Blogs from Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 11

So in the middle of the night Abby and I were awaken by the sound of broken glass. It came about once every 10 minutes, but it was loud and it was violent. At one point I thought someone outside was breaking windows, and as my bed was inbetween two I became very worried. We woke up to find lots of broken plates and glasses outside our apartment, so I can only assume that's what all the noise was. Either way, it was an agressive way to end our stay in Santiago. Abby and I woke up in the morning and headed to the bus station to make our way to the last city, Valparaiso. We managed to get tickets for a morning bus, and wound our way to the costal city. Once our bus stopped ... 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

Hola a Todos!!! I am now in Chile! Working from the office here! As soon as I arrived, last Sunday, I thought I had to visit Valparaiso, Pablo Neruda's beloved town! Neruda's house/museum was so facinating! Each of the rooms has so many large windows which let so much light come in and which show wonderful panoramas of the sea and harbour of the town. Pablo was like a joyful kid who did not want to let go the child within him, which I completly agree with! I then went to the most amazing fish restaurant with the view of the sea and had lasagna with prawns, black squid ink pastry, tomatoes, pesto and cheese...and of course Manchas de quesooooooo!!! I visited the town which is very colourful with different murales and nice little shops! Great ... read more

Who needs a man? We live in the 21st century where women are more empowered than ever. We're in the work force, we do what we want, and we're taking care of business! Well, when you're standing on a street corner in Valparaiso at 2 in the morning alone, you begin to think maybe you DO need a man! And the feeling gets stronger as a creepy looking gentleman eyes you from the corner of his eye. That happened to me tonight. For a place that has such awesome night life, it's incredibly hard to make sure you're safe as a woman. People don't go out until 1:30 A.M. here. Many people do not have cars. In fact, there's nowhere to even park in front of a discoteca. Parking barely exists so even if I DID ... read more