Weekend Adventures, part 2 (pictures coming soon)!

When last we parted, readers (all 3 of you!), Annie, Tyesha and I had arrived at our adorable hostel in Valparaiso.  After settling in, we headed out on the town and wound up at a very typical Chilean gastropub (apparently bars have not caught on here: you're either at a club or a gastropub) with a great traditional band.  At first, we didn't realize that the men at the bar across from us were in the band, and confused them with the Italian mafia - they were all very dapper, like a snapshot from the 1950s.  My professor had recommended a typical Valparaisan dish: chorillenas.  Be forewarned, you may have to take a  Statin and brace your coronary arteries to read the recipe: steak, eggs and onions on a bed of french fries.  Annie and I split it alongside a salad and although it will not be my staple dish in Chile, it was damn good.  We stayed in the gastropub drinking Chilean sangria and listening to the crowd at the bar sing along with the band until our eyes coundn't stand the ciggarette smoke any longer, got into a cab and went home.

The next morning we slept in and chatted with Carolina (the main worker at the hostel, and also an environmental engineer) before heading out to explore Valparaiso.  Some background: Paraiso (as the Chileans call it) is a pretty old city with a splendid past.  It was the first port ships would come to after passing through the Straight of Magellan (very important before the Panama Canal opened) and was home to Chile's first newspaper and stock exchange, loads of banks, etc.  Tons of extranjeros (foreigners) came to Paraiso to make their fortune: there were particularly large English and German populations in the 19th century which left their mark on the city's architecture.  Equally important to know is the terrain of Valparaiso; the city is made up of 13 or so very steep hills, like San Francisco.  So, the port area is level, and all the neighborhoods tower above the city, connected to the land below with ascensors (funiculars - aka wooden elevators that feel like old-timey roller coasters) built in the late 1800s.  The streets are all narrow and steep, many have stairs instead of sidewalks, and the houses appear as if they are tumbling down the sides of the hills.  What makes Valparaiso particularly beautiful is that the houses are painted in distinct and bright colors and represent all types of architecture (my favorites were the houses that looked like adorable English cottages clinging to the side of a South American mountain, with palm trees in the front yard!).  Valparaiso lost its fortune after the opening of the Panama canal, a devastating earthquake and attacks from pirates.  The city now resembles a beautiful woman who has fallen from grace: you can tell that at one time she wowed everyone who passed by, but now she's just a bit out of place.  Like many port cities, Paraiso has a high crime rate and vibrant sex trade, making it the city with the highest per capita AIDS rate in Chile.  There is also a lot of graffiti and dinginess.  All that said, there is also a beauty and character about the city that is captivating, which is why most tourists in Santiago visit Valparaiso at least once.  We spent a lot of time walking (sometimes hiking!) the streets, and stopped into a museum honoring a famous Chilean political cartoonist, LUKAS.

Soon, it was time for us to make our way back to Santiago.  Annie was a real hero to drive in city.  Perhaps not surprisingly, the steep, winding streets of Valparaiso are a bit difficult to navigate but after driving few a number of barrios, and finally getting stuck on a small winding street we met some very friendly people who helped us find the highway home.

Stay tuned for pictures from this fun trip!

with love,
co