"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans"

Vina Del Mar had two main purposes for us. One: to celebrate New Year and two: go to Valparaiso which is basically next door (10 min on the metro train) . We came there early morning and our hostel, that looked good on the internet was a total dump. There was nothing in the room except the bed and a small TV. It was right next to a busy street and you could not close the windows properly. There were two shared bathrooms & showers for about 25 people and the showers only worked occasionally. So we dumped our bags (no pun intended) and hit the town in search of another place to stay. It took awhile as it was New Year and most places were packed and/or overpriced because of the New Year. Finally however we found a 1 star hotel with private bath and breakfast included for almost the same price as Hostal TotalDump. We moved early the next morning. Not only was it much better but also very central to everything. That same day: 31st of december 2007 we went to Valparaiso to have a look around. I had been there before (see blog: jan. 2006) but it was the first time for Kathleen. We took the Metro and at the main square we met Tirone and Yasemin who we first met in Puerto Madryn, then in Ushuaia, then on the Navimag ferry and now in Valparaiso. (Hi you two if you are reading this:) . We had a very nice day walking the streets, taking the ascensores and finally ending up at the very interesting La sebastiana, the House of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973). The famous Chilean poet who is considered one of the greatest and most influential poets of the 20th century. Leaving Valparaiso it was time to plan the New Year celebrations. We found a nice Restaurant that had Parilla (Grilled meat). We ordered a parrilla for two, which is usually enough for 4 persons; and got a nice bottle of red wine to go with it. The staff brought us party hats and whistles and the night was well underway. Just before midnight we walked down to the coast, found a really good spot (together with about 20 million other people, and watched the most amazing fire work display I have ever seen. Fire works cannot be bought or used by the public and the show is controlled (the 23 minutes of it, which was the longest one so far). What they do is that they have about 20-25 "stations" off shore in a row in front of Valparaiso, Vina del Mar and the two neighboring towns. On all the stations they have the exact same display impeccably synchronized. And the fireworks are big, and I mean BIG!!
I thought I had seen huge fireworks in Iceland (some legal some illegal) but these were about 10 times bigger, and it made me realize that having it controlled really makes the experience much more enjoyable not to mention safer! I know many people in Iceland that would not agree with me (that includes you Palmi;) but this display just blew me away.
After the fireworks we headed back to the restaurant that now had turned into a nightclub with live music and dancing; and of course we were the first on the dance floor, well maybe not the first, but at least the first gringos. Returning back home to our hotel we opened a bottle of bubbly and continued the celebrations into the wee hours. The next day can be summarised in 2 words: TV & TAKEWAY!
Then suddenly it was time to leave. The New Year was here, and we had people to see and places to go; and as we headed to the bus station the next morning I was excited that we were going back to Argentina and to a place I was looking forward to seeing and tasting....Mendoza.

Photos.
Top: 10 past 8 in Vina Del Mar
middle: An ascensor orFunicular in Valparaiso
Bottom: Happy New Year!