Blogs from Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 7

All day... All night... Today, the emphasis is on ALL DAY. Yes, it is 8:30 P.M. on a Thursday and I just got back from having the time of my life quite randomly at a bar/discoteca? I still can't decide what kind of place that was. All I know is that it was awesome! My host sister Priscilla A.K.A. Picha invited Brittney and me to a bar called La Locomotora earlier. When she called, I looked at my watch and saw that it was only 2:30 in the afternoon. I was like, "Really? Who does that?" It just seemed a little less than classy if you know what I mean. I said yes of course! When Brittney and I got there Picha and her friend Carolina introduced us to some of their university friends. We got ... read more

Saturday 26th The bus arrived in Puerto Varas last night about half hour late and we took our seats. The 13 hour journey through the night flew bye in absolute comfort. That's what I'd like to say but actually it was pretty uncomfortable sitting in one place for that long trying to get to sleep while the two old men behind yattered on for ever ! Christine slept most of the way back but I arrive feeling spaced out with a sort of jet lag. We finally arrive around ten in the morning to a grey and cold Santiago. Winter's coming. We find our hostel and luckily have been put in a small apartment away from the main building. We're on the 9th floor and get a view over the city. After a quick wash and ... read more

Geo: -33.0206, -71.5548As I try to finish up my blog post from Valparaiso, I need to be somewhat sensitive to the tragic events currently being visited upon this coastal Chilean city. Fires are raging through this UNESCO World Heritage Site and are the worst since a fire in 1953 wiped out most of the city. Already, 16 people have died and more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed (so far 11,000 people have been evacuated). The fire began a few days ago in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city's many hilltops, and spread quickly as high winds rained hot ash over wooden houses and narrow streets. These formally colorful neighborhoods hug hills so steep that people often have to use staircases and funiculars, rather than streets. Many homes have been built ... read more

Now that I was in the know about the changing of the guard, I had my plan of attack. First on my list was to finish packing my stuff, store it and check out of the hotel. Next was a déjà vu of my first day. I went to the café across the street and had a smoked salmon bagel and café Americano. Things were falling into place and I couldn’t be happier. After a quick Metro ride, I was in front of the Moneda Palace ready for the changing of the guard. In Lima this ceremony was done behind big iron fences, giving all of my pictures the illusion of being shot from inside a jail cell. Here we were kept at least 30 to 40 yards behind big fountains with a glass wall surrounding ... read more

Valparaiso, or Valpo as locals call it, is just 120km away from Santiago, but the atmosphere between the two cities couldn’t be much more different. While Santiago is a busy big city, Valparaiso, even though not small either with its 400.000 inhabitants and a busy port, seems more like a tranquil harbor town. Most that is interesting about Valparaiso is set on several hills around the town center: they are filled with colorful houses, cafés and artisan shops. It’s obvious that Valparaiso is quite a creative and artistic place: you just have to look at the amount of arty shops, skillful graffiti, and things like concrete stairs painted in bright colors you can find all over the place (who said stairs always have to be grey anyway…). The houses were often much like in Iceland or ... read more