As it was summer when I was there, going to the beach felt kind of obligatory! But although the weather was boiling hot in Santiago, it suddenly became cold and grey as we started to approach Viña. But it was still a nice place to visit! I'd been there once before to do a walking tour during my Year Abroad. However, this time, I discovered parts of the city that were new to me.
The first place we visited was Vergara Pier, in between Playa Acapulco and Playa El Sol. The pier is famous for its large crane, which was built in Leeds!
Then we saw the Casino, which was closed because of the protests.
We went to have lunch in the mall, where the entire population of the city seemed to be! Afterwards, we got back in the car to go to Reñaca, a small town north of Viña. This place is famous for its beach, which is popular for swimming and surfing. It almost looks like it could be in the Caribbean, and even the weather was warmer and sunnier there! We swam in the sea, and although the water was cold, it was a lot of fun. I'd love to go back there and maybe try out a bit of surfing.
Our next stop was Concón, a really interesting city to visit if you like nature. Firstly, we went to Roca Oceánica, a national park which consists of unusual rock formations overlooking the sea.
Then we climbed up the sand dunes! They're really impressive to see, and they look more like a part of North Africa or the Middle East than a part of South America! From the top, you have great views over the city. I'm surprised that they're not better known.
Afterwards, we started to go back in the direction of Santiago and stopped off at Viña again. We walked along Playa del Deporte, a beach that has lots of facilities for playing sports and working out. I'd never seen a beach like that before, and I think it's a really good idea.
By the time we got back into the centre of the city, it was dark already. But that was great for taking photos! At night, Viña looked really glamorous and could almost have been Monte Carlo or Los Angeles. Not that I've been to Los Angeles, but you get the idea!
We saw this cool restaurant, which looks like a ship!
Then we had a look at Castillo Wulff, which was probably my favourite thing in the whole city. When I went to Viña in 2018, I saw it from a distance but didn't have time to look at it closer up, as I didn't want to miss the start of my tour. It's a shame it wasn't included as part of the tour, as it's a real highlight. It's a castle built in a Germanic style, which reminded me of the castle on the water from The Little Mermaid! I really love seeing castles and palaces, and this one definitely ranks among my favourites.
So that concludes my posts about my two weeks in South America. Of course I wish I could have stayed out there, but I'm relieved that I was able to explore freely there and return home without problems before the travel restrictions and flight cancellations really kicked off.
Since I've been back in the UK, I've had a couple of interesting days out that I'll blog about soon. But soon even visiting other cities for the day might be off limits, so I'm grateful that I've had the chance to travel so much over the last few weeks. Everything's so uncertain at the moment because of the coronavirus, but hopefully the situation won't last too long. All we can do is follow the official advice and be patient...
