Lifts, crime and beautiful views


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South America » Chile » Valparaíso Region » Valparaíso
January 20th 2011
Published: January 22nd 2011
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Day 4


We arrive in the coastal port of Valparaiso a huge bay with lots of brightly coloured houses piled on top of each other accessed via a network of funiculars (or as they say in Chile ascensors). After upgrading to a room with a bathroom we headed out to explore; Spanish lesson for the day Compartido Bathroom means shared!
After taking our first ascensor, which literally transported us out of the hustle and bustle of the port area to a tranquil and serene setting, we were almost caught off guard... We wandered around like tourists hypnotised by the beauty of the place and stopped to check our ‘brilliant’ photos. Suddenly a group of 3 men started to surround us, one of them saying that someone must have thrown something out of a window onto my T-shirt and bag. However being smarter than the average bears we instinctively backed away, as one of the men continued to offer to ‘help’ wipe off the brown goo. Emily shouted the code word ‘Rome!’ and we were off. (This scam happened to us in Rome)
Determined not to be put off we cleaned my t-shirt (the goo was like chewed up smarties or M&M’s) in a local gallery and continued our walk. The area we were in (Cerros Alegre and Concepcion) is amazing, all the houses are brightly painted with lots of pictures on the walls by local artists and every turning gives you a fresh view across the bay. We had a cold beer on a terrace overlooking the port in a place called Yugoslav cafe, and after a bit more wandering finally had our tea in a little cafe called ‘Cafe Color.’ Colour Cafe had a laid back atmosphere, some live music (which although we couldn’t understand sounded good) and we ate a tortilla and a super healthy salad (getting our 5 a day is muy importante...
Finally we wandered back to the hostel, followed by a number of stray dogs... don’t know whether they think we look like easy targets too or whether I smelt like a giant smartie...

Day 5


Another hot day in Chile. First stop quick pastry and express, and then to ascensor polanco for some picture postcard photos. This is the only vertical lift and after a 100 metre walk through a dark, dank cave we arrived. Our hostel owner advised us not to wander too far from the lift so after a quick look around we took the lift back down. Then onto Pablo's other house -he has 3 in total (maybe to match the number of wives). This time the ascensors were closed so we braved the stairs and after some huffing and puffing we reached La Sebastiana, our final destination. Pablo was a nobel laureate, Chilean consul, poet, politician etc... whose hobbies seemed to include getting married, socialising and amassing a vast collection of objects/artefacts both beautiful and bizarre. We especially liked the bar (we are definitely getting a bar - Emily) he had in this house and again the views across the bay were amazing.
After a deserved ice cream at Emporio La Rosa (which does the most yum ice cream ever) we continued our tour of the funiculars by walking across town to ascensor artilleria. This was the most rickety (the cracks in the wooden floor made it like a ride at blackpool), but gave by far the best view across the bay. Decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal - had ceviche to start (raw fish marinated in lemon with onion and parsley) which is quickly becoming our favourite thing, and steak and hake for main... too stuffed to have pudding, must remember not to scoff all the bread rolls before a meal!

Day 6


Today we saw our first cloud I'm guessing it must have become lost on its way to Manchester. However by lunchtime it was gone some I assume it will reach the UK in the next 24 hours. In order to complete the hat-trick we took a bus down the coast to Isla Negra to see Pablo's other pad by the sea. The house is set on the beach and overlooks the crashing waves of the Pacific ocean. Really great location and we spent some time wandering the coastline. All 3 houses are lovely but after some debate me and Em decided we would live in the one in Valparaiso... Went to the local equivalent of Aldi to get some pasta and sauce for tea... we figure we have to have some 'boring' nights in!

Day 7


Woke up to fog today... and took the metro to Vina del Mar (15 mins away), which is a Costa-del-Sol styley place. Went to find the art museum, which was closed due to the earthquake last year - seemed to be one of a number of older buildings which didn't fare too well. Not having a spare 2 grand to pay for flights to Easter Island, we decided to check out the museum Francisco Fonck which has a great exhibit on rapa nui. Then onto the outdoor gym for a quick workout!


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26th January 2011

sounds shit
well!! we just discovered your blog in our 2nd week of pining and wondering. all sounds brilliant you spoddy bastards. cannot believe you got smartie-bombed!! well, from the most recent photos you're def starting to get that 'on holiday' look in your eyes. and andy'd like a copy of that painting for the bathroom. we'll keep making a wednesday (that's miercoles, simon) check on your progress from under the duvet on our big blue sofa. lots of love andynleah
20th March 2011

Looks mega

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