Valparaiso was very connected to our home town of Sacramento, California. When gold was struck in Sacramento, American men travelled on ships that went around South America and stopped in Valparaiso. A great earthquake struck Valparaiso in 1906, but the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 was much more economically devastating in the long run.
To get to Valparaiso, we took Tur Bus, which was a very clean and comfortable bus for travelling long distances. We had more leg room than on a plane, and the seats reclined more. There was a compartment under the bus for luggage. We booked a room in Valparaiso at the last minute, on the bay in the historic district and just steps away from the main square where there was a huge party on New Year's Eve. Called the "Hotel Garden," it is a building constructed in the 1800s (around 1870), with what appears to be mainly original decor (we could tell because the fixtures looked like they were from that period, and the wallpaper was peeling :P). While the hotel has a lot of charm, it is run-down (in our bathroom the sink was practically falling off of the wall!), and there was a horrible smell the first night from the cleaning agent they used. Also it was very loud at night -- there is a bar underneath the hotel that plays loud music, and in Valparaiso they party till the sun comes up!
When we first got into the city, we had lunch at a tiny "hole in the wall" with an entrance down an alleyway, which was recommended by our travel guide. It serves only one or two traditional Chilean dishes. We had a pile of fries covered in steak and eggs - here in Chile they seem to like to pile food onto fries - which is fine with us because it was delicious!
Most of our time in Valparaiso was spent walking around historic parts of the city and viewing its attractions. The Concepcion neighborhood has narrow almost labyrinth-like stairways and passages leading from one elevation to the next. There are old rickety wooden elevators around the city that you can take to avoid the tough climbs. We visited one of the homes of Pablo Neruda, a well-known Chilean poet (and, we learned, politician). Pablo Neruda had an eclectic collection of charismatic items, all of which had either an important or humorous purpose. One has the impression that he had three houses so that he could collect even more. The house is mostly five stories of vertical space. It has a clear view of the bay and is the perfect size for Nikki, with its low ceilings and narrow hallways :) We wanted to move in! We also visited the Museo Naval y Maritimo, which explains the history of the Chilean navy and offers a great view of the bay. We took one of the elevators to get there.
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| Pablo Neruda's House |
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| Museo Naval y Maritimo |
On January 30, we decided to use our Christmas gift from Nikki's Aunt Pat (many thanks to her!) to splurge on a nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bay - the view was SO pretty, and the food very good!
We came to Valparaiso on New Year's Day to see the famed fireworks show over the bay. It was AMAZING! Even Nikki, who is known to prefer to stay home and comfort dogs on the fourth of July LOVED it! The show is essentially one very long finale of a normal fireworks show. The only downside is that so much smoke accumulates that it starts to obscure some of the fireworks! Our vantage point was of the main display, but we could still see other perhaps equally impressive displays farther down the bay.
We also got to take part in a huge celebration with thousands of other people partying through the night, although we left the party at 2am. There was a live band in the main square on the bay, which was so much fun. It was really an amazing experience!
I love Pablo Neruda. Monica and I put one of his poems on the back of our wedding program. That's great that you got to visit his house. Did you read any of his poems?
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