Off to Argentina tomorrow

So here we are in Valparaiso, which is a really funky town. Nestled between some hills and a port (with tons of MSC shipping containers--I can't believe I'm missing Jam Cruise this year!!), Valpo is home to 23 funiculars, to assist in my laziness--god bless each and every one of them. The one at the right ascends at a nice 45 degree angle.






Once on top of the hills, the row houses look like a cross between those in the opening credits of "Full House" and those on the Washington Mews, but painted with all the colors imaginable. With the ocean just below and funky murals everywhere, Valpo is really endearing.

Today we took a day trip to Viña del Mar, the Miami Beach of Chile. Cute town, but the Chileans really need to learn the rule about not bringing glass to the beach. Every lake or ocean beach we've seen here has had shards of broken glass everywhere... no good for the feet.

The highlight of the day (and week) was definitely seeing a real moai (those crazy Easter Island stone heads) that have been taken from Easter Island. Only 11 have ever been taken from Easter Island (one was returned). This one was taken in 1960 to NYC to protest Air France's attempt to build a refueling station on Easter Island. The protest worked and the moai was eventually returned to Chile. I've loved these things since I was pretty small, so this was far and away one of the highlights of our trip. Enjoy the pics!