Back to Valpo...

Talor: After much deliberating, we figured life is short, and though buses are far more economical and eco-friendly, we gotta do what we gotta do... soooo, we decided to take a 4-hour flight from Santiago to Lima rather than spend a week traveling by bus before getting on a plane for home. That meant we only had 6 days left in Chile... doh! How to spend that time... how about a weekend in Valparaiso? We loved it back in August, so we thought it's gotta be even better now that it's Spring and not so cold. Weeeeell....

Took an overnight bus and 14 hours later, we arrived into a city shrouded in fog. Somehow things just don't look as pretty when the sun's not shining. Casa Liesel, where we stayed at before, was full, so we settled into a comfortable enough room with a shared bath at Rincon de Valparaiso. And soon enough, the fog burned off and we set out to visit our favorite places...

First stop, of course, was Kanibal for a completo grande (humongous hotdog topped with sauerkraut, chopped tomatoes and smothered with guacamole). Went to say hello to the cicerones (street dogs) by the bus stop, but they were all too busy napping in the noonday sun. So we grabbed a couple of mini-pies and went to say hello to Maria and Miguel at Casa Liesel. Then in the evening, went to the historic Cinzano's for drinks and the music stylings of old men in formal wear. Had a nice time chatting with Nick, a young British traveler, and Carlos, born and bred in Valparaiso. But the place never filled up with raucous revelers dancing and singing like the last time we were there... o well.

Walked around the next day trying to shake off the hangover, but felt uninspired. Blame it on the piscos the night before or blame it on the fog that didn't burn off until about 3:00 in the afternoon, but for whatever reason, the city just didn't have the magic that we felt the first time around. Maybe it was going from the loveliness of the quaint little towns in the south to a large city, or the comfort of a 3-bedroom cabana to a double with a shared bath. Even the cicerones didn't seem interested in guiding us through the city. Maybe they sensed that we already knew our way around? Don't know, but the next day, the sun never came out so we decided to leave and spend our last few days in Santiago. Ironic, huh? Back in August, we loved Valpo and hated Santiago, but now in December, it's the other way around... who woulda thunk?

Erik: I had my trepidations about returning to Valpo – things you really love the first time around, whether places, food (dare I say people?), are rarely as nice the second. I didn't want our nice memories of valparaiso tainted by a bad visit, but I don't think they were. The city just wasn't new and exciting anymore, which is understandable. The fog didn't help either. Anyway, I still had a good time. The winding-down/return home parts of trips are always the most difficult, and now we have to accept that we'll not be seeing any new places for a while. But man am I looking forward to seeing family, friends and having a slice of NYC pizza...

Valpo round 2 pics:

Valparaiso (2), Chile

On holiday in Puerto Varas...

Talor: I really hated leaving Chiloe, but time was running out and so we needed to start heading north to avoid the mad dash to the finish line. Our next stop, Puerto Varas, was a 3 ½ hour bus ride away. We read that it was touristy, but after more than a week of inactivity, Erik needed a physical diversion, and PV offers a variety of options from hiking to kayaking to other water sports so we headed there.

At first blush, I didn't like it. Though it was cute, it seemed like it was trying too hard. The main strip was lined with quaint, but very expensive restaurants and tourist shops, and at the end of the drag was a huge modern casino. I guess the city is doing well because everywhere we looked, there were large fancy hotels under construction.

But then we discovered that life up on the hill was somewhat more normal, and prices far more reasonable. Little did we know that it was a holiday weekend (most people we asked couldn't even tell us what the holiday was), and found a lot of places all booked up. The first night we stayed at the German owned Casa Azul that had a Japanese garden and a young, frisky Weimeraner. Though they served up a big breakfast in the next morning, including a delicious muesli and freshly baked multigrain biscuits, the prices they charged for the tiny rooms didn't seem worth it. So we moved onto Erika's and took a bright and cheerful corner room that was absolutely spotless. The next morning, we chatted with Erika over breakfast, drinking coffee and eating her homemade kuchen. And though all was comfortable there, I really wanted to have a kitchen so we moved once again, right across the street, to Cabanas Roller, where we splurged on a 3-bedroom cabana with a living room, a full kitchen and a dining room. We settled in and called it our home for the next 3 days.

With only so many days left before having to return home, we thought let's really go all out and make a proper holiday of it! And so we did... we rented a car and spent a lovely day doing a tour of the sights around Lake Llanquihue. So often during our trip, there were times when we were on a bus or a train, I wanted to stop and explore, but couldn't. With a car, we could do just that. We made up our own tour and stopped and go'ed whenever and to wherever we wanted... what luxury! Made ourselves a picnic then headed out in the cheapest, dirtiest rental car ever!

It was a perfect day as we visited all the little towns around the lake. Our first stop was at the Ensanada Hotel, an antique grand hotel that was more like a quirky museum. Then onto the park at Petrohue where we hiked to the waterfalls. After that, we had a picnic lunch on a deserted black sand beach with a view of Volcan Osorno. Back in the car, we drove up to the bottom of the Volcano with breathtaking views of the lake. Took the secondary roads to the town of Cascadas where we hiked through the woods in search of another waterfall, but never found it. As we drove back, we saw an amazing sunset, then ended the evening with a delicious dinner of fresh fish at La Olla.

Spent the rest of the time just exploring the town and chatting with the friendly folks... walked along the waterfront, picnicked on the beach, drank motes (a refreshing drink made with sun-dried peaches), visited funny little museums, and stopped and smelled the roses... literally. Life is rough, huh?

Before saying good-bye to the South of Chile, we took a bus to the port town of Puerto Montt and spent the day walking around. Headed to the mercado and had a fabulous lunch at Apa where they served up huge portions of eel stew and grilled salmon as we watched the locals casting lines into the water. For dessert, we got a bag of cherries on the way to the main plaza and shared them with a mangy dog who seemed to enjoy them as much as we did. Then headed to the mall where we got online with free wi-fi while indulging in ice-cream at the food court. In the evening, we boarded a night bus for Valparaiso, and I couldn't help feeling sad as we rolled away... sigh.

Erik: Yes, Puerto Varas was very touristy, shiny and new compared to little fishing villages we'd been in. I spent all of 15 minutes in the huge, glitzy casino, but won enough money at blackjack that I didn't feel guilty splurging on an afternoon of “canyoning.” I guess I'm getting old, and adventure sports aren't my main diversion, so I'm not too ashamed to admit that I'd never heard of the “sport” before. Basically, they dress you up in a thick, head-to-toe wetsuit, in which you then hike up a mountainside to get to a remote river gorge. There you don crash helmets and go sliding down rocky river canyons like a water slide, or jump off 40 foot cliffs into the small ponds below. It was fun! And to top it off, we repelled down a waterfall cliff over 180 ft. high. I'd never repelled before, and it was good-and-terrifying as I slid down the thin rope over a high, sheer cliff, only a few feet from a raging waterfall. Talk about adrenaline! The only downside was my stupidity in bringing the camera along. I packed it in a waterbag, but it got a little wet each time i took it out, and by the end it had died on me. Oops. At least we had 2 with us, and the trip is nearly over...

Renting the car was another high point. I hadn't driven in nearly a year, and really enjoyed it – and it was so liberating after 10 months of bus rides. It's a bit rough on the daily budget, but well worth it. Next trip we'll do it more often...

All in all the south of chile is a spectacular place, and we were very sad to leave.

Our pictures from Puerto Varas:

Puerto Varas, Chile

Our photos from Puerto Montt:

Puerto Montt, Chile

Chilling on Chiloe...

Erik: The first day of December, and we're in the warm, summery weather and long days in southern chile. The further south we go, the longer the days get and the better the weather seems to be. By the time we got to the island of Chiloe, it wasn't getting dark until nearly 10pm, which really threw off our internal clocks. We were eating dinner as it got dark, which seemed normal until we finished dinner and realized that it was time for bed!

The bus ride to the small fishing town of Ancud on the northwestern coast of Chiloe Island took about 4 hours – 45 minutes of which was on a ferry – bus and all – over the island.

We found a cabana (stand alone cabin with kitchen, etc.) in Ancud, which was very nice and one of the more affordable housing options. The town was very small, with little to do except wander the waterfront and surrounding coast, and eat local seafood. We did take a tour over to the penguineras – penguin colonies about an hour away. They were very cute – the first time i'd seen penguins outside of a zoo. Two penguin species shared the small islands on the protected bay – Humboldt and Magelan, though they're quite difficult to differentiate one from the other.

After a few days in Ancud, we grew a little restless and caught a bus even further south to the tiny port town of Chonchi, where there was even less to do! We spoke with the local tourism officer, Nicolas, who was very friendly and recommended that we go out to the national park, about an hour's bus ride away.

The next day we caught the bus out to the park. We took one trail which took us through a dense, subtropical marsh forest – interesting and a bit spooky. After a picnic lunch, we took another short trail out to the beach on the pacific shore. A little ways into that hike we were joined by a very friendly dog who accompanied us the rest of the way out to the beach. It was very hot out, and he would run ahead to the next shady spot along the trail and wait for us there – then run along to the next bit of shade. He reminded us of our “cicerone” dog guides in valparaiso. He accompanied us all the way to the flat beach with roaring surf, where we found a herd of cows lingering. I'm not quite sure why they were there – there was no grazing for them. They were in the middle of a makeshift football pitch on the beach, so it seemed that perhaps they were playing an incredibly slow match of cow soccer.

I couldn't resist the pacific and went for a quick, chilly swim in the water – it was so nice to be back in the ocean again!

As we started to head back, our dog guide came with us a short ways, but then decided he was happy at the beach and plunked himself down in the middle of the only other people on the beach and took a nap – fickle!

Back in town that evening, the city's tourism officer, Nicolas (who'd recommended earlier that we go to the national park) drove past, and stopped to say "hi" and ended up inviting us up to his beautiful house on a hill overlooking the bay. We had drinks, listened to jazz, and discussed chile, korea (he'd travelled there twice), etc. He had a wonderful young dog, Theo, who'd had a mishap with Nicolas's horse and was suffering from broken front leg. Poor thing! There really is nothing to compare to south american hospitality! Gigi's family in Bolivia, the Torres family in Santiago, and Nicolas in Chonchi - how lucky we were to have met all these wonderful, generous people!

I'd hoped to catch the ferry from Chiloe over to Chaiten in Patagonia, but it turns out that service has been canceled because there's an erupting volcano in the way! We could see the huge pillar of ash and smoke from Nicolas's house, which is 100's of miles away. Wow. Oh, well, I'll have to leave the patagonia pin in the map for the next trip!

Talor: I wish you could see what I saw on Chiloe... it is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. The towns of Ancud and Chonchi were cute with modest homes painted in bright colors and lovely gardens with flowers blooming. But just a short distance outside of town, the fields of green and yellow with trees and wild flowers growing everywhere... well, it was simply breathtaking! Though I kept taking photo after photo, they do not begin to show what it was like. Guess I'll just have to remember it all...

Though we took day trips to see the penguins and to the national park, there really wasn't much to do so we wandered around town, watched kids break-dancing by the water, ate really fresh fish and seafood and sampled a whole lotta kuchen. A word about kuchen (pronounced ku-hen), my newest obsession... there's quite the variety, and at times, they are like cake, and at times, like pie. Sometimes they have a creamy middle, but most times not. They're always filled with a layer of fruit (berries, apples, bananas or quinoa). The best are the ones with the crumbly buttery top. And when you get one with just the right combination of pastry to fruit to crumbly top, it is heaven! One of the first orders of business when I get home is to find a kuchen recipe.

Anyway, with friendly locals like Nicolas, who invited us to his beautiful home on a hill for a drink and a chat, we were really enjoying life on the island. I thought, “why don't i live here?” then remembered that it gets bitterly cold in the winter and the months are dark and long... o well, nowhere is perfect. Time to move on...

We have way too many photos of Chiloe...

Isla Chiloe

Good vibes in Valdivia...

Erik: After our 23 hour trip to Santiago, we thought nothing of a 10 hour bus ride, so we skimped and bought the economical “classico” tickets – where the seats don't recline quite as much. As I'm sure you can guess, that was a bit of a mistake. We couldn't get comfortable, and so had a long night's ride.

Upon arrival in Valdivia, we were approached in the bus station by a woman offering us affordable lodging in her hospedaje. After looking at a few rooms, we decided upon one with a mini kitchenette, and were quite happy until we found one thing after another broken in the room. The bed leaned to one side, the shower dripped loudly and constantly, and the kitchenette sink plumbing kept breaking and leaking. Oh well! We had too little time to look elsewhere, which was a strange feeling for us – the first time we'd really had a deadline looming and couldn't take as much time as we wanted, since we had to be Lima in a few weeks time for the flight home...

At first we weren't too crazy about Valdiivia – it actually reminded us of a suburban american town. But then we went for a sunny walk along the verdant waterfront, found some enormous sea lions lounging near the pier (in fresh water, which is odd. Apparently they're well-fed at the pier market, and so swim up from the ocean for a leisurely vacation.) They sell delicious, cheap smoked salmon and have the freshest fruits, so we ate quite well.

We were in Valdivia during chile's annual telethon for the handicapped – much like the Jerry Lewis telethon, but much bigger, with the entire country tuning in to watch, and all the cities and towns hosting free concerts, etc. It's a really important event for them. One night we wandered downtown to have a drink, and ended up in La Bomba, a little firefighter's dive bar, where we watched the telethon with the locals and got quite drunk on beer and pisco (well, I did!) We met some wonderful locals – Hardy, an older man well-dressed in a wool suit, very polite and friendly. Jaime and Jose, younger men full of local advice for us (Jose seemed very interested in Talor, and wouldn't let go of her hand), and Cristal, an overly-friendly and overly-drunk woman who kept hugging us both and kissing me all over my face. We had a great time until the 3^rd pisco told me that it was time to go home...

The next day we took a bus to the nearby port town of Niebla, where we took short ferry rides to small ports and nearly-uninhabited islands around the bay. The area reminded me of the sounds around seattle- green islands with steep hills overlooking the clear blue, cold waters of the bay and the ocean beyond. But the colonial german houses and old spanish forts and castles constantly reminded us that we were in chile, nowhere near home. We were very lucky to be there in late spring, with wonderful weather and landscapes boasting every shade of green, broken up only by the clear waters or blooming flowers. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

As much as we were enjoying valdivia, we knew that we should move on to experience other areas of southern chile. For our next stop, we decided on the island of Chiloe, much further south and just off the coast of Patagonia...

Talor: Valdivia is a strange mish-mash of old and new, but I really liked it. Has an old small town feel to it, but then we'd see these modern supermarkets and department stores next to antiquated homes. Cross the bridge and the landscape changes to rolling green fields with farm houses and cows grazing. And the waterfront was beautiful with clear blue waters perfect for a morning run.

We visited the market where we picked up yummy smoked salmon, and gorgeous fruits and vegetables. That evening, made a nice pasta dinner in our mini-kitchenette, and felt good to sit down to a meal we had prepared ourselves. It had been forever since we'd cooked anything and I realized how much I missed it. It's funny to think that throughout our travels, having a kitchen has become the ultimate luxury!

Could have stayed longer, but time is running out, so onto Chiloe...

To see more photos of Valdivia...

Valdivia, Chile

Return to Santiago...

Erik: In the end, the bus ride wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. They showed movie after movie, including such greats as “Big Moma's House”, “Free Willy” and “The Golden Compass”, all dubbed in spanish, of course. Our seats were comfortable enough and we did manage to sleep a bit. Early on the Atacama desert was impressive, but a bit too reminiscent of bolivia and peru. Then after several hours we saw the pacific ocean on the horizon – a very welcome sight! I managed to sleep a good few hours, and the next morning we awoke to see not only the ocean, but green landscapes – a bright, wonderful change from the dust and brown mountain vistas of peru.

In santiago we already knew our way around a bit, and found a nice hotel with an “affordable” apartment-suite complete with kitchenette. After the very simple food of the salar trip, and the incredibly chewy beef of peru and bolivia, I was craving a good steak, so we splurged and went to a very nice grill restaurant nearby and had a huge meal of steak, potatoes and good chilean wine. That combined with a good night's sleep, and the batteries were fully recharged.

The next day we'd arranged to meet our friends Patty and Marco Torres, who we'd met in Mendoza, Argentina. We found them at the Plaza de Armas the next day at noon, and they took us via the very modern and technologically sophisticated metro (subway) and bus lines to their home, where we met up with their kids, Belen and Martin. Patty prepared a delicious lunch of pasta and roast chicken, and Marco opened up a nice bottle of wine. Only a few days in chile, and we were living well!

We spent the entire day with the Torres – visiting a local park, and then to Patty's parents' house for “onces” (afternoon tea.) What a wonderful day. We're very lucky to have such hospitable and generous friends.

Our first visit to santiago had been in august – the heart of winter, and we'd not found it terribly pretty nor pleasant. What a difference a season makes – now santiago was sunny with green trees and blossoming flowers everywhere. We really enjoyed just walking around and visiting the small parks that dot the city. It proves just how wrong first impressions can be.

After a few days, though, we were eager to move on to the south of chile, which according to everyone we spoke to is one of chile's most beautiful areas. Marco Torres is from the southern lake district town of Valdivia, and after talking with him a bit, we decided that it should be our next stop. It was a good 10 hours away, so we bought tickets on yet another night bus...

Talor: After days spent in the desert, Santiago was such a welcome change with everything in bloom. What luxury to be able to go for a run in the morning (on paved asphalt!), pick up provisions for breakfast, and dine on fresh baked bread, rich delicious cheese and luscious fruit in season, including my favorite, the chirimoya! Erik is right, what a difference a season makes! Made the 23-hour bus ride worthwhile.

Chileans are known for their hospitality and rightly so. The day we spent with Patty, Marco and family was just lovely. They welcomed us into their homes and prepared delicious meals for us as we chatted and got to know each other better. It was the best welcome back!

Our photos of Santiago...

Santiago, Chile

Sleepless in Santiago (Chile)

Erik's entry: What I remember most of Santiago is our endless search for a decent, affordable hotel. We spent the first 4 nights in 3 different hotels in 3 different barrios. Everything was either well out of our budget, or barely affordable and barely sleepable. We had dusty bunk beds in a run down hostel ($40/night with communal bath!), a creaky bed so sunken in the center that we awoke with terrible back aches ($40/night though with private bath and a non-functioning fireplace in a funky old colonial house), then finally a decent room with private bath and – luxury of luxuries – heating in the room! (remember that August is the height of winter in Chile). We were quite content in this last hotel. We spent the better part of our first days searching for better lodging, and nearly half the places we found rented out their rooms by the hour as well as by the day. One particularly memorable place had a room done up as a ship captain's quarters with a switch on the wall that lit up a series of small red lights on the ceiling that spelled out “sexy.” I was in favor of that one, but couldn't talk Talor into it. Probably better that way in regards to hygiene...

In retrospect we got a little carried away with finding the perfect place, though we were very happy (and warm) 4 days into our stay when we found that last hotel in barrio brazil. We did find time to do a few fun things, such as the afternoon we spent in the largest park in Santiago. We took a funicular up to a high vista point looking out over the huge city which is hemmed in by the snowy Andes on two sides. Looming over us was a 40 foot statue of Mary Magdalene. From there, we took a gondola ride to the far side of the park, from where we planned to walk back to our hotel. Unfortunately our map wasn't quite to scale, and the walk back took over 3 hours.

During our wanderings, we also stumbled across a funky little hotel piano bar. We were drawn in by the low prices they advertised and the terribly bad yet appealing music of the piano man, playing all the hits from sinatra to billy joel on his electric keyboard. Once inside, though, it turned out to be a very popular place. It was tiny, smoky, with people packed into miniature lounge tables sipping beer and pisco. The walls were done up in velvet wallpaper with tacky framed prints all around. It was exactly what you'd think of as a divey american piano bar from the '50's. We had a great time (partly due to the pisco, of course.)

Talor: For me, as always, it's all about the food... after over 8 eight hours of searching for housing on our first day, we were EXHAUSTED and hating the city and ready to tear into each other. Then we stumbled upon a cute little unpretentious cafe packed with locals on a trendy street in Barrio Brazil. Walked in and saw everyone chowing down on a local specialty, a chorrillana... imagine a huge platter heaped with fries, drowned with gravy with melted cheese and fried eggs on top... o man! We were in heaven! We tore into it like we hadn't eaten in weeks, smiling the whole time, and soon our resentment with the city and each other started melting away, and we decided all was forgiven... that is, until we got back to the hostal and had to put sheets on our bunkbeds before going to bed.

While we were walking around the first day, we found a a local shopping neighborhood with a smattering of Asian eateries and grocery stores. Saw a Korean restaurant and of course we had to check it out. Went there the next night, a sunday, and thought for sure it would be closed because the neighborhood was seriously a ghost town... no sign of life. Breathed a big sigh of relief when I saw a light from half-way down the block and shouted, “Woo hoo it's open!” Ordered a bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables) and agu tang (fish stew). Though pricey (any foreign food in Chile is expensive, even Chinese!), it was worth every peso! Not only that, it was the first week of the Olympics, and we happened to be in a Korean restaurant in Chile when a Korean took the first ever gold medal in swimming. We yelled and screamed at the TV cheering him on along with all the other Koreans in the restaurant. After that, the atmosphere became very festive.

The third memorable meal... and I promise to stop with the food already... was a salad... yes, a salad! A simple thing, I know, but it's really hard to get a fresh salad. Though we were very excited to eat Chilean food in the beginning, after awhile we got bored with empanadas, completos, and set meals with meat, chicken, and potatoes. All I really wanted was a fresh salad which was sorely lacking in our daily diet. Went to a cafe a couple of blocks away from our hotel, where I had seen nice, interesting sounding salads on the menu. Ordered a basic one thinking, “It had better be good given the New York prices...” and it was! Really fresh with steamed veggies, beans and fresh mozzarella. Never thought I'd be so happy eating a salad, but I was.

But the best part of Santiago was our friend Patty... we met the Torres' in a hostal in Mendoza, Argentina. Patty, Marco and their kids, Martin and Belen, were vacationing there during school break, Had a really nice time chatting with them over bottles of wine at the communal table. They gave us their contact info in Santiago and we promised to let them know when we arrived. Once we got settled into the third and final hotel, Patty drove two hours in rush hour traffic to visit us with Martin and Belen, bearing gifts... a necklace with a lovely blue stone called Lapizazul for me and a keepsake ashtray for Erik... so sweet! Though we weren't enamored of the city, having friends really made a difference, not to mention a few good meals. Hope we get as lucky in Peru...
For our photos, go to... http://picasaweb.google.com/erikandtalor/Santiago#5242011123962140866

I left my heart in Valparaiso

Talor: On our 6-month anniversary, it felt apropos as we boarded a bus from Uspallata, Argentina, for a 6 1/2 hour ride to Valparaiso, Chile. Without a guidebook this time (oh no!), we didn´t know what to expect, and as the bus rolled into the terminal, it was the usual hectic ugliness you see everywhere... sigh. Split a taxi with two young Asian Americans we met on the bus and headed to Cerro Concepcion to look for accommodations for the evening. The scenery around us was pretty much the same ole until we got to the hills, then I fell in love immediately! Valparaiso is so many things...

... it is a place where art is everywhere you look... in the parks, on the sides of houses and buildings, outside shops and restaurants, even the garbage cans are painted! Up on the hills, there are a million little alleys and sidestreets to explore with delightful surprises with every twist and turn. On top of that, the views from the hills are simply gorgeous!

... it is a place where we found THE perfect shower! After spending our first night in a hostal, we were lucky to find Casa Liesel in Cerro Concepcion, a hospedaje (family-run guesthouse), where our warm hosts Maria and Miguel, kept everything absolutely spotless. We got a very comfortable, very large room with high ceilings, and though the bathrooms were shared, the showers were heaven... the perfect combination of heat and water pressure. Throw in free coffee/tea all day, a hearty breakfast of nice crusty bread, ham and cheese, butter and marmalade, plus fast free internet, and the place was a bargain. I knew right away it would be hard to leave.

... it is a place where you can get a cheap meal of fresh seafood at the mercado (market) while being serenaded by a man and his guitar; eat pizza topped with seriously yummy curry chicken; or go for the most popular Chilean snack, the completo, a fluffy toasted hotdog bun stuffed with a long thin viennese sausage, sauerkraut (not too sour, just the way i like it), fresh chopped tomatoes, guacamole and mayonnaise... mmm... mmm... MMM! Order a completo gigante (foot-long), and you´ve got yourself a meal. Plus there is salsa ahi (hot sauce) everywhere! After going through weeks of spice withdrawal in Argentina, we put it on everything!

... it is a place where you can spend an evening at a restaurant/nightclub called Cinzano, an institution packed with locals, old and young, who are there to be entertained by the stylings of old men dressed up in tuxedos; drink piscos (like vodka, but made from grapes); and dance and sing national tunes at the top of their lungs.

... it is a place where you find the coolest artesenal stuff. Ever since we left for our travels, Erik had been searching high and low for a ring. In Valparaiso, we came across a guy who makes jewelry out of recycled flatwear.... ha! Who woulda thunk?? After choosing one out for Erik, of course I had to have one too! It´s only fair, right?

... and finally, it is a place where the street dogs act as cicerones (city guides)... i´m not kidding! As soon as you say hello to one of them, he/she will follow you around and show you the way to whatever sight you ask them to... seriously! However, it seems there are invisible borders they cannot cross. When one reaches a border, another one takes his place. We had one chaperone us to a very cool, ex-prison, which had been turned into a cultural center filled with wonderful art. He waited for us as we walked around, then escorted us back home. Never asked for anything in return, but we thought he deserved an empanada for his troubles. Afterwards, he thanked us with his eyes, and was on his way...

What´s not to love?

Erik's entry:
Yes, definitely one of my favorite places as well. "valparaiso" is short for "valley of paradise," and it's not a bad name. It's beautiful and gritty at the same time - a bit as I'd imagine San Francisco in the ´30´s. Steep hills studded with brightly-colored houses fan down into a picturesque bay. But unlike SF, the houses are dilapidated, often built of corrugated tin, and the bay is the main working port of Chile. Breathtaking and just a little edgy at the same time - a perfect mix.
The people were very nice as well, not really caring one way or the other that we were tourists or that our spanish was sub-par. They just enjoyed meeting people and were happy to help out if you were lost or needed advice.
We spent most of our time walking up and down the hills in search of nothing in particular, but always finding something beautiful and interesting around most corners - a playground made of brightly-painted used tires, a small park done up entirely in mosaic tiles, or just some very imaginative graffiti on a building wall. There are tiny, winding passageways and staircases everywhere, most of them constructed by the inhabitants themselves. We spent about ten days in this enchanting port town, and felt that we'd barely scratched the surface. Our rather extensive photo gallery for Valpo attests to its facinating, photogenic nature:
http://picasaweb.google.com/erikandtalor/ValparaisoChile#