WANDERLUST: VALPARAÍSO
12:14:00
What nonsense
You are
What a crazy
Insane Port.
Your mounded head
Disheveled
You never finish combing your hair
Life has always surprised you
Death woke you
In your undershirt and long underwear
Fringed with color
Naked
With a name tattooed on the stomach
And with a cap
You are
What a crazy
Insane Port.
Your mounded head
Disheveled
You never finish combing your hair
Life has always surprised you
Death woke you
In your undershirt and long underwear
Fringed with color
Naked
With a name tattooed on the stomach
And with a cap
Pablo Neruda
This
chilean town is a free spirit. Wild and exotic and a little wicked.
With uneven streets and houses in all rainbow colours, tatooed over and
over with beautiful graffiti. To me Valparaíso is the definition of a
harbour town. You expect to see pirates behind every corner, you drink
Pisco in shabby bars with anchors on their walls and you feel a sea
breeze on your face the whole time wooing you to leave everything behind
and set off for a wild life on high sea.
Getting there
From
Santiago de Chile you can take numerous buses or trains to reach this
wild beauty, but I think this is one time you really should splurge and
get a rental car. The pitoresque route through Chile´s highest mountains
and the beautiful wineyards of the country simply should not be missed
and you should be able to stop and soak in the view.
Sightseeing
The
entire town is a sight not to be missed. The seven hills sorrounding
the harbour and the teeny tiny crooked houses along their slopes are
quite the impression themselves. Make sure to book a hotel or hostel
room a bit higher up to soak up the panorama as much as you can.
In
my opinion for Valparaíso you really do not need a tight schedule or
plan, simply strolling through the hills is enough. Take on of the
little cablecars to go up (and do not think too much about the fact that
they have been going up and down these steep hills since 1883). The supposedly most pretty hills are Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción, including the prettiest and biggest of the famous graffitis and some of the cutest houses.
Just
as in Santiago de Chile, Pablo Neruda build a very special houses in
Valpo as locals lovingly call it and just like in Santiago it has been
turned into a museum so no excuse to miss it.
Nightlife
Valparaíso
offers an abundance of little bars and clubs where you can really have
the local experience of going out. It also has an Absinth bar, called
Verde Absenta, which is completely green and very impressive, so a cool
way of starting the night.
A lot of smaller clubs, who play mainly música quecka the chilean kind of Raggaeton are lined along the harbour. I really enjoyed a night in Proa Al Cañaveral. There
is still only one real drink in Chile the Piscola (the national liqour
Pisco and you guessed it Cola). If you are in time why not go for the
national day of Piscola on February 8th? The parties for this event in
Valparaíso are absolutely crazy.
Little
warning: Please be save, Valparaíso is beautiful, but it is also a
tough town and you might want to consider drinking not too many piscolas
and going out with a local friend or in a bigger group.
With
all of this intense partying and sightseeing you need a hefty meal to
get you through the day. Thank god there is the wonderful Chorillana consisting
of french fries, scrambled eggs, sausage, meat and fried onions. Yes
this is the combination we all have secretly dreamed off, but Chile has
done it and the home of this monstrosity is Valparaíso. For the best on
in all of Valpo head over to Bar Victoria, a cozy little place filled
with lots of flags, pictures and handwritten notes from all over the
world.
For the
best breakfast had to the Desayunador, who offers a cheap breakfast and
delicious coffee something which is not too easy to find in Chile.
Beachin´
If Valparaíso is the wild cousin that enters every family festivity with unkept hair, just back from a trip across the world and always behind on the work on their CV, Vina del Mar is her very polished and organized sister, always perfectly made up and very preppy. There is an obvious reason I prefer Valpo, but the beauty of Vinas beaches is worth putting up with the in-crowd there. Just make sure to wear lots of suncreen, since Chile is laying directly under a hole in the ozon layer and do not underestimate the power and cold of the waves, cold underlying tides keep the Chilean sea constantly chilly.
4 Kommentare
Was sind denn das für zuckersüße, krumme, bunte Häuschen, getaucht in Sonnentrahlen und dazu dieser unglaublich blaue Himmel? Das sieht so traumhaft aus, fast wie in einer Fantasielandschaft! Hab noch eine gute Zeit dort, meine liebe :)
AntwortenLöschenSo schöne Fotos. Ich will, dass es endlich Sommer wird!
AntwortenLöschenwww.juelide.blogspot.de
Traumhaft. Einfach nur perfekte Impressionen deines Abenteuers.
AntwortenLöschenDanke fürs Retten meiner Mittagspause im verschneiten Hamburg! :D
Liebst, Sara.
beautiful photos ;) would you like to follow each ohter? ;)
AntwortenLöschenwww.charmeusee.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for your lovely comments, constructive criticism and suggestions. I will try to answer all of you!