Some Thinking to Do

We are still in Chile, and are currently relaxing on the coast.   Today was spent in the ocean side town of Valparaiso, exploring and relaxing under the perfect afternoon.  In the morning, however, we awoke to a minor surprise.

My parents woke up in mid-morning.  The clock displayed the time at approximately nine o’clock.  Breakfast was at ten, so they relaxed and slept for another hour.  When their computer said that it was ten, we stretched and woke up.  We then looked at World Clock (an internet program showing the time all over the world) which showed that it was eleven!  We were an hour late for breakfast!  Other guests in the B&B experienced the same problem and were also puzzled.  The owner of the B&B, Patricio, was gracious and, in spite of our tardiness, served us breakfast.  We still do not understand the problem and our computer even now shows the time an hour early. 

After we had breakfast, we decided to visit Pablo Neruda’s house where we discovered a quiet place to think.  As I briefly mentioned yesterday, a famous poet named Pablo Neruda had a house in Valparaiso which is now a museum, open to the public.  His house happened to be just a couple furlongs away from our hotel.  Once we were there, we realized that the best part of his home was not inside, but out.  Just in front of his big, detailed and colorful house, there was a porch and a beautiful garden.  This was a great place to think.  I now understand why Pablo Neruda lived here; it was such an ideal place to sit in thought.

Pablo Neruda's House

The View From Neruda's House

The View From Neruda's House

We also had a lot of thinking to do and took it upon ourselves to sit on a bench in the peaceful garden and go over our quandary.  You might have thought we solved this a long time ago, and I did too, but my parents are apparently rethinking our future weeks.  Our two choices are this: first, we could dump the car (sell it for very little) and fly immediately to Ecuador.  There, we would hang out and boat with some of our friends in the small town of Tena for about a month before our Galapagos trip.  Second, we could drive to Bolivia, and travel there for a few weeks.   From Bolivia, we would take a plane to Quito and return to our car after the Galapagos.  We narrowed the decision down to whether we want adventure or relaxation.  We STILL have not made a decision.  I will tell you all when we do. 



The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of Valparaiso, the town of color, art and peace.  I could almost feel the intense thoughts in the air.  All over the street walls are colourful murals painted with care and precision.  Flowers hang in alleyways, and houses are painted with shades of green, pink, blue, and orange.  Street lights are covered in colourful tile mosaics with faces curiously engraved in the cement.  Valparaiso is the town of pure creativity.



Today was spectacular!  I loved exploring the town, but think that our quandary is silly.  We should just fly to Quito. 



But hey, that's just Rohan Geographic!