Home Journey Writings Photos Talkback Wedding
About Us About the Site Credits

Strutting through Valparaíso and Viña del Mar   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

Armed with a few tips from Brian, we headed into town in search of a English bookstore to arm Erin with some more beach reading. We couldn't find anything in the first place we looked...or the second...but by the time we hit the third store, things looked promising: there, a store employee actually went outside with us and directed us to another mall down the street that supposedly had what we wanted. Except that when We went there, it turned out to be a religious bookstore...not much help.

Click to enlarge
Viña Waterfront

Giving up on books, we walked back down the busy streets to the waterfront, and dined in a peculiar restaurant on the water called Cap Ducal — which the Lonely Planet book appropriately referred to as "oddball". The entire building was actually shaped like a ship, built right on top of the water. We sat by the window, watching the pelicans fly by as the sun set, and ordered a pisco sour that was strong enough to be four drinks in one. For dinner, we tested our adventurous sides by ordering machas (clam tongues — gross), congrio (kind of gross), and, of course — being in Chile — sea bass.

By the time we were done, the air picked up a pretty big chill, so we briskly walked back to the B&B, and ran into Brian again, as well as Rick, another traveller with whom we crossed paths the night before in Santiago. I picked up two nectarines, and somehow, the topic of juggling came up. After more than four years of dating, however, Erin refused to believe that I knew how to juggle. Nor did Brian. He returned with a third nectarine, and a one-hundred peso bet. Next thing you know, the three nectarines are in the air, and I'm juggling in two or three different ways. Brian starts apologizing, saying he thought I was bluffing, and Erin is looking at me like the sexy hunk that I am. (Or maybe it was horror.)

The things you sometimes learn about someone....

Back to Writings By Date 

Copyright © 2002
Last updated: 27 May 2002 21:03:06