Valparaiso

When I last wrote we had just gotten on a bus to drive from Mendoza Argentina, to Valparaiso Chile.  The ride took us directly across the Andes through Aconcagua Provincial Park and through some of the most awe-inspiring scenery we’ve seen yet.  We drove by massive mountains, with huge steep hills up and down and through tunnels that went under entire mountains.  We had intended to catch up on some reading during the trip, but the breathtaking scenery distracted us quite a bit.  It’s difficult to bury your head in a book, when some of God’s most beautiful handiwork is on display right in front of you.  We crossed the border into Chile at one of the highest points, and then took a long winding road down from there to the fertile valleys on the other side of the Andes.  We drove for a few hours through many large orchards.  The amount of fruit trees here was crazy.  It wasn’t just the valleys that were filled up with orchards, but they used the side of the mountains too.  You could see rows and rows of trees winding their way up and down the mountains.  It was quite a sight.  I remember back home that a lot of the fruit we bought had the “Product of Chile” sticker on it and it was pretty cool to see where it all comes from.

We got into Valparaiso in the evening, prepped with an address for a hostel we had booked ahead of time.  The cab driver we hired to take us there had no idea where the address was so we drove around stopping asking for directions until we found it.  The hostel was definitely the worst one we’d stayed at yet.  The bathrooms were filthy, the staff knew barely a word of English, the rooms and beds were gross, and to top it all off it was in a neighborhood that looked really sketchy.  We immediately went online to find something else, and woke up early the next morning and jumped on a bus to the other side of town.  We ended up staying at a boarding house that we presumed was for students.  It ended up being a really nice place to stay for a few days.  The staff still didn’t know English, but they made every effort to help us out and they were very friendly.  The room they gave us was also probably the best we’d had yet.   A huge double bed that looked pretty much brand new, and a private washroom and sitting room.  It felt quite luxurious compared to some of the other places we had be staying lately. 

Once we were settled in there, we set off to explore the city.  We’ve found that the best way to go about exploring a place is to just go for a walk.  I can tell you that we’ve walked more in the last couple weeks that in the past year or two put together.   It is not uncommon to walk at least 30kms a day while you’re travelling.  If you’re not the kind of person who enjoys walking, you’d probably have a difficult time travelling like this.  In the first week or two it was a little tiring but now, it seems we can walk for hours without problems.

We walked around most of the city and explored some of the quirky characteristics of this town.  Valparaiso is not really a town known for an specific landmarks, but is quite unique an different than most places we’ve seen so far.  The first thing you notice is the topography.  The city only has about half a kilometer of land next to the ocean that is flat.  The rest of the city is built on the mountain sides.  The houses looked similar to the orchards we saw on the drive in.  The small and narrow roads criss-cross all the way up the mountains and hold the majority of the houses, restaurants and stores in this city.  The second thing you notice, is the colors.  The houses here are all painted in bright colors.  Each one different.  When walking down the street you pass 10 houses in a row painted in 10 different colors.  Bright yellow, blue, pink, green, orange, red etc.   It is quite stunning to see.  I would guess that it would be a dream city for a photographer.  Joh got some good shots, so you’ll have to check them out when she posts them.

The city is also right next to the Pacific Ocean, which was quite nice.  We walked down the coast watching the giant ships coming in getting loaded and unloaded with containers.  We also walked along boardwalks watching the huge waves come crashing in against the rocks. I’ve always enjoyed being by the water.  There is something very calming and yet still stimulating just staring out over the ocean. We walked by a number of small beaches that were jam-packed with people. We thought about joining them, but the water didn’t look too inviting with thousands and thousands of people all crowded up along the beach.

Unfortunately Valparaiso also had its downsides too.  First off, the city is quite dirty.  There is a lot of garbage everywhere and there is a distinct smell of rot and sewage throughout most of the town.  It’s quite unfortunate.  The city could be one of the most amazing places in the world if they would just clean it up a little. Also, we just couldn’t enjoy a lot of the food.  It seems Chileans can’t eat something unless it is smothered in mayonnaise and cheese.  Those of you that know Joh and I, you know those are not our favorite foods.  Every sandwich here was loaded with mayo.  For example, the hotdogs there had over an inch thick of mayo, cheese, and guacamole spread over the top.  That hot dog is available on almost every street corner.  We had variations of it one day, and we just couldn’t stomach it.

So after spending 3 or 4 days in Valparaiso, we’ve decided to move on again.  We’ve decided to check out northern Chile, so now we’re on another 24 hour bus ride heading to San Pedro de Atacama.  This town is a desert town in the middle of nowhere.  It has a number of really interesting desert landscapes nearby that we’re hoping to check out.  It’s also very near to the border of Bolivia, which is probably going to be the next country we’ll be visiting.   

We’re still on the lookout for a nice place to spend a couple weeks settled down.  We’ve been moving around a lot quicker that we intended with this trip. Originally, we didn’t expect to even be out of Argentina by now, but skipping most of Patagonia kind of changed things up a bit. We’d like a place where we can concentrate on learning Spanish.  Chile is definitely not that place.  They speak too quickly and they are much harder to understand.  Also, it is a lot more expensive here.  We’ve heard good things about Bolivia, in that it is much cheaper and they speak very good clear Spanish there. So hopefully in a week or two we’ll be there and enrolled in a Spanish course.  We feel that getting a better grasp of the language will make things much easier and will enable us to get a little more involved with the local culture.

I hope everything is well with you all back home.  We love receiving your comments and emails, so please keep them coming.