Tattered Beauty
Day 179
Valparaiso was one of those cities which grew on you. Personally I loved it the moment I walked out the door of our hostel, Luna Sunrisa. I turned to the right and through the thick fog I could make out a few boats and ships in the bay. The streets were cobbled, yet crumbling and the buildings around were tattered and some were nothing more than shacks. One block down our street turned into a pedestrian street, not intentionally, the street had just been ignored by the public works and was now overgrown with trees and weeds. It was beautiful. Somehow though this tangled mess of a city, which hung onto hillsides over the Pacific gave off a romantic and inspirational feeling. A bit like Havana, but more bohemian with the grit and characters of a port city.
The Luna Sonrisa hostel had a great group of friendly travelers staying there. We had met up with Tom, an Irishman who we hit it off with immediately. The three of us headed out of the hostel today to explore more of Valpo. First off we headed to the port area, still a huge working port this is what Valpo truly was, a port city. First established as a port in1542 for trade with Peru it wasn´t until the 19th century that the port was truly established. It was mainly used during the goldrush days. Ships sailing from the U.S. east coast around South America and back north to California. However the city suffered with the building of the Panama Canal and the rail across America. OK enough ofthehistory lesson, fast forward to today. The huge cranes and many ships in the bay showed us that Valpo was still a major Pacific port.
The three of us made our way near the dirty water and jumped on a small boat for a tour of the inner harbour. It was interesting enough to be in such a small boat as we slowly maneuvered among the massive shipping boats. However the real hilight was the two sea lions we saw. I have no idea how they survive in that water, it was filthy. As we docked there was so much garbage in the water I swear I could have walked across it and not fallen in.
Back up in the upper city on the hills we made our way to the main attraction of Valpo, the house of famous poet Pablo Neruda. I haven´t read much Neruda buthis house was facinating. 3 levels high with amazing views outover the Pacific. The house was like a mini Valparaiso. With it´s nooks and different colours. I thinkthe most interesting thing I learned about Neruda was that he only lived to 69 but had an incredibly full life. Poet, politician, lover, cheater etc. etc. Not all of it was perfect abut he really seemed to live his life with great passion and a man cannot be blamed for that.
Jordana and I finished off the day back at the hostel making a pasta dinner with some chilean wine. Soon the kitchen was filled with other travelers from the hostel,it almost felt like we had invited friends over to our place. Beers and lots of conversation about travel with people from all over the globe. A great night and a great finish to an incredible city, in the morning we catch a bus over the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina.
Tags: Argentina, Chile, Neruda, Valparaiso, Wine
Michael Coroneos
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.