After the most beautiful flight ever, we arrived in Santiago, then took a two hour drive to the coastal town of Valparaíso. First impressions were intimidating. The flats, as they're called is the downtown business sector, and it was loaded with graffiti. In our culture, graffiti is an indication of gangs and illegal activity. As the car climbed up the very steep hills, the paintings changed from graffiti to murals on walls and buildings. Ahh, the feelings of danger subsiding. We arrived and were shown to our double bunk bed room in a shared home. This was another new experience for us. The first night we were the only ones there, but by the time we left, there were more than eight people and only two bathrooms to share! Yikes! We did enjoy some interesting conversations with people from Chile and France.
And check out our rooftop view- both photos above! We played a game of Dobble Connect while admiring the view and then headed out for sushi at Puerto Rolls. We were shocked when we did the conversion to realize their rolls were only $3-4 each! The food was good too! So good, we returned for dinner the next night too. We would have gone a third time, but they were closed. Boo!
This UNESCO city is built on 42 hills called cerros. And we thought Lima and Cusco were steep! It makes going places interesting. A nearby restaurant looks easy to get to on a map, but once you start walking, you might find it's on a different cerro, which means you either have to climb a hundred stairs or take an ascensor (funicular). The ascensors are really cool. Built in the late 1800s-very early 1900s, they are kind of like a diagonal elevator, that transports 10-30 people at a time up or down a cerro. These are extremely long and steep, the longest is 580ft tall! There are 22 ascensors to choose from. The price varies between 100-300 Chilean pesos per ride ($0.10- 0.30 USD).
Valparaiso is known for the brightly colored homes and murals thruought the hills. Some are really amazing and realistic, while others are cartoonish or whimsical.
Even the stairs are painted!
At the top of the rainbow stairs is such a cute section of ice cream shops and restaurants with seating on the cobblestone alley.
There's a vendor market in the square quite often. We found some cute earrings and beaded bracelets here.
I think this might be my first Tsunami evacuation route sign.
To the BEACH!
The train skirts the coastline and is easy to use. I absolutely love this little library right at the train station! How convenient!
Apparently we're not the only ones who enjoy the beach. This dog overheard our plans and got on the train with us! I'm so curious if these dogs ever make it back home? Do they have a home? Are they street dogs? So many questions... Upon our arrival at the beach, we were delighted to find tons of enormous sea lions and tons of birds! (Next post)
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