Day 199: Kamikaze Seagull Plane

Vina del Mar, Chile

Antonella had to leave Vina del Mar for Santiago today. After lunch, we said our goodbyes to her. Bruno and I then went about checking out the town.

Bruno had never set foot in the Pacific Ocean in his life so he was pretty excited to do so. The water, however, was freezing cold! So much more so than the water up north in Ecuador. Yet, locals still go about swimming and playing in the ocean. Us wimps just sat by the rocks watching the magnificent view. At one point, a whole bunch of birds flew past us and headed towards the sea, then they shot down kamikaze-like and dove into the water to catch fish. They were so many of them, diving down one after another, it was unreal. I was able to shoot a video of this:

At around 4pm, we were starved. I decided to give the devil’s food, Chorillana, a try. Since the dish was usually for two, it was the perfect opportunity to order one. Bruno also just turned 22 years old a couple of days ago. So I said it’d be my treat if he’d want to join me and try the dish. Chorillana was indeed what I had been warned. Massive, greasy, unhealthy and disgusting looking. But knowing me, I’d try anything edible at least once. Between the two us, we killed the plate in 15 minutes.

Bruno had read on his guidebook about a beach area called Renaca 30-minute bus ride away from Vina del Mar’s downtown. We hopped on a collectivo and went there. Renaca is a full-on party town. The beach was crowded! In Chile, it was the last week of summer vacation before students go back to school and before the weather will slowly get colder. Seemed like everybody and their grandmas were there at Renaca at that time: sunbathing, swimming, playing ball, skateboarding, fishing etc. Music was blasting and the atmosphere was energetic.

One peculiar and fresh thing about the condos in Renaca was that they were built in accordance to the slanting hills by the sea. So in these buildings, one can find no elevators. Instead, one will see funiculars. It’s only logical but I still found it a very strange notion. I wish I had taken a picture of the funiculars.

That night, we stayed another night at Antonella’s place even though she was around. I was not feeling well so Bruno and I decided to stay put instead of moving around.