Dena gets a Lu-Lu

It is my incredible pleasure and honor to introduce to the world Dena 2.0. Similar to Dena 1.0 in many ways, Dena 2.0 tends to worry less than her predecessor. She adheres to the "zormim" (Hebrew for "flowing") school of travel, where planning is not required - you can arrive at your next destination with no reservations, no guide book, and you just hope for the best. It was in this way that we arrived in Viña del Mar, Chile. We headed there from Pucon after hearing from some Chileans we had met that it had a very nice beach. With no guidebook and no information, our first stop was the tourist information stand. The clerk was helpful but a little pessimistic about our chances, as it turns out we arrived in the midst of the 50th annual Festival del Viña. Dena 1.0 would have been very stressed out by this, but Dena 2.0 took it in stride, and we eventually found a decent place to stay within our budget. The physical manifestation of Dena 2.0 is her Lu-Lu, a beaded hair accessory (technically called a Trenza, but dubbed a Lu-Lu by all the Israeli girls we have been meeting). Now, whenever Dena 1.0 tries to surface, Dena 2.0 just has to channel the worry-free power of the Lu-Lu. While in Viña, we also spent a day in Valparaiso, a port city between Viña and Santiago. It was a true labyrinth of a city, where maps are all but useless. We spent most of the day wandering around aimlessly, getting lost and then finding ourselves. Having nowhere to go and nothing to do is one of the great pleasures of this trip! That's all for now (brief post for once)... Stay tuned for updates on Mendoza as we continue to work our way North through Argentina! -Amit & Dena P.S. I almost forgot to mention the store in Viña that sold nothing but avocados. Now THAT is my type of shopping!

The flower clock outside Viña Dena gets a Lu-Lu (1 of 2) Dena gets a Lu-Lu (2 of 2) Dena 2.0 shows off her new Lu-Lu A mural in Valparaiso A view of Valparaiso (when the sun finally emerges) One of the many "ascensores" in Valparaiso that carry people uphill and downhill (for about US$0.50).