Week five here in Viña del Mar. Hard to believe that it’s been over a month already. It’s certainly been a busy month with several weekend trips to various places in Chile as well as Mendoza in Argentina. Making progress in my classes as well and have been enjoying them very much. All my classes are taught at UVM’s international campus which is located close to the center of Viña. As I live in an apartment building located in the city’s center, I am able to walk to class very easily. Takes me under ten minutes to walk to class.
In fact, with a few exceptions, most of the places I frequent in Viña are within walking distance. I am thankful for this as it makes it very easy to just head to a coffee shop or take a run on the beach or any number of things. Many of my friends live with host families a bit further out from the center and rely on public transportation slightly more frequently than I do.
The public transportation in Viña is definitely unique. There are essentially three main modes: a metro system that runs along the coast, small buses or micros, and shared taxis called collectivos. Each method definitely has it’s own set of pros and cons. The metro, to begin with, is very nice for the most part. It is clean and relatively new (compared to Boston’s T, however, almost anything seems ‘new’). However, on the downside, it’s slightly more expensive than micros and collectives and has a fairly limited schedule. Micros are small buses that run on several designated routes all throughout the city and surrounding neighborhoods. It’s always a pretty wild ride as the drivers can be somewhat crazy and they are frequently pretty crowded, especially around 7:30pm or so, but, on the plus side, they’re cheap, easy to catch, and quick. Last but not least, collectivos. Essentially an intermediate between buses and taxis, collectivos, are normal 5-person cars that run on designated routes throughout the city. Although they are harder to catch than micros and slightly more expensive, they are a safe and easy option.
