Chile! part one, Santiago and Valparaiso

Visions of Pablo Neruda

When we were planning our trip last year(or was it 2 years ago), I have to admit that Chile was Lysa's choice, not mine or Anika's. Lysa speaks fluent Spanish from many years of practice and she has always wanted to explore SA. We have been to other Latin countries most notably Mexico and Costa Rica. On those many trips we have usually enjoyed ourselves for a couple of weeks at a time on some nice beach ,or other relaxing locale. Each place has had its distinct culture of course, Mexico more raucus, Costa Rica more laid back for instance. But I had absolutely no mental picture of Chile. What little I knew was about their nature, most notably Patagonia. That knowledge was pretty limited however. Well, we each had our choices of destinations on this trip, this one was Lysa,s and I would make the most of it.

    Leaving New Zealand was hard for me. For the first time in months we could speak English. The country side was gorgeous, the people were friendly and there was so much more we could have done. We flew into Santiago Chile on a non-stop flight from Aukland,12 hours of relatively relaxing travel. I didnt sleep much, the in flight entertainment was too addicting so we were pretty beat when we arrived. One thing Chile is not known for is their cities. Natural beauty yes, cities, not so much. Over the course of my travel life I am learning to appreciate a good city more than in my youth. Good art food dance etc. is more attractive to me now. Santiago however is not described in glowing terms in the travel books. Lysa had booked us a hostal near the city center, "Rio Amazones". We got there by taxi. On the way through the urban landscape small things were making an impression, like the guy walking into the intersection to juggle knives for the waiting cars hoping for tips, or the street vendors selling lotto tickets or small bags of nuts. We were definitely back in Latin America!

Dogs of Chile(another post)

  Santiago doesn't impress like some major cities do. The appeal is more subtle and takes more time. I have learned to give places more time before making an opinion. The first thing you notice are the Andes looming in the background. Massive mountains in the distance promising adventure. Chile is shaped, literally by its topography. Long and thin, the Andes as its spine, relentlessly battered by earthquakes, seemingly always recovering from natural disaster. Santiago is the capital, home to Pinoche(thanks america) socialist governments and now some version of a democratically elected gov.  The military relinquished control about 20 years ago. Anyway back to my impressions of Santiago. Its worth at least a few days visit. Its a safe city, with good infrastructure interesting neighborhoods and good art.

Obey the Awe !

We went on a free walking tour which I recommend. We walked around with an English speaking guide, learned some history, saw some great street art, drank a pisco sour(the national drink) and met our soon to be friend Jeane, a firefighter from Southern calif. One thing not to miss is a tour of the poet and national icon of Chile, Pablo Neruda's house. Pablo Neruda was a nobel prize winning poet and statesman,who was at the center of art culture and politics during his long life. Born poor, he started writing poetry at a young age and was recognized early in his life as a great artist. He knew everyone, had a passion for his country, esp. the ocean, wrote great poetry, loved many women(often at the same time), collected things, and was a lightning rod for the political and cultural turmolt of his beloved country. He died the day after Pinoche took power in a military coup,some say of a broken heart. His home in Santiago is now a shrine to his life. We had a guided tour from a man with a passionate love for Neruda. It was a highlight for me. Although never having read Neruda, his power and influence and his emotional influence was very moving.

Walking tour of Santiago

Street art

Faces of Valparaiso

   Next stop Valparaiso. Even with 2 months to explore we had to make some tough choices. Most notably, North or South. We have found as family that too much moving around does not make for happy relationships especially with Anika. Fewer places longer works best for us. So we chose South. Attacama and the vast desert will have to wait till next time. Valparaiso is a couple of hours south of Santiago on the coast. It was once a major shipping port for goods coming from around the world. Its influence was greatly diminished upon completion of the Panama canal so its glory days are behind it. Whats left is an old colonial city on hilly terrain. Neighborhoods are defined by the hills, much like San Francisco. Valpo as it is called by some, has reinvented itself as a destination for people seeking escape from Santiago. It is picturesque, has great food, artsy neighborhoods, a still thriving waterfront and the most amazing street art I have ever seen.It also has the second of 3 Pablo Neruda homes. Our hostal, "caracol" was in one of the hilly neighborhoods just down from his house. We made a point of going, and again were not disappointed.  But wow the art is Awesome! Walk this city and every turn brings new artistic visions. its like a walking art museum except the art is mostly anonymous, and the variety is amazing. The spectrum of styles,from simple stencils to grand murals blew me away. I couldn't stop taking photos.

Lysa, talking with Pablo

 Many of these photos I posted on facebook and a few I will post here. Posting here takes a long time so I'm somewhat restricted. Again we did a "free" guided walking tour and recommend it. Free essentially means you are free to give a tip or not. We do of course, usually about $10.00 US for a 4 hour tour. Ben, our bi lingual guide was somewhat new, didn't have all the facts available but made up for it in enthusiasm. We saw parts of the city we otherwise would have missed. I asked him to explain why so much street art is found in Valparaiso. Some of the early murals were sponsored by a grant from the university in the early 70's. From there others just started appearing. Also there is a lot of street "tagging that was occurring. To combat it property owners would commission murals on their buildings. There is a credo amongst street artists and taggers. Taggers wont(or shouldn't) tag over art. So street art prevents tagging!  One experience we didn't get to try was the Ascensions they have all over the city. They are mechanical lifts on the side of the hills to get people up and down to their neighborhoods. Some are private others public, relatively cheap and also sporatically available. The one on our tour had a long line so we chose to walk instead. Often, when i say "we" i mean Lysa and I, not Anika. We often invite Anika but have learned to not always insist she join us. its often not worth the battle. We have concluded that our expectation when traveling is not necessarily hers. We have come to terms with that reality. I must say that being with Lysa without anika has also made our time together more fun
  Valparaiso is a charming small city easily walked and definitely should be on anyones list of must visit while in Chile.