Which cities do you think have the best coastal views?
After our relaxing cat-sit in Las Cruces, El Tabo, we made our way up to Vina Del Mar. There, we stayed with a modest gentleman in his house on a hill surrounded by four dogs. He cooked us breakfast, and we barbecued in his large backyard with him, his cousin, and a fellow couchsurfer.
He spoke only moderate English, so we got to exercise our Spanish some more. And telling our host we got to choose our own names in Spanish class back in school led to Aaron choosing a new name every day of our stay. He was Armando, Javier, and Carlitos, among others. It was fun for him to pick a new name each day, but it does mean our host couldn’t remember his real name!
Our fellow couchsurfer was pretty cool. Always sipping on mate, he was visiting Chile from Argentina and spoke next to no English. However, that didn’t stop him from taking us on a little tour of the coastal city.
We stumbled upon some folks in costumes at the center of town, and I gotta say – that Iron Man was pretty convincing!
We even found a kitty! After seeing them everywhere in Istanbul, we found South America to be sadly lacking. Instead, the streets were absolutely full of stray dogs – something we’d never see back home.
We also walked all the way up the hill to a lookout over the city. The walk was a bit sweltering, but the views were worth it! We opted to simply take a taxi back down.
Down at the beach, the sand was packed full of people! It was a far cry from the more sparse beaches we could find in El Tabo. And out on the pier, dozens of fishermen jostled for a spot on their own dedicated platform. Seriously, it was a wonder they never got their lines tangled.
Each city has its own unique flavor, and we love getting to know each one!
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