To get from Santiago to Viña Del Mar you can take a very convenient and cheap bus. It only cost $30 for our whole family. We Ubered from our hotel to the Pajaritos bus station. At the suggestion of the hotel concierge, we bought tickets for the Turbus company, but we’ve heard that many of the “competing” companies are actually owned by the same business conglomerate. The bus was comfortable, green and a double decker bus so everyone was happy! Most people slept for the 90 minute drive. The boys watched Netflix on the iPads.

We took another Uber from the bus station in Viña to our Airbnb. Our Airbnb in Viña is quite a bit nicer than the one we had in Peru. For starters, it is across the street from the ocean with spectacular sunsets. We are on the fourth floor with a big balcony that looks out onto the ocean. It also has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and even a living room. Our place in Peru served its purpose but had two rooms and no living room so we had to hang out in one of the bedrooms or the kitchen.

Here are some of the fun things that we have found right near our home…

1) The Castles:

There is a small castle about a block away called Castillo Wulff. We walked around the castle and took the steps to the top of a lookout area outside of the castle. Inside there are art pieces on display. They also show a video of the history of the castle and the neighborhood.

Castillo Brunet is another castle in the area that sits up upon the hill. Unfortunately, it is closed to the public except for a few days each year.

2) The Park

Of course we had to find a park. Our kids love parks! There is a park about a half a mile from our place. It is a little further than our park in Lima, but the walk is good for us all.

3) The Botanical Gardens

These garden areas are an Uber ride away, but well worth it. The Gardens boast a creek and paths that you can follow through the woods that lead to a lake with ducks. The boys enjoyed exploring, finding sticks and pinecones, climbing, running, and having lots of space. The plants and trees were beautiful and new for us. The boys pretended that parts of a palm tree were a dinosaur tail and yeti feet. We love the creativity that comes from just having space and nature as your toys.

4) Valparaiso

Viña del Mar and Valparaiso have been compared to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. While we love the clean, safe feeling of Viña, we also enjoyed visiting the colorful, vibrant, and edgy city of Valparaiso. Instead of doing an organized walking tour, we set off on our own to explore parts of the city. We loved the piano stairs, funiculars, the giant slide, and lots of brightly painted buildings. The boys got ice cream. Then Tom found a buddy, a super friendly dog that followed us around for a while. We hope to do more trips to Valparaiso (or just Valpo) in the future.

5. Therapeutic Horseback Riding

Cooper has done this since he was three years oldat home in Minnesota. We felt bad about him losing a whole summer with the horses, so we did some searching. In a nearby town we found a place that does therapeutic horseback riding. After some emails and WhatsApp messages, we arranged an lesson for Cooper for each of the four weeks that we are here. Chelsea and Cooper Ubered to the location on a dirt road with a wooden sign hung on a pole. Trekan offers therapy with a licensed occupational therapist on a horse. The barn and stables were set in a beautiful location, and they had lots of toys and materials. We got there a bit early and they encouraged our little curious kid to explore and check out the complex and toys before started. During his lesson, Cooper got to do some new things, like ride the horse backwards. At one point he was picking up items with chopsticks from one bucket to another while riding the horse and counting in Spanish. They really worked hard to engage him in fine motor, gross motor, and speech exercises all at the same time. By the end of class, he was hugging all of the staff. It was an incredible experience, and he can’t wait to go back this week.

6. The beach

The ocean is literally right our our window. We have truly enjoyed the sunsets, the sparkling water, the foaming waves, and the birds and other wildlife right outside our door.

So far, we are really enjoying our time here. We are excited to share our stay with family visitors soon.