The hostel I was staying offered an attractive day tour around Valparaiso - it not only sounded great, it also was a marvelous day!
First stop was at a vinyard in the Casablanca Valley: tour of the vinyards, of the production site and then finishing with some wine tasting. This vinyard belonged to William Cole, an American who started wine production in the 1990s. The vinyards are huge and flat (= they can drive through the rows with tractors) and the facilities are all brand new and modern - very different of the traditional handproduction we know back home. The wine was very nice, especially a special edition chardonney - yum!
After the wine tasting it was time for some culture. We went to Pablo Neruda's home in Isla Negra. Not only was a grand poet and politician, he also collected everything! His house, overlooking the pacific ocean, is full of all the items he collected (tainted glass, statues, any kind of items found on ships,....). Special room was the living room: big low windows allowing for great views of the ocean and a big fire place to keep warm! All in all a very special place definitelly worth the visit!
3rd stop of the day was Quintay, a small fisher village, which has stop in time. A few kids playing by the water, some workers painting the houses, some fishermen preparing the nets for the next morning. The village used to be a big walling until the end of the walling industry. Next to the village is a small hidden beach set against dropping cliffs - just wow!
All in all a wonderful day were our guide took as off the tourist track for a day to places which are not easily reached by ourselves!
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