Saturday - February 09, 2008

Valparaiso, Chile

Seeing as the notes we received onboard about Valparaiso stated, "The city layout ensures that you will get lost.", we decided that it might be wise to book a tour to see the modern coastal stretch and the older residential neighborhoods that cling to the hills. The tour however, didn't start until the afternoon, so we hopped on the metro that stopped a few yards from the pier and took the 8 minute ride to Vina del Mar, Chile's "Garden of the Sea." This town is billed as being one of the most luxurious resort towns on the continent, and we were impressed with what we saw. 

Viña del Mar had a sleepy atmosphere, and walking was easy. We got off the Metro at the main square in the older part of town, where we found a lovely park filled with flowering shrubs, roses, and ponds with fountains. The main cathedral was the backdrop and there were horse-drawn carriages waiting to drive you past the colonial-style Spanish villas. As we walked through town to beach area, the palm-lined avenues took us past some of the new high-rises going up in this space limited resort as well as some lovely old castles and villas. 

By the time we reached the beach area, we decided it was time for a drink and some lunch so we took an outside table in a very nice looking restaurant that looked out over the rocks and the water. I was amazed to see that almost half the people there were busy talking into a cell phone or typing away on a computer, and most times were doing both! I guess they weren't as taken with the view as we were.

We had a delicious lunch and then were offered a free cocktail that was called a Wine Sour. It was made from Chilean Sauvignon Blanc wine, lemon juice and some sugar and tasted delicious. I will have to try concocting one of these when we get home. 

We dallied long enough that we just got back to the Metro station in time to hop a train back to the port and dash onto the van that would take us on our afternoon tour. I was wondering why they used the 25-passenger vans and not a coach, but all was revealed once we left the central city area along the coast and started climbing the hills into the residential areas. 

Each hill is like an individual city laced with twisting streets. There are 16 operating funicular railways scaling steep hills to the various cliff-side districts. Some are so inclined, they are more like elevators than funiculars. The short ride up can be a bit hair-raising for some, but you are rewarded with fantastic views of the bay once you step off. We rode on two of these funiculars and I could swear they were almost going straight up!

 

It was fun to wander the streets in some of the residential areas. There are still many of the colorful, Victorian houses and old churches built in the late 1800s. Artists had their paintings on display and many buildings were painted with rather artistic graffiti. From one of the viewpoints, we had a terrific view of the QE2 docked down below us.

The center of the city was quite modern in appearance, but alongside a brand new building, one would see a lovely old building that was abandoned and left to go to rack and ruin. Some of the new architecture was quite interesting, and then you would see another building that made you wonder what the architect was thinking of! Take, for instance, this eyesore that looks like the top of an 18th century building was lopped off and a few stories of a skyscraper was plonked down on top of it. 

Our last stop of the tour was a visit to the house of Pablo Neruda, the Nobel prize winning poet. Those of you who saw the movie "Il Postino" will recognize the name. The house was laid out over four stories and contained many of the objects he had collected from around the world. He was a rather colorful character who was married three times, and to say that the decor was eclectic is an understatement. He and his wife shared the house, small as it was, with an couple of artists, so the walls are bright colors with many paintings and one wall was a fabulous mosaic. Unfortunately, we couldn't take photos inside. 

Our ride back to port in the van was a real thrill. We drove down some streets that made Lombardy Street in San Francisco look like a highway. And Mike and I were in the front seat! It was an interesting descent. Aye Carrumba!!