HBomb Hits Valparaiso

After spending a couple of beautiful days in Mendoza, HBomb, Mark and Anne decided to leave the country (to clarify, they were not "fleeing" the country, despite any rumors to the contrary).

From Mendoza they drove west through the Andes to Chile.  The scenery in this part of the world was beautiful, as the mountains rose up showing a rainbow of colors.

Eventually they made it to the border crossing at Los Libertdores.  The border between Argentina and Chile is in the Andes, so the border crossings are at altitude.  This one was about 10,000 feet up.  Apparently, this altitude made it difficult for the customs and immigration people to organize the border crossing.  The Chileans were particularly concerned about whether we were carrying fresh foods or raw meats (?) into Chile.  Mark showed the customs agent the pile of fruit cups that they had packed for HBomb and had in the car, and then told him somewhat more honestly than necessary perhaps, that we were Americans, we don't eat fresh fruit.  The customs guy stamped the form and we were on our way.

On the Chilean side, the roads were well maintained and recently paved.  However, the descent from the border crossing was ... abrupt.  There were 27 curves on the switchback path to the base of the mountain.  But it was manageable and eventually we made it to Valparaiso.

 Valparaiso, the second largest city in Chile, is a pretty city on the Pacific Coast.  It used to be a huge deal prior in the shipping industry prior to the building of the Panama Canal, but it still remains important in international shipping.  The city has been re-built a few times due to earthquakes and has a quaint old west-meets modernity vibe.

The whole city is picturesque, and it is probably getting moreso due to its popularity with artists and Bohemian types.  There are mosaics and street murals everywhere, as well as the architecture and differently colored houses and buildings in every direction.  A really pretty city. Our hotel, which had maybe the smallest room we have ever stayed in, redeemed itself with two things - 1. a roof top restaurant with a great view of the city and 2. the rooms had Netflix, so Anne was able to watch a newly released Gilmore Girls episode.  Seriously, is that Miss Patty?  She lost like ...a lot of weight.

We explored some of the popular neighborhoods for tourists and Mark was interviewed by a news reporter.  They were asking about whether tourists felt safe in Valparaiso.  Mark said that he did, but that the question was making him somewhat nervous.  The reporter asked what Mark did to stay safe.  Mark replied that his strategy was to look like he looks (~beefy), dress like he dresses (let's be charitable and say "casual") and then stand next to other tourists in nice suits with expensive watches.   The camera man thought it was pretty funny.  I don't know if the reporter thought she could use that footage.

Sometimes HBomb is a little shy.  For example, when we went out to lunch in Valparaiso, he expresses his displeasure.  However, the rest of the time, he was in love with the city.  We have a bunch of pictures of him running away because he was up and down the streets of Valparaiso whether we were with him or not.

But the highlight in Henry's mind, without any doubt, was the playground across the street from our hotel.  It had a slide, some monkey bars, and some other stuff.  HBomb must have gone down that slide 200 times in two days there.  I guess you find what you like and stick with it.