Valparaíso is probably the dirtiest city that I've ever enjoyed. Even Cerro Alegre, a touristy hill where I stayed at both a boutique hostel and a bed and breakfast, has a serious stray dog and trash problem and nearly every wall is plastered in graffiti. But it's also a vibrant and mesmerizing city, with graffiti artists dipping brushes into plastic cups in narrow pasajes, street musicians playing on most buses and trains; clever ways to deal with the terrain (funiculars, pedestrian stairs, and even slides), naval officers in uniform carrying light briefcases along the muelle, and the buildings painted a mosaic of vibrant colors, often with murals fringed by tags, and some yards of creative reuse of plastic or hubcaps or tires, cradled in the robust vegetation that survive the winter but remind me of Pittsburgh
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