I chose Valpo.
Granted, Valparaiso, isn't all bad reputation. On wikitravel under the"Stay Safe" section it does say "in the context of Chile being a relatively safe country, Valparaiso is among its most dangerous locales" but whatever. It's a port city. Port cities are always dangerous in certain areas. Yet, Valpo's locale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Why? Because it is a stunningly beautiful city...just with a slight edge.
Now, I mentioned before that my reason for visiting Chile was because of my adoration of Pablo Neruda. It made sense to me to visit Valpo in order to see Neruda's second house, La Sebastiana. As I said, I felt it would be significant to see what he saw and he saw enormous beauty and strength in Valpo. The city's houses are designed like ships to be closer to the ocean because Neruda suggested they be designed like that.
Valpo isn't a huge metropolis akin to Santiago. It's more of a microurban area; if Asheville, NC was on a coast it might be Valpo. Notice the "might be." It's impossible to compare Valpo to a lot of cities in the US or even Latin America. Valpo is a category of its own.
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I stayed four days, but one of those days was spent trekking somewhere else. Let's start with getting there.
In my Santiago post I complimented how efficient and stable Chile was, particularly in regards to transport. It would spoil me; Peru was less kind. From Santiago I took the Metro to the Pajaritos station which has the domestic bus station. I found a bus company, Tur Bus, and got a ticket to Valpo for about CH$3000 or about $6 and headed to Valpo. The drive was supposed to be 2 hours but it only took 1 hr 30.
It was here I found my favorite hostel, which I shall name: Angel Hostel. I was originally supposed to stay at another hostel but they didn't answer their doors when I arrived so I said "screw it" and walked down, where I was stopped by a person complimenting my beard which earned that person a bear hug, and found the Angel Hostel. They answered their door. It was $14/night, but they said the magic words "hot water" and I decided I would stay there. They also had free blankets and unlimited free towels, plus free breakfast cheese sandwiches which kicked so much ass.
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Valparaiso isn't a city tourists go to in the same way they might go to Santiago or Bueno Aires, with set itineraries of sights and museums. It isn't huge; the bulk of the city can be scaled in a good two days. Yet if you tried to scale it in two days you'll miss out. Remaining still is the best way to take in the city.
Seriously, go to google right now. There. Good. Now click on images. Now type "Valparaiso, Chile" so it doesn't bring up "Valparaiso, Indiana." With these images you get a faint idea of Valparaiso, this city with scattered colorful buildings plopped on a mountain looking toward the sea. Beautiful, no? Oh hell yes it was gorgeous. The city layout was a work of art in its own right.
Like Santiago, art was big here as well. Everywhere there was graffiti but incredibly adept and skilled graffiti that was more art and less scribbling. The architecture was a combination of old Latin America or old Spain and...Germany. No joke; this city was largely settled by German immigrants after the Spanish landed and they helped influence the design of the admiralty or Chile's department of the navy building. They also brought the first firefighters so all the firetrucks of Valpo are named in German. Art museums were everywhere and I had two favorites. One was a museum underground that had exposed brick walls exhibiting artwork in collaboration with an Italian group. Another was a former prison during Pinochet's regime that was turned into a grass roots art project. The former prison was incomplete and still being worked on, but it remained quite beautiful if not interesting.
All the old houses were painted bold colors like yellow, blue, etc and they were made of metal. Valpo was a tsunami zone so it was for a practical reason but the metal were recycled shipyard metal.
This city revolved around its port. For the beach, most people went to Vina del Mar which was about 10 minutes away by train (at most). In Valpo, it was a port city, a shipping center, and it was where a good part of the Chilean Navy stopped. There were battleships and cruisers all along the coast.
Speaking of which I need to mention something about the coast and me. When I was younger I very rarely traveled...I mean truly traveled. We went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee or St. Augustine, Florida but those were small vacations. Before this trip I had never been as far west as Austin, Texas. So Valpo was the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean. That's right; I always figured it might be California but I saw the Pacific coastline via Chile. I got near the tracks of the Valparaiso train line and walked along the sidewalk near Bellavista (in South America there are a ton of Bellavista neighborhoods and street names) and found a staircase. There was no one on it but I thought whatever, walked up, and got my first proper view of the Pacific. For me it was significant because I felt it represented me climbing out of my Georgia shell. I mean there was the ocean...but it was on the wrong side.
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I had no set itinerary while I was in Valpo. I knew I wanted to see Neruda's house and I wanted to trek in one of my days, but otherwise I hadn't a clue. Valpo offered a free tour of the city much akin to the one in Santiago and this time I decided to do it. There were only two people besides the guide: a man from the south of England who quit his job as a nurse to backpack and me. As touristy as it might seem it was quite fascinating. We went up the funiculars or ascensors, which were rickety and at an angle that seemed near impossible to move up (but they did). We walked around and got a deeper glance of the architecture of the houses, of the places, plazas, etc. We were taken to a cave that had been filled in because in Valpo's history many of the people who went around the area would be disappeared. Soon rumors began that it was because this cave was an entry into hell and the devil or his demons were capturing people. Out of fear the people filled the cave. One of my favorite pieces was the statue of justice at the Valparaiso courthouse. The statue, unlike Lady Justice statues, doesn't have her blindfolded or with balanced scales. The story is that the artist of the statue had such a difficult time with the Valparaiso authorities he sculpted the statue as an act of bitter resentment to where the Lady Justice statue is corrupt. I also thought Lady Justice was also giving a middle finger. Still...interesting.
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What I did mostly in Valpo was walk around. It sounds boring but Valpo is a walkable art museum.
In my first night I did meet some really great Irish folks who let me accompany them to a seafood restaurant near Plaza Sotomayor. It was touristy; they had English menus, plus musicians came in to play music then proceeded to put envelopes on our tables to pay them. I took this opportunity to get some more paila marina, my death row if in Chile dish. Having this company was great because we talked about what we did, our differences, each other's culture, our travels; they were going to Mendoza so I talked about it with them. The thing about travelling solo, as the English backpacker from the tour stated, is that it forces you to make friends and meet people. Otherwise you're just sore. Already I was enjoying myself in Valpo and we capped our night at a local bar down from our hostel.
The next day I started walking around again, this time on Avenida Alemania which was supposed to have beautiful houses but the city was a bit overcast in the morning. I still walked, however, because it was on a hill so instead of looking up and seeing the houses on the hill I was looking down and seeing the ocean and the buildings kiss (if I may be a bit poetic). Plus this street would eventually hit Ferrari which would lead to La Sebastiana, Neruda's house. La Sebastiana was more beautiful than La Chascona actually, and it had tours to walk in the house. I found it more interesting to walk around his courtyard because I imagine this was where he might conceive of a line or a poem. From his courtyard I could see the ocean, I could see the gardens around and the people's houses hovering above me with clotheslines. It was a different and simple kind of life I was witnessing and eventually a poem or two would come out of it.
I made a friend in an exchange student temporarily stationed in my hostel and we walked around, stopping for jugo de pina and finding Lider, the supermarket that was quite extraordinary as supermarkets go. With my hostel I had organized a trek to Parque La Campana so I gathered food for the trek and water.
In my Santiago post I mentioned how I'm not a discotheque person, I'm more of a live music person. It was difficult finding live music in this city and most live music was tribute bands. Granted, they were unique tribute bands (there was a tribute band for Mike Patton which was endlessly fascinating to me) but it wasn't what I was looking for. I read about a discotheque for an alternative crowd and as I researched it I also found out it catered to a gay crowd too. Now I'm not gay but this club was right down from my street so I thought I'd give it a shot. It was called Mascara and from that name I wasn't too thrilled.
The clubs and discotheques in Valpo are a bit different than the States because they don't open until 11 at night. So I waited till 11, went down and got in. I was expecting a bit more than what I got. There were very few people really into the music, dancing; they were sitting around, drinking. It wasn't a full on gay club so much as it was for people who were different. I'd say there were just as many straight guys as gays and I'm confident enough in my heterosexuality to be in a place like that without feeling uncomfortable anyway. I mean I did feel uncomfortable but it wasn't the crowd so much as it was the music. The music was '80s New Wave and gothic music. I was in there 30 minutes and then they played Klaus Nomi's "Lightning Strikes" which led me to decided to head out. Klaus Nomi is where my tolerance for '80s New Wave music ends. Still, interesting experience.
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Now Valpo is a bit known for its edge but I had no problems. For the most part cops were all around just like in Santiago. On Saturday nights whole trucks of cops would be unloaded to ensure peace was kept. There were certain areas that, even during the day, a person didn't go to. The easy way to avoid those areas were to...not go there. So there were no problems and I generally felt safe.
My Santiago post discussed briefly the stray dog problem in Chile and in Valparaiso you'll see stray dogs everywhere. Everywhere you'll see strays dogs that haven't been cut or neutered, that have splotches of fur missing or handicaps. I stayed at a place on Av. Cumming and down from my hostel was a relatively small plaza but even in this relatively small plaza there would be at least 10 or so stray dogs lying down. On every street there would be stray dogs and it's hard to not feel bad. It really is. For me, particularly, as a dog owner I wished something could be done but that's the way it is in Latin America, especially Chile and especially Valpo. Even the most touristy streets, though safe, might have a dog turd or two that you would have to step over. Valpo isn't too dangerous but it is grungy to the average person not from Latin America.
Don't let my commentary stop you from going to Valpo. It is truly one of the most unique cities in Latin America and one I felt a powerful pull toward. When travelling in general it is imperative to keep an open mind but Valpo may not be everyone's cup of tea.
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My third day was about going to Parque La Campana. Because of the success of my Aconcagua trek with a guided tour I thought to get one for Parque La Campana except this time it wasn't with a group. A piece of advice for travelling--never go on a tour with just a guide and oneself. Don't do it. It's too expensive. My tour cost $140 US almost. It was an expense that in hindsight wasn't worth the guide; I could've done everything by myself for much, much cheaper. Why didn't I? My confidence of doing any of the parks by myself eroded as I found very few people who had done them, who were going to do them and few who knew anything about what to do. Even the hostel people seemed befuddled at my options. That was why I gave up on Radal Siete Tazas, which I would've very much liked to see--I couldn't find any information on how to get there without renting a car. So I got a guide.
Parque La Campana was a bit of a compromise to Atacama and Radal Siete Tazas, both of which I aim to see one day. I was honestly a bit disappointed in myself and had lowered expectations. Parque La Campana was part of a larger biosphere aiming to protect the botany of the area as it was home to "wine palms" or "Chilean palms." It was also home to a massive mountain, Cerro La Campana, that Charles Darwin once went to the top of. I figured if Darwin liked it, I'll give it a shot.
Right away it didn't start well, however. I was told to be ready by 8:00 in the morning. I was. No one came until 8:45. Already there was a mix-up. Shit. Then I met the guy and started talking to him. From the get go he was an annoying guide. He dressed European and thought like an American. In Latin America these are dangerously annoying people. His hair was as slick back as his personality.
To get to Parque La Campana we had to get off the Valparaiso Metro train at Limache and then take a bus to Olmue and La Campana. We did so but the guide didn't have his shit together because we got on the wrong bus and had to get on another. It was still nice to see the rural villages of Chile, however, like Olmue. We got inside the park and started hiking up when the views came through. The day, I must admit, was perfect; it was no more than 25 C and no less than 17 C. The views of La Campana were quite impressive and coupled with the wine palms and cactus trees it was a view one could get from a "lost world" movie or "Up."
While the crowd went one way hiking we went up the harder way to get higher and get the best view. At first the hike was level and went by pretty smoothly. Then all of a sudden it just got steep and steeper and it started kicking my ass. I was barely moving and at that point of nearly giving up, just like with Cerro San Cristobal, but I decided instead of eating lunch at the viewpoint I'd stop and eat my sandwiches at some random dirt spot. I took my bag off and my back was drenched in sweat. It was a swamp. After eating, however, I felt better and eventually our trek went back to level and we got to the view.
The view was quite lovely. We were about 1500 m above sea level but I could see the blue hues emanating from the wine palms of the mountains and I was quite taken. The wind also helped the experience. It was worth the steep hike.
Then we started walking down on an area that was more green. One on side the mountain was more desert or Mediterranean climate and the other side was, the side we were currently walking down, was more rain forest or maybe just forest. We had more trees and rivers around us. We could hear the water rushing around us. We also heard the sounds of animals. Throughout the trek we heard animal sounds but when we were walking down we saw what we heard: wild horses. They were frightened of us but there were at least 6-7 wild horses roaming around.
Now going down to this end of the park we were supposed to hit the bus back to Limache but once we finished the breathtaking hike the bus wasn't there. The locals told us we had to walk into town, into Olmue, to get back. I was frustrated at the guide for not having this knowledge or foresight to know that the bus wouldn't be there. Admittedly, though, it gave me an opportunity to see more of the rural villages of Chile and Olmue. As a rural person I always feel this is where the true country is. Eventually we hitched with a car to the bus station in Olmue that took us to the train station. I paid the guy at the station and told him, since he lived in Vina del Mar, he could get off there and not worry about accompanying me to Valpo.
La Campana may not be on par with Atacama or even Radal Siete Tazas but being around the multiple climate zones and getting the views like they had made it worth it. With hindsight, I'm pretty sure I didn't need a guide for it, so never get a guide if you're the only one in a group. Particularly with a guy who dresses European and thinks like an American (or United Statesian, whatever).
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My last day was a last call before I headed over to Santiago to prepare for my flight to Peru. I took the time to walk some more, overcast as it was, and visit the National Congress, the new one, which was uglier than the old one. I also visited the beachfront right outside Valpo and sat down to eat my lunch. The stray dogs also joined me.
I would finish up a script I had a deadline on and walk around before evening hit. There was a park right near my hostel I would sit on. It was next to a school so little kids were getting out and playing on skateboards. It was quite serene.
My foreign exchange friend and I would celebrate our last night in the hostel by going out to eat. The student chose a restaurant I could tell was touristy (English menu) and I got a disappointing salmon.
Despite this Valpo was a unique experience, an experience that was helping me continue in my quest to be less timid and more open. I had to learn to be less timid in Valpo and Valpo rewarded me by being a marvel I couldn't experience in the States.
I had to go back to Santiago, however, and prepare for my flight to my third and last country: Peru.
I had to go back to Santiago, however, and prepare for my flight to my third and last country: Peru.
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