I don’t know what to say about Valparaiso other than that it is probably one of the most picturesque cities I have ever been to. Taxco, Mexico may be a very close contender. They are both UNESCO heritage sites. If you don’t know what UNESCO is – I suggest you look up their list of cities worth visiting. They are. We expect to see a few more on this trip.
Hilights of the city visit include:
- A roller-coaster taxi ride by a crazy cab driver who was tired of being stuck in traffic and wanted to show us how his car could handle cobblestone streets that have a 45degree grade.
- Arriving at our wonderful hostel, Adlafken and being greeted by several people. The main lady was a fantastic host, who would often be found wearing a surgical mask and speaking in words faster than we could possibly understand.
- Taking terrifying funiculars up very steep grades to get from A to B to C to D. They were fairly cheep – about 60 cents for the more expensive one.
- Being there on a national holiday which nobody seemed to have any idea why it existed, other than “algo religioso, no se”. It did end up involving some people dancing to some horribly repetitive music in front of a church, and then some procession of some military guys up a big hill which we watched a few minutes of, then became a part of, then ran in front of to avoid.
- Having good food at some cool touristic restaurants
- Taking lots of scenic photos of sloping roads, stairwells, and street art
- Playing music on top of an amazing rooftop terrace at the hostel.
- Drinking amazing Pisco cocktails at Bar Pisco
- Drinking more pisco with our buddy, Hernan from the adjacent hostel rooftop
- Feeling not so great the next day after drinking lots of pisco while wandering around less interesting Vina del Mar
Yup, that pretty much wraps it up, I think.
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