Valparaiso November 2009

Valparaiso is one of Chile's oldest cities originally inhabited by indigenous people and then around 1536, the Spanish arrived and named the city -- after a city in Spain. Valparaiso lies on a topography made up of 45 steep hills allowing a spectacular panoramic view of the bay. To accomodate the city being built on this hilly topography, "ascensores" were built to move people as well as cargo.  Colorful murals were found in several locations as we walked this city.

We began our trip with lunch in the Provedencia district of Santiago and toasted Larry's birthday.

We then took a bus to Valparaiso.  Such a different experience here versus the U.S.  I wasn't afraid!! It was a quick 1 1/2 drive -- we do believe we've found our means of transportation to destinations near Santiago.

We had booked room with the help of "Trip Advisor" and chose a hotel called Robinson Crusoe and weren't led astray.  Our room was on the third floor (steps all the way!) with a fantastic view of the bay.  Jorge, the owner, had lived in the U.S. for 35 years and made note of all the little details he valued in a hotel experience and has incorporated them into his establishment in Valparaiso. Larry is standing by the door to our room.

We enjoyed a filling breakfast each morning with a great vista.

That was our room on the top right side.

One of the 15 "ascensores" that move people up and down the hills here in Valparaiso.

And if you'd rather take the stairs -- there are plenty of them.  I counted 110 here. Larry is going to come here to train for his Grand Canyon trips!  Okay, this wasn't the most scenic part of Valparaiso...

We took a break from all the walking to enjoy a glass of wine and enjoy the view -- sitting down.

And then we were out and about again.  As you can tell, I was quite taken with the murals and colorful buildings.

Larry is just a pretty darn good sport to pose for me -- gotta have people in the pictures now and again!

We enjoyed dinner one night at a restaurant near our hotel.  South Americans generally don't go out for dinner until 9 p.m., at the earliest, so we had the place to ourselves from quite some time - ah, the benefits of being gringos! Oh, and we don't dress up either - oops!

We very much enjoyed our trip and look forward to our next visit -- hopefully for New Year's Eve!  It is the place to go in Chile for fireworks to bring in the new year.

After two days, we then jumped on our bus and returned to Santiago where we were again able to meet up with Miguel and Eliana. One of the fellows Larry works, Manuel Chavez, was able to join us as well.