Blogs from Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 10

The ship docks early at Valparaíso. We have a few issues with our on-board account to resolve. Eventually we say goodbye to the MS Veendam, which has carried us to Antarctica and back. We sailed 3588 nautical miles, which is 4128 miles or 6645 kilometres. We board the bus for our tour. Sylvia, our guide, turns out to have dual Chilean/Canadian citizenship. (She spends part of the year teaching Spanish in Montreal, where her daughter lives.) It's a grey, dreary and fairly cool day with occasional drizzle, but Sylvia promises that the weather will be beautiful when we reach the valley. Valparaíso is a port city built up from the sea into the sides of rocky hills. The way many of the buildings are built into and around sheer cliffs defies belief. The bus starts at ... read more

Happy New Year blogging buddies, it is a quiet morning here in Valparaiso,at least on my street. The city parties hard at new years eve so a day of rest is called for. I have settled into my new home quite comfortably and am getting used to kitchen and the hot water system which provides surprises in mid shower!!!The Humboldt current right down my back!!!Brrrrr. There are a few things missing from the apt and I will be shopping for them when the stores open again.Dish towels,can opener that sort of thing.I do have my swiss army knife so cork screw and bottle opener are always close at hand. Be prepared as the scouts taught me.Yesterday the sun burned off the fog at about 1pm and the city and sea were bathed in the glorious light.Quite ... read more

My new favourite city in the world is the crazy, quirky, kooky, arty, twisty-turny, topsy-turvy city of Valparaiso. The whole city is built around a landscape of 42 hills, and looks like it was designed by either an eccentric genius, a very brave architect or a madman. The city is a maze of steep, winding streets that coil around the hills and climb up and down. The layout is random and chaotic. Getting from A to B is not intuitive, and you'll find yourself going via C, D and E in the process. If you look at Valparaiso on a map, it looks like someone threw down a bowl of cooked spaghetti when they planned it. Adding to the confusion, there is a rabbit-warren of side passages and stairs which link many of the roads. If ... read more

Over the weekend, some of the girls from Spanish School and I decided to make the trek out to El Maraido Glacier about two hours east of Santiago. Although we originally planned to catch the bus out there, Katie and I were met with an amazing surprise when we were picked up from the bus station by Felipe, the guy that Christiana from class was couch surfing with. The journey became increasingly interesting when the road became gravel (were in something smaller than a Holden Barina) but after a few words of encouragement and amazing driving skills on Felipes part we managed to make it there. Usually entry to the park is 2.000 pesos ($4) per person, however the park ranger was so impressed that Felipe had managed to bring three girls with him that he ... read more

There was no way Coebbie was getting another sleep in so after much protest he stumbled out of bed. ... read more