It's odd that no matter where we are in the world or whatever time zone, we always get up at 7 AM. I find this very creepy. Had breakfast at the hotel, then met our guide at 9:00. He's very punctual.
We drove first to Valpariso. It's a coastal town about 130 km west of Santiago (a little bit north). It was a port town, so the main drag near the docks was famous for ladies of the night, drinking, fights, and general rowdiness. When the route east to west was Cape Horn, Valpariso was in its hayday. When the Panama canal opened, they were in a slump. Remade as a tourist spot - it's on the mend. We had been here before but our tour this time was better.
We drove first to Valpariso. It's a coastal town about 130 km west of Santiago (a little bit north). It was a port town, so the main drag near the docks was famous for ladies of the night, drinking, fights, and general rowdiness. When the route east to west was Cape Horn, Valpariso was in its hayday. When the Panama canal opened, they were in a slump. Remade as a tourist spot - it's on the mend. We had been here before but our tour this time was better.
View of the docks at Valpariso.
Another view.
Naval building called the Armada building.
We took a funicular (another one) to the top of the hill, to get a view of the houses and they're murals for which the city is very famous. All Valpariso sits on very steep hills.
A view from the funicular
Overview of Valpariso
House with murals
The boat house.
View down a Valpariso street. Living in town means climbing stairs all the time.
We went through a home that had been owned by Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet. The house is four stories high, but each floor only has one or two rooms. All the rooms have wonderful sea views. We weren't permitted to take photos which was a shame. He had also collected wonderful weird objects which decorated the place.
A view back to the harbor from near the Neruda house.
We walked back to the funicular, then to the van. Our next stop was a seaside town of Vina del Mar. Lots of kind-a high rise apartments, and not terribly interesting buildings. We stopped at a Natural History Museum which had artifacts from Easter Island and the indigenous tribes in Chile. It really was an interesting place. Small, but well laid out with well presented objects.
Had lunch at a seaside restaurant that sat right up at the edge of the ocean. Interesting factoid: after the last large earthquake here a tsunami made a mess of the lower parts of the town. Our lunch-restaurant had been closed for about 4 years trying to repair the damage.
After lunch we drove to an overlook and I took a few more photos.
View of Vina del Mar from our hill vantage point (looking north)
Same position, but looking back toward Valpariso
Tomorrow, a wine tour.
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