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Vamos a la playa (Let's go to the beach)


Viña del mar and Valparaiso

I spent this past weekend at the beach here in Chile. I left on Friday and came back to Santiago on Monday. It was a great weekend getaway from the noisy city. I got to see some breathtaking views that I will never forget. I also tried Pisco Sour (popular drink here) for the first time. I went with my friend who is also studying abroad with me here in Santiago. 


On the very first day, we went to the national botanical gardens which are located in Vina del Mar. It is a large area that have lots of beautiful flowers all around the park. It also has a pond where a bunch of fishes of all kinds are kept. Some of them are really big already. It is cool to see the fishes swimming around the pond surrounded by the beautiful flowers of the park. It is a great place to make a picnic with family or friends because it is peaceful with nice views of the landscape. 

On the second day, we went to the beach. It was an ugly day as it was cloudy and drizzling. But we still went no matter how the weather was. When we got there, the view was great! Although it was cloudy, you could appreciate where the sky meets the water. I laid down on the sand and closed my eyes enjoying the peaceful environment with the contrast of the sound of the water. 

Guess what? 

You know how I told you it was an ugly and cloudy day, well the sun decided to come out at around 6 o’clock to shine bright. It was so bright and sunny that it felt like it was midday. It turned out to be a great day to be at the beach. 

Playa Reñaca, Viña del Mar, Chile
On the third day in Viña, we visited Valparaiso, the clock of flowers, and the Concon Dunes. Does it sound like a lot? Well it was! It was a very long day. We walked around Valparaiso to check out their street art and the murals around the neighborhoods. Valparaiso is just 30 minutes away from Viña, therefore it was easy to get there for us. 



FUN FACT: It is illegal to do graffiti in Valparaiso, yet it has some of the most beautiful murals that attracts lots of tourists. 



After we left Valparaiso, we made a stop at the clock of flowers. It is located right when you enter Viña Del Mar. It attracts many tourists because it is a big clock made out of flowers and IT ACTUALLY WORKS!! It is beautiful and everyone wants to take a selfie with it on the background. 


                                                  



And our final stop was at the Dunes. They’re mountains of sand by the beach in the region of Concon, which is like 15 minutes away from Viña. The views from up there are amazing. And sliding down the sand dunes is so much fun. You can rent sandboards for an hour to slide down. And it’s cheap. Although we got sand all over our bodies, it was definitely worth it.  














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