Life in Viña del Mar, Chile
Life in Viña was not the subject of storied adventures. There are no jungles in Viña, no glacier-capped peaks, no chicken buses, no indigenous ruins, no cosmic mysteries (that I was able to find, anyways). Just stretches of surf-lapped sand, warm sun, Café Jerusalem, wonderful people (and a few nasties), tan oiled beauties on the beaches of Reñaca (sorry, never had the camera in Reñaca), Gimnasio Leme, and a makeshift hot room yoga studio. The time spent in Viña was every bit the adventure of the year that preceded it, but the adventures were internal, rooted in healing, and don’t lend themselves well to riveting stories. Or maybe they do and the adventures are just too personal to write about. It’s probably the latter.
In any case, here are some images from life in Viña, memories of inflection and reminders of lessons learned.
Love, Eric |
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Stepping from the gate of our apartments was rewarded each day by a cleansing view of the Pacific. |
| During six months in the Andes of Ecuador and Peru where anything not peelable is not eatable for fear of contamination, the two most readily available remaining vegetarian options were potatoes, either fried… or fried. Chile was a godsend. The country is blessed, or perhaps has blessed itself, with an agricultural bounty, producing all variety of fruit and produce, not to mention the harvest from the sea. Viña is the first place I’ve ever lived where it’s more convenient to buy an apple than a can of Coke. Fruit and produce stands on every other corner and all of it fresh, off the morning trucks that commute from the heartlands. Most of it isn’t organic, but at least it’s there. We managed to find one vendor who made a point to buy from organic farmers. His name was Jaime and his shop was above our apartments. He moved in one month before we did and we watched him grow his business poco a poco. He’s a good man with a beautiful family - and a friend. |
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Turning ninety degrees, across the corner from Jaime’s shop, one will encounter the Kiosko, a corner kiosk where Patricia and Patti spend their days making little things convenient to the good barrio of Recreo, and serving as a nexus for all rumored happenings amongst the neighbors. This is Patti, bubbling sunshine in heels. She has a particular knack for real estate. |
| Another ninety degree turn and a sixty second walk will bring you to the cerro’s concrete wall embankment, high above the causeway connecting Viña and Valparaíso, overlooking Playa Caleta Abarca, one of Viña’s beaches, though not the nicest. The sand dunes on the point in the distance mark Reñaca, where all things coconut oil, bikini and trance, soak and groove every weekend. We felt obliged to partake as often as possible. |
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Turn 180 degrees from the view to Reñaca and you’ll find the harbor of Valparaíso, an endless traffic of ships and tankers making port and resuming voyage. |
Head back to the apartment, hook a left and head to el centro. You’ll pass the caballero who repairs radiators during the week and sells fresh cut flowers for visitors to the cemetery on the weekends.
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Continue walking and you’ll cross a bridge over a ravine, its slopes climbing and crawling with homes and a view out to sea. The truth is, you can hop a colectivo to the center for 250, but the walk is so pleasant that why would you unless you were in a hurry, which we rarely were? This was my favorite view in Viña, though I couldn’t tell you why. |
We’re walking, we’re walking…and then we arrive to this church where we hook a left and head into town.
next viña del mar gallery |
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