Chilean Holiday: Viña del Mar – Part 1
Words & Pictures: Fabian Merino
In the second part of Fabian’s trip north in Chile, he travels from Quintero to Viña del Mar, one of the major tourist destinations in the Valparaíso area. A rest day, some time on the beach, and hauling himself up the HC rated La Dormida in the Chilean Costal Range make up Part 1. Read through this, then tune in again next week for the last two days in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.
Day 1 – Quitero to Viña del Mar
The day started with me packing everything so my parents could take my stuff with them, I thought it would be easier to ride 40 kilometers than taking my bike apart, putting it inside a cab and be worried that it would fly away or break because people drive like shit here, no joke.
The morning fog was on my side again, wasn’t crazy hot out until later on, making my ride very mellow cruising along the coast and beautiful beaches that this area of the country had to offer. The route was very flat, traffic wasn’t a problem at all and when I got to the hostel my parents were waiting for only 5 minutes so it all worked out perfectly.
The hostel was called “Los Delfínes” (The dolphins) and was probably the best place I’ve stayed at, great location with a beach 4 blocks away. After I got there I changed and made my way to the beach and took it real easy, I knew the next day was going to be a hard one.
Day 2 – Climbing La Dormida
I made my way downstairs to take advantage of the delicious breakfast the hostel had to offer every morning. Thankfully they didn’t have instant coffee like every single place in Chile seems to have, so I had a cup or three. My things were ready from the night before and my route was downloaded onto my Garmin, telling me I had a pretty good day ahead; 146 kilometers, 2,800 meters.
“La Dormida” is a climb categorized as HC with 1,000 meters of climbing, 15 kilometers long averaging 7%. All of this sounded amazing to me after being in Quintero and making my legs kinda hurt for like 2 days but the thing about being so excited while traveling and riding new roads is that you don’t realize how tired your body might feel due to the happiness a ride like the ones I was doing could make you feel so mentally you’re constantly saying “fuck it”.
The way out of Viña was very stressful, I rode on a highway where I constantly saw a no bicycle riding sign along other things like no horseback riding, etc. A few honks along the way and I honestly thought I was going to get killed right there. I kept going and took an exit to go through a town instead of this scary highway, actually, the highway wasn’t the scary part, if this highway was in BC I would be extremely comfortable but I was in Chile, where a car accident seems to happen every 2 minutes. Thankfully I didn’t get lost and it was pretty straight forward to go through this town but it was their main road where all of the city buses were so it turned into a race, rushing by their public transit’s sudden stops (bus stops don’t fucking matter here), passing in between cars, hopping over massive potholes and on and off sidewalks, I really feel like my handling skills got so much better after 2 months of being here.
Starting the fun part of the descent // Looking inland to toward the Andes
When I made it to the quiet road towards the climb I was very happy, but of course, it was very bumpy for like 5 kilometers. When I started to get closer to the beginning of the climb I realized the fog was moving away, slowly, making the ride a lot hotter when I started to get to the 7% parts. This climb was full of switchbacks and in some parts you could see the road above you like a snake crawling up towards the top of the mountain, drivers honking at me in a very quick way letting me know that I was doing a great job riding up this road alone.
“Caution steep and sharp corners next 11km” // Summit of La Dormida
After the last few switchbacks I made it to the top, the other side had a view of the Andes while behind me was the ocean with the coastal range, it was out of this world, almost out of a dream I’ve had before with every mountain top I used to draw when I was younger.
Going down was pretty fun, corners were super wide and not crazy steep, making the last few days look gnarly and making myself feel really comfortable cornering at full speed without touching the breaks.
View from the top of La Dormida // Fun corners on the way down
I stopped on the way back at a stand on the side of the road that offered empanadas, had one and sat there for a few minutes. Made my way back to the hostel and had a coffee at a cafe around the corner with my parents (best coffee of the trip).
Empanada’s and pineapple pop: ‘traditional’ Chilean snack // Beach vibes
Spent the evening at the beach walking around, people seem to disappear around this time to save energy to go out and party from 12 until 7 am. Had a beer while watching the sunset, lucky guy.
Want all the details on Fabian’s riding in Viña del Mar and La Dormida? Full Strava files linked below:
Day 1: Recovery Ride
Day 2: Cuesta La Dormida