valparaiso

Valparaiso was relegated to a day trip to accommodate 2 extra days in Santiago. It is only 2 hours away from Santiga so a (cheap) day return was taken. The place was the most chaotic, noisy and somewhat grubbiest place we had seen up to date. for the first hour or so it just seemed noisy and uncomfortable But this feeling DID Change. The harbour area is quite interesting, especialy watching or the school groups clambering over the little cruise boats full of excitement.

The city is famous for its very old  funiculars, which climb the steep hills which surround the city, and the multi-coloured 9often) coorugated iron houses, However it was necessary to take the funicular to see these sights and to get away from the chaos below. Many of these funiculars were more than 100 years old and a little rickety. In fact some no longer work. Some of them are rather difficult to see unless you are looking for them. The one we used, ascensor Concepcion (once steam-powered!) , was down a very dark alley,off the main street, and the entrance could have been that of any small household. Once at the top the scenery was very different from below. Much more peaceful, lots of colour,interesting sights and architecture. We had our lunch up there at a place called Brighton.

stairway to heaven?

 
 
 






There were many other colourful buildings of various shapes and sizes and there was also a wide range of really effective pieces of street art some of which will go on a post dedicated solely to art of Santiago/Valpariaso streets.

One final postscript to Valparaiso is relevant to my family on my mothers side. There is a street, a small area and a cafe there whose name is one letter away from being extremely interesting.