Southern Exposure

Monday, March 9

After breakfast at the hotel we decided to do the final walk around the neighborhood in hopes of visiting some artist studios and artisan shops. Just like dinner doesn’t start till 9 pm in this part of the world, shops don’t open until 11 am, so nothing was open, except for one boutique I was dying to check out. This place has caught my eye on the Valparaiso marketing flyers, it is a boutique of a local designer Pitti Palacios called Design for Valparaiso.

It is a gem if you appreciate one of a kind original fashion design. Pitti uses pure sheep or alpaca wool that is hand spun and then woven on old-fashioned wooden looms to create fabrics of her own design that she uses to make her pieces. Each piece is unique but belongs to a distinctly handcrafted ingenious collection. Her deconstructive look is modern but rooted deeply in traditional craftsmen weaving, fiber and textile production techniques. Being a sucker for smart fashion, I absolutely fell in love with her style.

Originally I didn’t plan on buying anything, but as I tried things on it became apparent that I just have to have a piece from her collection. It is the type of clothes you keep in your closet for ever and develop a relationship with, like a piece of art that brings a smile to your face every time you look at it. I ended up buying a dress and Judy gave me a sweater as a belated birthday present. Thank you, Judy and thank you to Pitti and her cousin for a tour of the studio and a great shopping experience!

Well, my day was made, but to make it even sweeter we popped into a chocolateria, that we spotted yesterday when it was closed. Finally, at 11 am it opened its doors to the first customers of the day. Judy and Susan went for a glass of pure chocolate which turned out to be a delicious bitterly sweet chocolate melt that reminded us of chocolate pudding but thicker, chocolateier and tastier. Matt and I opted for a shot of espresso dissolved in chocolate, it was just the right consistency and excellent flavor. Too bad the owner didn’t have her special chocolate mix to sell to us.

I had a great time in Valparaiso and could have easily spent a few more days there soaking up the city’s vibes, but it was time for us to move on.

Since we were so close to Viña del Mar, which is a famous resort town just 15 minutes north of Valparaiso, we figured we will get lunch there before moving south. Unfortunately, the morning fog was still covering the town and riding into it we didn’t think it was all that special, so we decided to get back on the highway and head to our next destination of Santa Cruz in the Colchagua Valley.

The drive of about four hours back through Santiago and south on Ruta 5 was pretty hot and boring. We stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds, which we really never eat at at home, but on the road for the sake of cheap, fast and reliable food service I have to admit that we crave it once in a while. After we eat the food we wonder why we eat there.

We reached Santa Cruz around 4:30 pm and settled in our boutique hotel Vendimia. It was a very charming old mansion renovated to perfection with top line modern appliances and lots of character. The guest service lady was absolutely adorable in her French-made outfit; she was running around making sure we had everything we needed, and also spoke better English than the owner.

We all hit the pool area right away. I found a spot in the sun and worked hard to enhance my tan that since Central America has all but disappeared. Judy and Susan were reading in the shade, and Matt was typing away on the blog. We were treated to a welcome glass of wine served by the pool as we enjoyed our leisurely afternoon in the wine country. Its a tough life but somebody has to live it. 🙂

As the sun set we went to find dinner. Apparently not only on Sundays but on Mondays too most restaurants are closed. I tell you, its not easy to find a place to eat at a time convenient for you, or a normal time that we are used to at home. Places are closed on Sundays and Mondays, they don’t open till 11 am, they close for siesta from 1 to 9 pm, very strange schedules! We did manage to find one of only three restaurants that were open on Monday night that the hotel owner recommended. A parillada meat combo sounded like a good choice, since neither Judy nor Susan had tried it before. We ordered a parillada for two, and needless to say we had enough left overs for a complete dinner for two. The meat was ok, not as good as the plate we had in Salta.

We walked back to the hotel in total darkness through the deserted residential neighborhood. It didn’t take us long to fall asleep after a tough day of shopping, chocolate eating and relaxing by the pool.