Valparaiso

Trip Start Mar 31, 2010

109

Trip End Mar 31, 2011

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Flag of Chile Valparaiso, Chile
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

We next drove out to the coast to Valparaiso. The town is situated on a bay and is built on several steep hills. The houses are made of clapper board or (mostly) of corrugated iron, all of them painted pretty colours. The streets are narrow with funiculars often running up them. It feels to us exactly like we would imagine San Francisco at the beginning of the 19th century. This feeling is enhanced when we walk into our lovely hotel to find an old piano, black and white photos and the world's creakiest bare wood staircase leading up to our lovely room with wood floors and an iron bath. Furthermore there is something of the feel of a town built somewhere impractical on the back of mining wealth, another feature this shares with San Francisco.

Valparaiso is in a rare peaceful bit of water and so the beaches share seafront with a busy harbour. There were container ships, a cruise ship and some naval ships here, and all around town we would often see men in smart naval uniform

Funicular

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We were also pleased to find some excellent restaurants here, unimaginably better than the trash we've otherwise seen here; hard to believe it is even the same country in fact.

One feature that has been completely consistent is the perfect blue sky and blistering sun. The days are still dry and breezy, so the high temperatures are pleasant (nothing like the steam bath atmosphere in Asia) and it is easy to get sunburned. In the evenings even by the coast it gets much fresher and most people wear a sweater or jacket to dinner. It's really a thoroughly agreeable climate and we have been keenly aware that it is particularly grey and miserable at home at the moment. Any sadness we felt at missing Christmas at home has been forgotten and we are very thankful for being here enjoying the warmth and sunshine.

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