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Published: March 16th 2009
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(written by Kati)
Yes, friends, we are back in South America and enjoying its wonders once again. It's true that we first went to Valparaíso and Santiago in January, neglected our blogging, and returned in March to these two cities to pretend like we never left. Can you blame us?
Valparaíso, or Valpo is a densely populated and developed coastal city about 2 hours from Santiago where we had the privilege of having 2 separate visits with Jose and Nicole, friends of my sister Elizabeth from Boston. Jose is chileno and Nicole is americana and the pair moved to Valpo to start up their own vegetarian restaurant,
epif, in a great bohemian neighborhood called Cerro Alegre teeming with cafes and restaurants and galleries. Not only do Nicolle and Jose serve amazing food but the
vino always seems to taste a little better, not to mention the
suenos de chocolate that I dreamed about the whole month I was away. They were excellent hosts, filled with great ideas about what we could explore in the city, so having the inside scoop was an advantage. Plus, there were two beautiful cats to play with, including a 6 week old albino kitten,
Windy pathways
Always with graffiti - the chutes! Never from or to anyplace in particular and their rooftop deck had probably the best view in town.
Many comparisons have been made between Valparaíso and San Francisco, and for good reason. This Pacific port has historical significance older than the gold rush as it was a major stop in the passage around the continent. Also, it sprawls out on a bunch of rolling hills or
cerros that dip down to the sea, so that any little walk about town is a cardiovascular workout with expansive views throughout. To increase access to all of the hills, more than a dozen funiculars were built around the late 19th century, and many are still in use today. These
acensores were a fun way to be lazy, and for around 50 cents, we took quite a few as we wandered through the streets - one even had a slide next to it! It must be the only place where people could actually commute to work via a slide. Valpo is a walker's town, and rounding each corner we would find long stairways, fabulously artful graffiti, and tiny, winding streets that definitely don't follow a grid. Houses, boutiques, and cafes crowded every possible bit of real estate, leaving the
cerros in a wash of color.
Mark seems to feel the presence of the sea the way that arthritics feel a storm coming on in their bones, so we went exploring the neighboring towns in search of a beach. Our first stop was Viña del Mar, the swanky sister city of Valpo that snuggles right up against her. Viña has more beaches and more high-rise condos, and because it was January, the beaches were crowded with a million other vacationers escaping the heat of Santiago. We decided to venture up the coast a bit to escape the crowds, so we went took a
micro up the coast to Reñaca and Con Con, having decided to eat some fresh fish in the latter town. At 7:30 pm on a Saturday night, we entered a huge restaurant to find it completely dead. They assured us they were open and led us to a table. After handing us the menu, they said, no joke,
"Quieren almorzar?" or "Do you want to eat lunch?" Apparently the meal we would be eating couldn't be dinner until after 10 pm.
After having entirely too much fun with our new friends in Valpo, we headed to
valpo coast
a walkway lined most of the coast - except for the huge port Santiago. Set in the mountains, Santiago is a huge city full of friendly people. We splurged on a fancy hotel and enjoyed the rooftop views, the health club, pilates, and of course, the giant breakfast. We visited Cerro Santa Lucia, where we got sweeping 360 degree vistas of the city and its mountainous backdrop. We shopped at
artesania markets and ate some more- at sushi and seafood, including
Como Agua para Chocolate, for tapas and for kabobs. There was a great museum on Pre-Columbian art that I really enjoyed.
Santiago sets the example that nearly all other Chilean cities follow by having a central
Plaza de Armas, a wide square with an old Catholic church as a central focus of the city. Nearby you will find streets dedicated to famous Chileans - Bernardo O'Higgins, San Martin, Pedro Montt...always the same names in each town. In Santiagos's square, we watched a chess tournament, street performances, and ate ice cream and
cortados at sidewalk cafes. It was a great place to people-watch. Santiago also has an efficient, clean, easy-to-use subway system that got us back to our hotel more quickly than our feet could.
It was tough to leave this
area of urban efficiency, but the north beckoned. From Valpo we are continuing up the Pacific Coast on our way to the driest desert in the world.
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Ben
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las ciudades
Me gustaria estara alli! Valpo looks nice. If Chile is anything like Colombia, perhaps I will spend more time in the cities than I originally planned. Nice writing. I often can't figure out who is writing, which intrigues me. I like to think I know Mark's writing style (since it is similar to his speaking style), but this travel narration is a new slant on things. Sigue!