As we were finishing our dinner last night in the hotel dining room, I overheard another couple say “cruise,” so I went over and asked if they were on the Infinity tomorrow. They said yes, so I asked how they were getting from here to Valparaiso. Turns out she (Marylou) had gone on the cruisecritic.com website before leaving home, and had posted an offer to form a group to hire a van. She said there might be room, and she would call and find out. Just be downstairs at 8:00 a.m. and she would let us know. Her husband was Frank, and they were from Milwaukee.
We set our alarm for 6:30 so we could shower, finish packing, and get some breakfast before meeting Frank and Marylou for, hopefully, our van to Valparaiso. Breakfast was again in the hotel as there is nothing at all near the place. Hilton lightened our wallet by $30 or so for a very mediocre buffet. We got our bags, checked out, and loitered in the lobby until Frank came down and said Marylou had spoken with the Van Man (yup, that’s the name of the outfit) and he was “sure he probably had room.” Hmmm. VM arrived ten minutes later and, sure enough, he had space in what was a small bus, not a van. Held about twenty. He had a second vehicle to carry six more passengers and some of the luggage. We first had to stop near the airport to pick up some other folks from Milwaukee who had just arrived after a series of flight cancellation and delays (don’t fly American Airlines, folks – never) and a long horror story of lies and indifference by the AA gang. After a half hour of our own delay, we were off over the mountains, through some long tunnels, and into the Casablanca Valley, home of dozens of wineries specializing in whites. Our trip was to be a tour, not just a run to Valparaiso. Well, alright! None of the people on the trip knew each other before coming down here. They had all met in the cloud on the Cruisecritic.com website when Marylou posted her invite for anyone wanting to jointly arrange transportation. I’ll have to remember that if we ever take another one. Best thing about it was it only cost us $130 (USD happily accepted) instead of the $288 that the hotel offered.
First stop was the very nice Emiliana Winery, Chile’s first fully organic operation.
Loni and I opted not to take the not-for-free winery tour, figuring that we have visited dozens in California. Folks later told us that it was the most informative winery tour they’d ever taken, so we might have botched that one. We did check out the tasting building, and couldn’t resist picking up the two bottles worth that we are allowed to bring on board the ship. We opted for Emiliana’s Adobe Reserve Gewurztraminer and their Novas Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc. I think the Adobe cost about $7 and the Gewurz about $12.
We also walked around the grounds, which were quite beautiful. Everything reminded me of California. It was nice after two grueling travel days to stop, admire the scenery, smell the roses,
and sit with your sweetie.
The wine tour and tasting bunch got a little bit into it, and we were behind schedule to pull out. Everyone eventually giggled and wove their way back and we left, but only went about ten miles before turning off to have lunch. This will be the most leisurely 80 miles we have ever traveled. I think Chilean time is a bit like Mexico’s. The stop was worth it, however, as it was an organic restaurant that grew its own produce, raised its own free-range (they were everywhere) chickens, and made very tasty fare in a homey environment.
If you ever find yourself in the Casablanca Valley, do stop by the Macerado. Unfortunately, I forgot to film the food until I had almost finished my lunch, so no pics of the fare. For the record, we had a great salad of mixed greens, mini tomatoes, local goat cheese, and chicken. Others had fish or steaks, which looked great but were too much for us for lunch.
Back on the bus we finally made a beeline for Valparaiso. By now, we’re all looking at our watches, but we should make it by the 4:00 deadline. Well . . .
This was a tour after all, and the guide wanted to make sure we got everything he had promised to Marylou. Soooo, we also got a tour around Valparaiso, which is NOT a picturesque place. It’s about 350,000 people in the city proper, and it is the poorest metro area in Chile, with an unemployment rate of over 20%, contrasted with 6.5% in the rest of the country. Add to that the damage caused by the 9.2 offshore earthquake a couple of years back, and you’ve got a pretty depressing looking city. Nothing scary, just very poor and run down. Back in Pinochet’s day, he moved the Parliament to here from Santiago, mainly to get them out of his hair. The one building of any architectural interest is the Parliament building, which strongly resembles the iconic structure of Paris’ “La Defense,” with its hole-in-the-middle design. The guide mumbled something (his microphone was broken) about the trolley buses being historic for some reason, but without internet I can’t research what he was trying to say. Although worn to the point of decay, the buildings still sport faded multi-color paintjobs which make the hillsides seem quaint from a distance. See those electric lines behind Loni? Tangles and tangles of such lines choke many areas of the city. It’s a weird way to electrify.
I couldn’t resist this shot. It seems to be commonplace here to see dogs lolling asleep on the sidewalks. But this pair was irresistible. I don’t know whether the pooch was waiting for his furry friend or lying in wait.
After wandering around the downtown, we thought we were at last going to the terminal. Well, no. Everyone has to see the famous overlook view of the city and harbor. We chugged (did I mention that this was an Isuzu bus with a very underpowered diesel engine?) up the grade and tiny streets and parked where Loni is smiling in the lower-right photo above. The overlook was a good one, and afforded our first sighting of the ship (which snuck into the hillside photo above).
By now it’s close to 4:30, and we’re nowhere near the ship. We literally ran back to the bus, did a head count, and coasted downhill considerably faster than we went up. A tortuous route through downtown and we ended up at a cruise terminal, not at the ship, but around the harbor about where the buildings appear above the big “X” on the smokestack. Off we jumped, grabbed our bags (thankfully, the second vehicle pulled in behind us), and I grabbed what I thought was mine and nearly had a cow when someone said “Hey, that’s MY bag you’ve got.” Where was mine? I ran around checking every pile and every bag anyone was hauling away. Finally found it some distance away where someone else, apparently realizing it wasn’t their bag, simply abandoned it. Grrrrr. Despite our having now blown the deadline by forty-five minutes, the Celebrity people were still on hand to process us through (including confiscating our passports for the duration), load us onto yet another bus, and ferry us over to the ship’s dock. “Home” at last. We were completely bushed, but happy to be in our cheapest-fare-interior-cabin at last. Thank goodness for mirrored walls.
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