Helter Skelter in Boho Valpo

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Down the coast from La Serena and just a two-hour bus journey from Chile's capital, Santiago sits the port town of Valparaiso. Once one of the largest ports on the Western Americas coastline and the first port-of-call for boats coming round Cape Horn before the days of the Panama Canal, it still has much commercial shipping and is home to many naval vessels but its oceanic influence is much smaller these days. Still, those days have left a mark on the city and also many memorials and museums to boot.

Valpo (as it's referred to by the locals) climbs a steep bank away from the bay on which it sits. The majority of the old city doesn't follow the conventional grid-like plan of most other South American cities but is a higgldy-piggledy warren of weaving streets that snake their way up the wave-cut terraces like a giant helter skelter. It's easy to lose your bearings but generally you find yourself not caring as you stumble upon something interesting around each corner. The city oozes charm and offers up plenty of sightseeing opportunities, amazing buildings, fantastic views and of course the "ascensor" funicular elevators for which it is famous, that hoist you up the cliffside on rickety tracks and using pre-20th century mechanics. It's a great experience and a great way to ascend the multitude of hills in Valpo, without raising the heart-rate significantly. For our stay in Valpo we stayed on one of the hills, Cerro Concepción once the home of Valpo's elite but now very much a Boho-chic area with lots of nice cafés, restaurants and colourful wall-to-wall two-storey corrugated-iron clad buildings. Our pink and green hotel was basically a huge "oldie-stylie" family home, run by a lovely old Chilean couple - the room had proper furntiure covered in doilies, chintsy furnishings and a small log fire - very nice and cozy! From our very first day it was clear that both of us had a soft-spot for this place and we probably rank it up in our Top 5 for towns we've visited so far.

Most of our time in Valpo was spent simply exploring and riding the various ascensores to different parts of the city. We took a bit of time to visit Cerro Artillería and the Naval Museum on its summit, with some really cracking exhibits about the various seamen that have been influential in the city's (and Chile's) history. Most, as we discovered were of British descent or educated there and so as a result, the town of Valparaiso seems to have a strong link with our Navy and owes a few of our boys a great deal in its fight for liberty and independence. One of the most prominent seamen in Chile's past and comemorated in the museum is Lord Thomas Cochrane the 10th Earl of Dundonald, watch "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", supposedly the Captain Jack Aubrey character played by Russell Crowe is loosely based on Cochrane's exploits and listen out for Crowe's mention of the city of Valparaiso...

We happened to visit the town during the "Fiesta de San Pedro", a huge festival which consisted of lots of events celebrating music and the arts. It seemed like the Fiesta brought quite a large influx of people to the town and possibly explained why buses to Valpo seemed to be unusually packed with Chileans. Although we didn´t understand the schedule (seemingly scant on location information), we did bump into a few processions around the town and the banging of drums and distant shrill of piccolos, could often be heard on the streets and in the plazas. We also had our first wash-out day of the whole trip so far and probably only our second or third sign of rain whatsoever - it pretty much forced us to stay in our warm hotel and have what was effectively a "Deev & Duvet Day" - consisting of lots of crappy movies on the CineCanal cable channel. "Vive Hollywood, vive Cine Canal" - as the advertising goes. Layla, you would be proud of us!

When we were't riding ascensores, getting lost in the backstreets or enjoying the sights and sounds of the festival, we were probably quaffing the Chilean vino tinto and eating well in the numerous and varied array of upmarket eateries. Around Cerro Concepción and the next door Cerro Alegre, the choice of fodder is immense, Laura even got a choice of dishes beyond another egg or pasta-based dish which amongst the carnivorous Chileans is quite something. Argentina's next, their thirst for all things lomo (beef) is legendary, Tommy can't wait to tuck into melt-in-the-mouth steaks, Laura's resigned to omlette hell....

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