Beach Week!

We went on a tour of beach towns over the course of a week starting in Vina del Mar and ending in Zapallar.  We rented an apartment in Vina and took day trips from there.  It was a nice way to see the nearest beaches to Santiago and just how different they are from one another. 

We started on Vina del Mar's gritty, urban beach.  Lots of buildings, a quasi-boardwalk, and swimsuits you might not find in the US.  

We spent our first night at the beach seemingly endlessly searching for a particular restaurant.  After the great hunt, we discovered that it wasn't terribly fabulous.  On the upside, we got to see the back streets of Vina del Mar in ways we might not have otherwise discovered. 

Next we made it to Quintay, a once famous whaling village.  We visited Greta's good friend Domenica and her family while there.

Monster-like seaweed!

They decided to leave the swimsuits behind convinced it would always be too cold to get in the water.  Correct.

 

Even Paul ran from the sea!

We took a tour around Quintay's whaling museum.  The Blue Whale was nearly hunted to extinction.  Thankfully, the area now boasts preservation efforts.  

Day three or four - who keeps count? - included a visit to Cachagua to see the colony of penguins.

We hiked up just a bit and had a picnic.

We even saw some little sea otters playing around in the ocean.

You can imagine the fun we had with this one.

Greta and Wyatt are pretty lucky to have two sets of grandparents who love homemade ice cream!

We then took a little visit to the toney town of Zapallar, the beach of Chile's wealthiest folks.  Gorgeous homes line the cliffs while a beautiful stone rockway snakes around each bend.  Still my favorite spot. 

This time, not only did they not get in the water or wear a swimsuit - - mom added a polar fleece to her beach ensemble.  Brrrr.

Finally, we rounded out beach week with drinks, dinner, and a stroll around Valparaiso.  

My girls.

Back at the apartment in Vina, Greta and Wyatt invited Nana to their spa.  What better way to relax after all that travel!