Blogs from Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 6

The bus to valparaiso was great, nice comfortable seats, attentive staff, cheap and on time. Probably the nicest bus we have ever been on, and only cost about £3 each! After we arrived we had to get a local bus to the hostel, which was at the top of one of the hills. Valpo is a port town, built around the sea, but all but the oldest development has been on the many hills surrounding the port. The houses are built on steep inclines, accessed by steep roads, very long crazy staircases or a series of old funicular railways, which are being slowly restored and reopened by the government. Our hostel was at the top of one of these hills - cerro Allegre .The hostel was more of a B&B really and was lovely and homely, ... read more

Three years today (Nov 11) Coebbie and I have been in love. Unfortunately though I woke feeling less than average but there was no use in sitting in a cave feeling sorry for myself, especially considering how perfect the day was. So we gathered ourselves and caught the metro to Vina Del Mar (or so we thought). There was so much rubbish on the beach and the water was ice cold but Coebbie could not be deterred from taking a quick dip. We spotted something along the beach that people were milling around to take photos of. Sea Lions we think relaxing in the sun underneath an industrial wharf. I was shaking as I took a thousand photos. They were humungous but it was the deep hollow octaves of their bark that really terrified me. There ... read more

Street art here is more of a culture than a passtime. Thought I should dedicate a whole blog to it.... read more

Diego, our host at Casa del Todoa who sports a truly Elvis inspired hairdo, put on a spectacular breakfast and we felt replenished after being so exhausted, so we planned a last minute day trip to the coastal towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, with a wine tasting in the Casablanca Valley thrown in for good measure. It turns out that breakfast did not keep the exhaustion at bay for long, as soon as we are in our car and the guide begun behind to speak I am fighting sleep. Now if we had been on a large tour bus it may not have mattered, however our very attentive guide had just Rochelle and I to focus on. Turns out that I have mastered the art of sleeping and listening, as long as you have ... read more

After our snowboarding adventure, we stayed in Santiago for a few days before heading down to the coastal town of Valparaiso. The city has quite the history to tell, peaking at the time of the Californian Gold Rush as it was an important port for ships going around Cape Horn. The town unfortunately saw its demise when the Panama Canal was opened in 1914, and the majority of ships were no longer passing through, but still left behind a melting pot of immigrant cultures and their architectural influences. The town is built on numerous hills in a natural amphitheatre overlooking the ocean. It has the most gorgeous cobbled streets and brightly coloured corrugated iron buildings, all packed together literally on top of each other. Some of the hills are pretty steep, and once again the building ... read more