called Corte Americano here, or American Cut). We also brought back milk, bread, fruit, ham & cheese slices, and a big jug of drinking water.
While we were at the store, I received a text message from my sister that my dad was in the hospital. I messaged back and forth with my sister for more information about my dad’s condition while Andi ran out again to see if he could track down some coins for the laundry. My dad is sedated now, but in stable condition, as the doctors and nurses work to diagnose him.
Andi returned about an hour later and said that obtaining coins was no easy task. He tried going to a small mini-market down the street from our apartment, but they didn’t have change. Next, he went to the bank and waited in line only to find out he couldn’t be helped because he didn’t have an account there. The bank employee told Andi of another bank he could go to for change. All we needed were a couple 100 and 500 pesos coins, but apparently they’re harder to come by than one would think!
A security guard at the second bank noticed Andi’s trouble, and waited in line with him to help him get the correct change. Finally, Andi was able to get a handful of coin pesos to do our laundry. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? Honestly, it probably wouldn’t have been had he been able to speak Spanish or know exactly where to go. Next time, we’ll stick to using a laundromat.
Andi returned to our airbnb apartment with coins and Persian sandwiches for lunch. We ate while we did laundry. Tory and Aden were still glued to their devices. I needed a change of scenery — there was a lot going through my head re: my dad — so Andi and I decided to leave the kids in the apartment and walk down to the water. Our apartment is just a few blocks from Avenida Peru — a long boardwalk that stretches on for miles along the ocean front in Viña del Mar. Andi and I walked and talked, taking in the sights of the city. Fresh air was exactly what I needed. There was so much to see along the boardwalk — a children’s playground, games, vendors selling trinkets and candy, and fishermen stationed along the pier.
On our walk back to the airbnb apartment, Andi and I stopped at the Marina Mall. Latin American shopping malls are always packed with people, and such a lively place to walk around. In a part of the world where people don’t utilize Amazon and online shopping for everything, malls are still where people go to shop for clothes and electronics. Andi and I had to laugh when we saw store signs advertised “fall / winter 2023” promotions. March 21 was the start of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Seeing those store signs was so confusing to us, like we’ve teleported into the future and it’s already fall 2023.
Our airbnb apartment has an awesome westward facing view, so Andi and I decided to order in dinner and watch the sunset on our outdoor patio. We poured glasses of Chilean wine and Pisco Sours, and enjoyed the view while we waited for dinner to be delivered. The kids? Well, they were still absorbed by their iPhones and calling their friends back home. I made ravioli on the stovetop for them while Andi and I enjoyed protein bowls from a restaurant called Green Lab.
Today was an emotional day for me, but it also felt great to be in a new city exploring the culture. We’re excited to experience Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, Chile in the coming days.
