Having hiked, rafted and canoed our way through the Lake District, we headed north to indulge in wine, pisco, ceviche and starry skies.
Fuelled with possibly the best meal of the trip so far – a mumma Patel special, consisting of ginger, garlic, cumin and tomato sauce (hereafter know as THAT pasta dish) – we set off from Pucon on our night bus to Santiago. We were pushed for time so decided to skip the capital. We had heard mixed reviews and convinced ourselves that ‘just another city’ could be visited again. We decided to hop straight on another bus for an hour and we made Valparaiso by early morning. We had read this colourful, hilly city was a must see place in South America – however we were initially disappointed with nothing but grey skies hugging the hills.
The hills were sprawling in every direction, filled with art and colourful houses
However fears of a grey couple of days were washed away after only a few hours in our panoramic hostel. After finding the best empanada shop in South America (so far) and then chatting to a British couple, Nat and Paul, the skies slowly cleared and we spent the afternoon exploring the hills and history of colourful Valparaiso. Famous for previously being a mid-stop for trade journeying to the Americas, pre-Panama Canal, the port city has always attracted travellers just like us. Many of the houses were made of shipping containers or had covered their outer walls in corrugated iron to stay true to their roots, and most of those that settled have left their mark on the walls of this city through incredible artwork.
Hunting for Banksy pieces, climbing vernaculars (the warm-up for cable cars to come) and admiring the mural covered walls – we were falling for hilly ‘Valpo’. We sampled the local craft beer and cheap Chilean wine, meandering our way up the hill, stopping at jazz bars and trendy cafes and ended the night back at hostel with a great group of people and stunning views over the city. With music on every corner, and art on every wall, we were falling for this bohemian city.
The vernaculars in Valpo date back to the 1900s, and there used to be dozens dotted all around the city. There are now only 7 remaining that cart people up and down the hills
Our last day in Valparaiso started with Cal’s first taste of ceviche (a mixture of fish with lime, lemon, onion & chilli – all raw and all fresh) in a restaurant overlooking the hills. Not being a massive fan of sushi, scepticism was quickly wiped off his face and replaced with approving nods and eye-brow raises.
Discussion inevitably turned to ‘what a great place to live’ and then to ‘maybe we should do some shopping here’. Not being able to fulfil the first (yet), we set out to take home a piece of Valparaiso. We left that evening with two miniature prints and heavy hearts – we had met some great people in Valparaiso and felt sad to be leaving.
But the reason for our swift departure was to swing by one more Chilean destination before heading back into Argentina. We weren’t content with leaving Chile just yet, and so with a quick overnight bus journey north and we arrived (very early at 5:30am) in La Serena – a seaside town and gateway to the Pisco valleys and the Ruta de la Estrellas (route of the stars).
We took the morning to catch up on some sleep and figure out onward plans. This included a mini road trip for the next couple of days – safe to say booking a rental car was a test for the Spanish (but we succeeded and got a bit of a bargain)! After some more shopping (in a bustling market it’s hard not to resist), we geared up for our journey into the valley. Morning came and we set off. With Captain Gibson at the helm and co-pilot Patel taking the role of chief navigator, we successfully guided us out of a busy and confusing city centre before cruising along Ruta de la Estrellas.
It felt great to have the freedom to go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Something that had eluded us while being cocooned on sleeper buses – which, for all their convenience and cost effectiveness, were starting to ware thin (the 05:30am arrival had taken it out of us). However any lingering notions of tiredness were swept away while we drove between rugged hills, dotted in cacti and with a clear blue backdrop.
We cruised into the pisco valleys (pisco being the grape used to make the infamous spirit, famous in Chile and Peru) for about an hour before reaching our Airbnb, a remote house with a pool and outdoor kitchen/dining area, the perfect place to soak up the surroundings. We grabbed a vegan lunch in the small town Vicuña and had a quick dip in the pool. So you know, just another difficult, tiring day backpacking.
The true love of each of our lives summed up in a photo part I; food for Rosh and swimming for Cal
We ventured out that evening to a small observatory, called Alfa Aldea, for an astronomical tour. Given this is one of the best places in the world to view the night sky, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This was also our first experience of how things get arranged in South America – in order to meet the guide, we needed to meet at a pick up point from which we would follow their car to the observatory. This resulted in Cal and Rosh’s first, and probably only, stake-out by a petrol station, waiting for a black land rover and questioning the parameters of punctuality in Chile.
The stars, however, showed up instantly. After an explanation of the galaxies and stars above, we were fortunate enough for there to be a power cut in the nearby town, providing a perfect star-gazing night. We both agreed they were the best stars we had ever seen.
We spent the next day exploring the valleys further, getting off the beaten track and making the most of our new set of wheels. The drive was even more spectacular than the previous day, the dusty valleys cascaded down, meeting at the bottom with lush, green vineyards, stretching for miles. We pushed the limits of our little car and definitely succeeded in getting off the beaten track, but perhaps maybe too far. Our destination, the little town of Horcon had all but shut down (perhaps coinciding with presidential election weekend). We ventured back through the vineyard valleys and found a beautiful lunch spot and some vibrancy in the small towns of Pisco Elqui and Montegrande.
But our road trip wouldn’t have been complete without a night time hunt for another glimpse of the stars. After cruising back towards our Airbnb, Red Hot Chilli Peppers playing in the background, co-pilot Patel sniffed out a spot on a hill. We got another brilliant view of the starry sky as we lay on the car wrapped in blankets, rounding off our tour of the valley and a great end to our time in Chile.
Back to busses, cue the sleepless nights. Our next journey was to Mendoza, across the Chilean border. It featured screaming children, a paramedic coming onboard and a 3am customs calamity. The least said the better, nightmares starting to reoccur. Thankfully the reward for such a punishing trip was a friendly hostel and sanctuary of wine.
Mendoza is the centre of Argentina’s wine region, producing about 80% of the country’s good stuff. With vineyards spilling out across the countryside, our activities for the 4 days we were there almost exclusively centred on tastings. We spent a day biking around the vineyards in Maipu – a local town with 4 or 5 wineries to sample from. We hit 3, including the best wine Rosh had tasted (forcing her to buy 2 bottles, just in case) before the mad dash back to the bike rental place for happy hour!
Wearing all black on our cycle wasn’t the best plan we had ever had, but at least there were no sweat patches visible
Our evenings were spent testing out our new knowledge of wine, our approach to tastings included finishing the bottle. Just to get a full appreciation for the flavour! Feeling not the freshest for Rosh’s birthday, we opted for less cycling more fine dining. We went to one of the fanciest wineries in town with Kiwi Damian and had a 5 course lunch, complete with 5 wines to taste. A very fruitful and well balanced way to turn twenty something (who’s counting really).
Spending turning 26 in a beautiful vineyard with good people. Probably the best birthday yet
With temperatures reaching almost 40c, we managed to sneak in one more winery in a old, secluded corner of Mendoza but had to settle for lounging around in palm tree parks for the final days (including trying to catch a glimpse of the football stadium, venue of the legendary goal scored by Archie Gemmill in 1978 against Holland – a place of pilgrimage for troubled Scots).
The true love of each of our lives summed up in a photo part II; wine for Rosh and football for Cal. Sensing a theme but let’s not dwell..
Mendoza had got us into jolly spirits, wine and birthdays were cause for celebration, now to indulge in a sweltering Buenos Aires Christmas with a pool and enough food to feed Patagonia! With one final Argentinian night bus, we were driving (to our temporary) home for Christmas
Cocktail club: While wine featured heavily, we had our first famous cocktail of South America in Chile – the Pisco sour! Tasting like a stronger, more sour margarita, Rosh was hooked, Cal still needs some convincing. 8/10
Dark disaster: Without going into too much detail, we had to make a very quick exit from the house in La Serena following a blocked toilet and inability to use it thereafter. 1 very distressed Cal later, we won’t mention it again.
What we’re listening to: On the rooftops of Valpo, we were introduced to Samuca e a Selva and Neven Afrobeat, and thus began our obsession for some music we could swing our hips to.
Love & hugs
Cal & Rosh xxx
The Los Vagans 