Valparaíso in 30 minutes

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On our way back from Easter Island we had an afternoon to kill in and around Santiago. Having visited the city on our first stopover we decided to try a quick trip to Valparaíso. The bus journey took a little longer than we had been led to believe, however, and in our rush to discover our destination once we had arrived we forgot our bag in the vehicle. Chasing after the bus to its depot further ate into the time we had to explore this World Heritage site.

We had seen a huge flea market crammed with all sorts of fascinating kitsch sprawled along the main street into the city, but with only a one dollar note left between us we decided window-shopping there would not be sufficient, and to avoid disappointment we headed towards the port instead. What we saw of the lower part of the city didn't leave a great impression; it seemed down-at-heel but not in a charming way, and the port area was busy with freighters and with one of the many impossibly large cruise ships that frequent the city. But the principal attractions are the surrounding hills with their jumble of streets and structures, and the funicular elevators leading to these. Running out of time and having done no reading up on the city before our spur-of-the-moment visit, we asked at the tourist office what to do with our 30 minutes in Valparaíso. The assistant there recommended that we ascend the Cerro Concepción - one of the many hills accessible by funicular in the downtown area, and not too far from the port. Our last dollar managed to get us up the Cerro in a rather ancient ascensor and we wandered about the cobbled streets and brightly-coloured buildings before descending the steep hill via a stairway. Valparaíso has a lot more which we didn't get to see - the nearby resort of Viña del Mar, one of poet Pablo Neruda's houses (La Sebastiana) and 41 more hills, for example. And of course we weren't around long enough to sample the nightlife of this port city. But at least we found an interesting way to spend our last greenback - by travelling on one of the world’s 100 Most Endangered Historical Treasures.

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Photos

Cerro II
The hills are alive...

Crazy cables
This just might be a safety hazard...

Message in a bottle
Jesus encourages the use of prophylactics. (This is one of a number of 'pro-condom' graffiti I've seen in South America).

Rastro
A bit of the market, as seen from the bus

Cerro I
A sign attests to Valparaíso's immigrant history.

Cerro III
Better take a running start...