Valpariso

23 to 27 March

We arrived at our hostel, Casa Bella, around 2pm. After checking in, Kitty slept off her hangover from the night before while Lawrie worked out how to access photos (virus, remember!). That night we tried to find a local hotspot, Casino Social JJ Cruz, which we found down a dodgy looking ally. We decided to get backup before trying there again, eventually finding some dinner and walking back to our hostel. Given it was nightime, we couldn´t really get a feel for the place, which made us slightly edgy walking around.

On Thursday we joined the 12pm walking tour of the town. This was a good way to get our bearings and check out some areas we wouldn´t have easily found. One of the Ascensors had a slide on top, which Lawrie took delight for a slight adreneline rush.

Valpo is coming alive with street art

Bobby, our guide at the start of the tour.

The murals are super detailed.

Looking down from the cerros.

The hills are super steep, reminding us of San Franciso

This was in ¨The Amazing Race¨

Pablo Nerudas other house.

This Restaraunt had a great view

Artwork along the streets.

Mosiac tiled seats

Looking back uphill to a church.

Our tour group: Kora, Kitty, Elisa, Lawrie & Diogo.

This artist is painting the city.

Looking down an Ascensor.

The city is reviving with vibrant colours.

Bobby on the slide.

Lawrie having a go (2nd time!)

The streets twist and wind down the hills.

Kitty with more modern art!

The walk took around 3.5hrs, after which we were invited to go grab a few beers with our guide, Bobby, who had mad Brazillian Capoeira skills (apparently, that´s what the locals thought even though he was American).

We partook in many local dishes, beers (Escudo), Pisco Sours at a cool retro pub before making our way back to JJ Cruz to eat Chorrillana, a Chilean dish of meat, eggs, cheese on top of chips (for Lawrie anyway). The night was great fun, with impromptu Karaoke, more beers and singing.

Friday we relaxed, slept and watched movies.

Saturday morning, Lawrie went on a harbour cruise across the bay and back, the weather was perfect and the nice warm sun was welcome.

The tour boats in the harbour.

Sealion on the bow bulb

He was loving the warm sun and ship

The water was calm, skys clear.

Slinging a forklift

After the boat trip we both walked to town to meet up with Acsa and Jon. We had a great lunch at a little seafood restraunt, tried to get Lawrie´s parents´ neighbour Roger a firefighters patch (they couldn´t swap on the weekend, sorry!) before walking off lunch among the Cerros, checking out local artworks.



The weather stayed great for our walk across the cerros.


After our walk we caught the bus to Vina de Mar, located just up the coast. We walked North along the beach, the girls getting caught when a wave washed up through the creek! The water here is very cold, so while lots of people sunbake and enjoy the beach, not many swim! We got some very yummy icecreams and walked to Las Salinas, before catching a bus back and relaxing with a movie.

On Sunday we checked out the local antique markets, before heading back to Vina Del Mar to meet up with friends from uni, Brett and Helen. They´d been travelling for 5 weeks in South America and it was really good to catch up, their trip much faster paced and planned than ours! We had a few coffees before meeting up with Diogo and Sussan from the hostel and heading north, with the intention to sandboard and check out Con Con. The bus took us along the coast before heading inland, so we freaked out a little and jumped off. Not knowing where to go we walked the wrong way for five minutes before getting the right directions. Lunch was on a rooftop terrace, overlooking the bay at South Con Con. Again, Lawrie got a great seafood dish, Arroz de Marisco, Kitty settled on Papas Fritas (chips).



Tsunami egress route!

 

View from our table at lunch.

Lawrie´s lunch, super tasty!

We were all well fed so just headed back to Vina Del Mar, bypassing sandboarding. We said goodbye to Brett and Helen, stopped off for a beer at a local pub, then headed home to pack up and get ready for our 2130 bus.