Valparaiso and the coast

Valparaiso

Valparaiso is on the coast, about an hour and a half away from Santiago along a wildflower lined road that takes you thru some of Chile's wine country.

It is a twin city with Vina del Mar, meaning that their suburbs merge at some point along the coast, but to me Vina is a rich person's playground but soulless, whereas Valparaiso shines through its working class grit with its naval /port history and decorated tin houses.


Yeah, its the upper suburbs in the hills reached by stairs or "ascensors" (think of a trolley car system thats rails head up cliffs at maybe 60 degree angle or more) that are the real charmers... with stunning views across the bay and surrounding suburbs. And all the colourfully painted houses and street art that dots the lanscape and make it a real pleasure to explore.


Theres definitely dirtier pockets, and the lower town becomes a bit threatening at night when all the shops roller shutters come down, leaving sections deserted. But its a working port town, so you'd expect it to be a bit rough. Oddly theres a lot of punks (seem heaps in Chile) and apparently according to one of their signs punk is now 30.... Chile is definitely quite retro... breakdancing kids and mohawks on the other hand!

Anyway I really enjoyed wandering around, looking at the street art and painted houses, and checking out the various museums (cartooner's and naval history actually).


Up the coast

Christian from the youth hostel had a hire car (long story) and was looking for takers to go on a day trip up the coast, which I thought sounded great. So four of us headed off... to check out the coast, have a fresh seafood lunch, and wander along some beaches.

As it turned out, close to Vina is all very developed with large skyrise apartment buildings hugging the rocky coast. As you get further away its a little less developed, and we stopped for lunch in a town with a nice bay and little fishing fleet... so fresh fried fish for lunch. yum.

After admiring the pelicans and the beach, we headed further up the coast, eventually reaching lovely white sand beach and chilled out beach resort area about an hour further north. Saved the best for last.

My time was up, so back to Santiago to fly out to easter island, (which is also part of Chile.)