Valpo, baby

Hey everyone,

I`m sorry that we didn´t post yesterday, but our new hostel in Valpo doesn`t have a working computer. We`re now at a public phone and internet place. A little bit about the city...

It`s on the Pacific coast in central Chile about two hours outside of Santiago. It is directly adjacent to a city called Viña del Mar, which is supposedly a bit nicer and wealthier than Valpo. Walking around yesterday, we quickly became aware of two things: 1) that people were looking at us oddly, much more so than in Santiago, and 2) that there aren´t any white people here. Today, we`ve been walking around for hours and literally haven`t seen a single white person. People often use the word ``literally`` hyperbolically, but seriously folks, we may be the only white people in the city. The only non-Chilean we`ve met here so far is this dude Daniel from Honduras (who speaks very good English which he learned from watching American movies and TV with subtitles).

Last night, we were sitting and drinking with a couple of locals and Daniel at our hostel. They said they weren`t going to go out, but after a few glasses of wine, we were able to convince them to hit the bars with us. We went to one place to see a metal band. Within seconds of walking in, a group of girls came running up to us, asking all sorts of questions of which we understood about a quarter. We went with these girls and our hostel friends to a club called El Huevo (``The Egg``) and danced the night away. ¡Que bueno!

Today, we walked into a random restaurant on a small side street for lunch. We walked downstairs, which was packed with customers, and everyone fell silent. It was like that scene from ``Road Trip`` where the Ithaca dudes walked into the dining hall at the black fraternity house. After a few moments, everyone resumed talking.

We really can`t get over the fact that we look so strange to these Chileans. Everywhere we go people either stare at us or point and laugh and whisper to each other about ``los gringos.`` Craziness!

There has been a request for a beard update. Shane has taken a commanding lead, but Matt is slightly ahead in the mustache category.

About Chilean food in general...we`ve been eating at pretty cheap places for the most part. Empanadas, this kind of sandwich with beef, mayo, and guacamole, hot dogs, and gelato are all very common. Right before we left Santiago, I had an amazing meal at a small Mexican restaurant--tacos al pastor (spicy barbequed pork) with fresh corn tortillas and a trio of salsas. With almost every meal, they serve this pico de gallo-esque salsa with tomatoes, cilatro, and onions. Breakfast is typically bread with jam and butter, cereal, and fruit juice. In Valpò there is a specialty dish (whose name I can`t remember) which is basically fried potatoes with fried egg, meat, and cheese. Yesterday, we had some freshly-prepared pasta which was really good. Tonight, we are going to go to a nice Chilean seafood place. And of course, the wine is delicious.

Whew. Quite a post. We`re going home to nap for a little now. More pics to come.