Had breakfast and
said goodbye to my hosts for the past week. Definitely feel I have learnt
something during my lessons; I can get at least some of the gist of what K is
saying. Got the metro to Estacion Central, the only functioning mainline railway
station in Santiago, pity it doesn’t have any trains going anywhere I want. A few hundred metres west is the bus station which was packed with a long queue
to get to the ticket counter. Got a ticket for the 1110 bus to Valparaiso which cost me 6900 pesos.
Buses leave about every ten minutes so my bag nearly went off on the
1101 bus. The bus was fine and reasonably comfortable with numbered seats. I got a
window seat so I could enjoy the view but next to me was a huge fat guy. We stopped
briefly at another bus station at Pajoritos at 1130. Once out of the city, we
were on a fairly fast freeway passing between arid hills covered with coarse straw coloured grass and small
bushes; some agriculture alongside the freeway. About an hour after leaving,
the landscape was more verdant, the hills covered with dark green conifers
contrasting with the cloudless blue sky. And along the valley floor were
vineyards, several large signs advertising the wineries they belonged to. Turns
out the local town is called Casa Blanca" and the area is home to over a
dozen companies' vineyards. Another hour and we were in Valparaiso, a bigger
city than I had imagined. Got a taxi for 7000 pesos, which I thought was a lot,
100 pesos more than the bus fare from Santiago to here, but he earned his money
trying to find the Hostal Valparaiso mi Amore among a maze of steep narrow
streets climbing up the hillside. It was about 1.30 when we arrived. Despite
the rave reviews and the price of 129
000 pesos for three nights, it is essentially
an up-market back packer place with shared bathrooms, no air conditioning, no
fan and nowhere to hang clothes, but it does have a kitchen where I can make
myself a cup of coffee. As I checked in, three other guests arrived, Daren and Ash
from England with their friend from Oz whose name I forget.
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| Hostal Valparaiso mi Amore |
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Terrace in Valparaiso mi Amore
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| Painted House near the Valparaiso mi Amore |
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After changing into
shorts and tee shirt I headed off to explore the town. Soon found the assensore, a short, steep single cabin funicular which brought me up to Cerro Concepcion
another maze of steep streets lined with colourful houses, shops, restaurants and
boutique hotels. Rather touristy but exceedingly pretty with occasional views
over the deep blue waters of Valparaiso bay.
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| Looking down the "Ascensore" |
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| Street Art in Concepcion |
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| Street Art in Concepcion |
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| Street Art in Concepcion |
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| Typical Street in Cerro Concepcion |
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| Typical Street in Cerro Concepcion |
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| Bougainvillea everywhere |
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| Typical House in Cerro Concepcion |
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| More Houses in Concepcion |
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| More Houses in Concepcion |
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| Typical House in Cerro Concepcion |
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| Jazz Band playing in Concepcion |
After getting lost a few times in the maze, I had a late lunch on the terrace of the La Concepcion restaurant overlooking the bay. Excellent
ravioli in rich tomato based sauce and a couple of Estrella beers. The bill including a cappuccino and 10% service came to just over 20 thousand pesos, about £20; the location and view: priceless! After I dragged myself away from the terrace I made my way down the hill via the
steps rather than the ascensore. The steps were occupied by several small groups
"hanging out", some of them sharing a bottle. I wandered round the
down town area which is rather shabby and run down with many apparently homeless people , some of them drunk and others just sleeping. Also dozens of stray dogs, many of them sleeping on the pavements.
Came across an impressive, white triumphal
arch which seemed to be indicating that Valparaiso was a British colony from
1810 to 1910. After checking on the internet I found out that the arch was erected by the British community (colonia) to celebrate the centenary of Chile's independence. Went back to the hostal for a shower and a rest. Next thing I knew it was
nearly ten so walked down to the main square for a bite to eat. Lots of bars on
the way down but none of them seemed to be offering food. The square was busy with
some street musicians and lots of young people just "hanging out". There were three cafes open in the square so I settled on Cafe en la Fuente which advertised sandwiches; I only really wanted a snack. What arrived was a huge "Italian" sandwich, half a bagette sliced hot dog style and filled with sausage, tomato, lettuce and avocado topped with a slavering of mayonaisse. Had a beer to go with it.
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| Erected by the British Community in 1910 |
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