HOLDING PATTERN (VALPARAISO)
Feb 03, 2014
Valparaíso / Viña del Mar
In the morning I take Gerhard to the bus terminal to catch a bus to Santiago and pick up his new drive shaft at Santiago airport. I continue to Viña del Mar, first stopping at Hotel Alcantara to check on Rodolfo, my friend from the first visit in December (see post http://wp.me/p49gr4-44). He welcomes me like an old friend, asking me in for a coffee and a chat. I leave about an hour later with an invitation to return tomorrow night for an asado with friends.
Only a few blocks away at Paulo’s and Cecilia’s I’m telling my story all over again…
Feb 04, 2014
Valparaíso / Viña del Mar
Hostel Ottavia doesn’t have a room available for me today, but it’s an easy move to Hostel Adlafken, two doors over on the same Calle San Enrique. Today I really need to solve the spare parts issue! Regardless of the gorgeous sunshine outside, I spend the entire day searching and buying parts on the web. PayPal is throwing a monkey wrench into my efforts by blocking my account after two consecutive purchases from a vendor in the Netherlands. I call their service line for help, but apparently there is no way to overrule the stupid security algorithms engrained in their software. Once again I have to ask my brother in Germany for help.
By the end of the day I have ordered all required parts except for the upper front mudguard (the large piece of plastic looking like the beak of a bird). I did find a used one, but it is black instead of silver. My brother agrees to try to get a new one from BMW in the right color.
It sounds ridiculous, but at the end of the day I feel kind of worn out from all this internet business. I barely make it to Rodolfo’s place for my barbecue invite. Once I’m there, however, I quickly come back to life thanks to the merry gang gathered around Rodolfo’s asador.
Asado at Rodolfo’s
Rodolfo’s gang
The hilarious evening is crowned with a tour through several shady night clubs. These old warriors really take no prisoners! I gratefully accept Rodolfo’s offer to crash in one of his hotel rooms instead of returning to my hostel in Valpo.
Feb 05, 2014
Valparaíso / Viña del Mar
Coffee and a morning spin through Viña with Rodolfo, then I finally return to my hostel in Valpo. Hostel owner Virginia Herrera welcomes me with relief, she had already begun to worry about me!
I receive a message from Gerhard announcing his return from Santiago on his repaired bike. He arrives at the hostel in the afternoon. The drive shaft is fixed, but now the starter motor has quit on him. Nonetheless he’ll embark on his tour to the North as planned, relying on the kick starter (yes, the old 80 G/S still has one!) or on other people’s help to get his cow going.
In the evening I head to Viña for dinner with Paulo and Cecilia.
Feb 06, 2014
Valparaíso/Viña del Mar
Gerhard is up early, eager to finally get back on the road. Today he will cross the Andes to Mendoza, then go North from there to Salta and San Pedro de Atacama. I confess that I’m a little jealous as he gets on his bike, rolls down the cobblestone street and disappears behind the corner on his way to new adventures. I want my bike back!
Gerhard and his bike, ready for the next adventure
My brother sends me disappointing news: Yesterday BMW accepted his order of a silver “beak” for my bike, only to inform today that they don’t have any in stock. I ask him to buy the used black one I found on the internet.
Feb 07, 2014
Valparaíso/Viña del Mar
Most of the day goes by with a leisurely stroll up and down the cerros and along the avenidas connecting them high above the bay. Here and there I stop for a coffee, a photograph, a snack.
Cerro Concepción
Cerro Concepción
Cerro Concepción
Cerro Concepción
Cerro Concepción
Old City, Valparaíso
On Avenida Gran Bretaña, North of Cerro Artillería, an elderly gentleman warns me against proceeding any further. Apparently the neighborhood ahead is not considered safe. I follow his advice and return to the lower areas in a micro, one of the small buses providing the lion share of public transportation together with the colectivo taxis).
Ascensor Artilleria
View from Avenida Gran Bretaña
Somewhere on Avenida Gran Bretaña
In the evening I meet Paulo, Cecilia and a few of her lady friends to dance the night away at a karaoke/disco bar in Viña del Mar.
Feb 08, 2014
Valparaíso
The city of many colors is greeting me with yet another gorgeous summer day, but I feel moody and restless. I guess the holding pattern begins to wear me out and the difficult exchanges I’ve been having lately with my girlfriend in Rio aren’t exactly helping either. Rodolfo’s call in the early afternoon is more than welcome. He invites me to join him at 8 PM on Plaza Anibal Pinto for a free concert of the Valparatango festival.
Around 7 PM I stroll down to one of the restaurants in the port area for a pastel de jaiba (a delicious Chilean version of crab cakein a clay form). I get to Plaza Anibal Pinto at 8:20. The square is already packed with people, the stage is lit, but there is no orchestra in sight yet. Smarter than my German self, Rodolfo is only showing up at 9 PM, well in time for the concert starting The concert finally begins around 9:30. The orchestra Fernandez Fierro from Buenos Aires is playing modern, post-Piazzolla compositions – dark, sometimes wildly dysharmonic stuff. The Pacific wind is sending chilling gusts across the square, underscoring the dramatic tension. It’s an impressive, intense experience, but definitely not happy music! We stand, listen, applaud, comment on the excellent technical quality of the orchestra, but after five or six tunes we both feel like resorting to lighter fare. Fortunately there’s Cinzano Bar right on the corner, a popular 127 year-old joint with live tango, Chilean and Peruvian popular music, played and sung by musicians almost as ancient as the bar itself.
We get one of the last tables, securing an extra chair for Rodolfo’s lady friend Gladis, who is joining us a little later. Soon the place is packed with people eating, drinking, chatting, laughing, clapping and singing along with popular tunes played by the band. There’s not much room to spare, soon we are joined at the table by Alejandro and Dani, a couple on weekend escape from Santiago. The five of us have a great time together and end up staying until past 2 AM.
Cinzano Bar, Valparaíso
Cinzano Bar, Valparaíso: Unexpected reward for a generous donation 🙂
Feb 09, 2014
Valparaíso – Lago Rapel
Today is my last opportunity to savor the breakfast at Hostel Adlafken. Extraordinarily rich and diverse, it is way above usual Chilean breakfast standards. Owner Virginia Herrera and her staff have really made me feel at home here. At less than 30 US$ a night (individual room, shared bath) and given the perfect location, this wonderful little place is a bargain.
I stick around reading the Sunday newspaper, doing e-mail and talking to my dad on Skype, until it’s time to leave for my lunch invitation at Cecilia’s and Paulo’s home in Vina del Mar.
The two have prepared an opulent meal: Shrimp pil-pil, followed by a delicious seafood stew. Last not least, Paulo’s tasty Colombian “salad” made of mango, shredded carrots and lots of heavy cream – a meal in its own right. We sit until after 5 PM, chatting and eating.
Farewell lunch with Paulo and Cecilia
I guess I won’t get very far today, but I feel that it’s really time for me to get moving again. I have spent a whole week here, with the rental car sitting idle…
I go a few kilometers East on the highway to Santiago, then I turn South towards Melipilla and Lake Rapel. Past Melipilla I pick up two young hitchhikers. One of them is peppering me with questions about Germany, the US and my travels all the way to the lake.
As I remembered from the first time i came through here in December, there are several camping sites on the shore of the lake. However, they turn out to be extremely expensive for a single traveler or private clubs entirely closed to the public. I’m lucky to get the last available room at the only hotel around, Jardin del Lago, 3.5 km off the main road on the shore of the lake.
SOUTHBOUND! 
Great stuff!
Eric
Eric Tomlinson tomlie@aol.com 404.663.0929