Day 33: A Day Trip to Valpo’s Tonier Next-Door Neighbor, Vina del Mar

Today we did some exercising and school in the morning, then spent the afternoon checking out Vina del mar, the next town over from Valpo.

Where Valparaiso is internationally known and has a gritty, street art vibe that attracts tourists, Vina del mar is a Chilean-only beach town for a tonier set.

Valpo’s decaying and covered in dog poop, while Vina’s manicured and modern. Valpo was way more charming — we liked it better for sure.

We spent some time in a Vina city park goofing off, then walked to lunch.

Lunch at Donde Willy — a restaurant recommended on two different lists we found — was awful. In a week and a half of really bad food, this was the final insult. I ordered “seafood chowder,” and what arrived was a piping hot bowl of solid cream and melted cheese so thick it probably wouldn’t have come out if I’d tipped the bowl over. Was there seafood in it? I don’t know! It smelled fishy, so maybe? It sat untouched. I immediately took to TripAdvisor on the matter.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on a grassy lawn near the ocean while the kids frolicked and wrestled like puppies. At one point a street dog ran off with our soccer ball, and it took a little time and the help of some nice people nearby to get it back.

We had dinner at home and called it a day.

(It was a loud night though — a summer Friday night in Valpo and people were ready to party. We had all the windows open and were treated to thumping music, barking dogs and even 3 am fireworks until the sun came up! Welp!)