On our last night in Santiago, we met up with some friends of friends for dinner. Peggy and Sam took us to a wonderful local restaurant that is a Santiago institution. It was fun to meet some new people and we had a great time.
The next morning, we hopped on a bus to Valparaíso. It's a city on the ocean, not far from Santiago. The city was built into the surrounding hillsides. Each hill has a name. Our hotel is on Cerro Alegre. It's in an older, more historic part of town. The view from our room is fantastic!
The city is full of colorful houses nestled on the hillsides. Because of the colors, local graffiti artists decided the houses would look even better with pictures painted on them. Not all the paintings are artistic, but many are. It's fun to walk down alleys and staircases to find murals hidden in a narrow spaces. There are a few pictures below of some of the art.
Since most of the people live in the hills, there are funiculars that take you up the incline. Some are quite old, and not all of them still operate, but it's a fun way to explore the town. At 20 cents per trip, they are cheap too!
We took a walking tour of the city witha group called tours for tips. The tour is free, but you can tip the guide if you like it. The guides call themselves Wally, and dress like Waldo. Our guide, Priscilla was awesome!
The other thing you notice here is the number of stray dogs. It's common to walk down the street and have a dog start to walk with you. They are all friendly and well behaved. One dog followed us for a long walk. We called him lumpy, because he was a little lumpy. The dogs are OK, but at night, they do bark a lot.
Well, today, we head to the airport to come home. The road to the airport goes through a wine valley, so we plan to stop at a few wineries on the way.
It's been a great trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment