The next day, we drove out to the port town of Valparaíso with a private guide. It's an extremely bright, colorful, and densely built town.
1 The next morning, we take the hour and half drive from Santiago out to Valparaíso, or Valpo as the locals call it.
2 Getting ready to take the funicular up one of the very steep hills in town.
3 A look out from the top of the funicular down at the incredibly dense buildings. Valparaíso was the busiest port in South America until the Panama Canal was built.
4 One of the many ornate churches in Valparaíso.
5 Next we take a tour of Pablo Neruda's house, a Nobel Prize winning poet and ambassador for Chile.
6 The view from the 3rd floor of Neruda's house.
7 Elsewhere in Valparaíso, an old prison has been converted into retail and office space.
8 Valparaíso is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is famous for its street art.
9 The town is full of incredibly steep streets, giving it a very San Francisco feel.
10 A look out at the cemetary and dense buildings on the hills beyond.
11 More colorful street art.
12 Some of the murals are actually painted sideways on the buildings. That must be hard to do!
13 Valparaíso is home of the Chilean Navy, with several vessels currently at port.
14 A typical brightly colored alley in Valparaíso.
15 A colorful walkway.
16 A very skinny house between two steep streets.
17 Headquarters of the Chilean Navy.
18 An impressive statue at the bottom of the hill near the port. We stopped for lunch at a great little cafe where I had Pastel de Chocro, a traditional Chilean dish that was delicious.
19 A look at the port. Though not as important as it once was, it's still the largest port in Chile. Our time in Valparaíso is unfortunately done, and we make the drive back to Santiago for the night.
