Valparaiso

After a long journey and having a good night’s rest, it was time to jump right into Valparaiso. There were many people (I heard 700) boarding the Queen Victoria today for a 23 day cruise to Australia. The couple with whom I shared breakfast in the hotel, the fellow in the seat in front of me on the plane from Toronto and one gentleman who was on a private tour of Valparaiso were all boarding the rather large ship later in the afternoon.

After breakfast, I went on a scenic walk along a relatively flat street (Avenida Alemania) that was part of the way up the hills (cerros). As I walked the morning fog cleared and I saw some very nice views of the city and surrounding area. At the end(ish) of the road, I visited La Sebastiana which was the home of the famous poet, Pablo Neruda. Neruda’s house had the most beautiful panoramic views of the city and ocean, and inside, an inspiring collection of curious objects which Neruda was famous for collecting. I thought putting a carousel horse in your circular living room (Sala de Estar) was brilliant.

Por la tarde, I met the tours4tips.com guide at the Plaza Sotomayor. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the price was right: take the tour then decide what you want to pay para la propina. What it turned out to be was an incredible experience with an entertaining animated guide with many little delightful surprises along the way, including a ride on one of Valparaiso’s famous ascensors. There were people from many countries on the tour, from Europe, North and South America. During the tour, I got to know Diana from Buenos Aires and Paul from Oregon and we decided to find some food after the tour, but first we stopped to watch an open air concert as part of the tango festival in Valparaiso. Supper lasted 3 hours in a rustic, but authentic Chilean restaurante called El PimentÃ³n, mostly because of the great company and conversation. We also found another single traveler from Provence, France just starting her meal, so she joined us and we had supper mostly in English, but with some Spanish and French thrown in.

One more full day in Valparaiso to go …

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