We slept so well in our temporary home and were greeted by breakfast being delivered. Because it’s a small hotel, there is no bar or restaurant so our breakfast came on trays that we could eat in the minikitchen. Scrambled eggs and gluten free bread for me, ham and cheese with freshly baked rolls for Frank. Plus a full litre of fresh pinapple juice, coffee, muffins and fresh fruit. YUM!
After demolishing that and packing up, we were headed slightly up the cost to the beach town of Viña del Mar. This is supposed to be the place where all of Santiago goes to get out of the city. It is a lovely beach town but since it is early spring here, the weather and the vibe are not really very beachy. We started the day with a visit to the Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock) – functioning clock garden built for the 1962 World Cup which Chile hosted. As the only major tourist attraction in town, it was quite busy but we got our obligatory snaps even though the day was pretty damp and grey.
Then we started to wander into and around town. We saw the cool castle that isn’t open and we saw huge rocks covered with pelicans (a pod of pelicans apparently). We were wandering much more slowly than had been the case in the past because Frank has started to come down with something. We thought the stuffy nose was allergies but the post nasal drip and scratchy throat indicate maybe it’s something more. (NOT Covid) Given the weather and the lack of interesting non-beach things to do, a full day in town may be more than we are really interested in. Of course the town is busy: apparently there is a big marathon on here tomorrow as there are banners everywhere. 5K and 10K runners were busy this morning and the packet pick up for the marathon was mobbed.
After we ran out of things to do, we grabbed some lunch. (Notice we have stopped planning to eat and now we are grabbing things. Ugh.) Then we changed our return bus ticket to come back earlier. Once we arrived in Santiago, we ordered an Uber – driven by Wendy – where my bad Spanish was very necessary. Apparently one of us needed to sit in front with her so it wouldn’t be “illegal” – okay, we’ll send the lurgy one up front. Then as we get close to the hotel we see police lights parked on the street RIGHT OUTSIDE the hotel. Then Wendy explains that *Uber* is illegal in Chile (how does the app even work then?!) so she needs to drop us off away from the police. I’m fine with that – avoiding embassy involvement is one of my prime rules.
We manage to saunter casually and not guiltily back to the hotel where Frank gets put to bed while I get some work done. (Apparently, disserations don’t mark themselves? Seriously?) He did manage to gain consciousness long enough to walk around the corner for food. Again, this was not a planned dining experience but a necessity to consume some calories. Of course, that didn’t stop him from having a sandwich that is basically a Chilean cheese steak. (No mas queso!) I opted for a simple pork tenderloin with baked potato. Nothing to write home about really except for the part where I am. 🙂
We have a late checkout tomorrow so he should be able to get plenty of rest and I might actually get a few disserations marked. And then it’s another “Work for San, Play for Frank” week.
Data for today:
- Steps: 16,369 or 7.6 miles
- Average pace: 26 min/mile
- Normal pace: 18 min/mile
- Number of times San actually translated from Spanish: 6 (not everyone speaks English!)
- Number of hours Frank better sleep: at least 10! (He’s terrible at being sick!)
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