seekingmygreaterperhaps

Initially drawn to Valparaiso for it’s world renown fireworks display, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in an artists haven. To arrive, I took a bus from Santiago, and it took about an hour. I arrived at the bus terminal and began walking to my hostel. It was around 11 am or noon or something, which is when I prefer to arrive in a new place- in the daytime. The hostel was about 3 blocks away from the bus station, and on this walk is when I learned that my hostel was located in what one might call a “shady” part of town. As I turned on the street of my accommodation, a guy jumped out at me with the purpose of trying to scare me (saying gibberish or ooga booga, or something along those lines)- I am not kidding. He must have seen my backpack and thought he needed a laugh. Being the ultra cool traveler that I am, I blinked, side stepped and kept walking while my heart was thudding in my chest. I arrived at my hostel, which was actually super cute and nice inside, with a feeling of unease. Luckily, this would be the weirdest thing that happened to me in Valparaiso, and in Chile as a whole.

On my first day there I had a plan to do a walking tour, but Valparaiso is a very confusing city and I was a street above where I was supposed to meet the tour, but I had no idea how to get down to it. I missed it but ended up wandering around the pretty parts and poking around in shops.

Valparaiso is a port city that was never officially founded, so things just kind of get built on top of each other. It’s a… unique way to build a city, and it is super easy to get wonderfully lost. The houses look one story from the street, and then from the back they are like 3 stories. Some of the bars that look out onto the ocean look dinky, and then you go inside and keep going downstairs and then you walk out onto the balcony and you’re like- oh yeah that’s pretty great.

For dinner I treated myself to a tasting menu at one of the “discovery” restaurants on the World’s Best Restaurants list: La Caperucita y el Lobo. I was really happy they were able to seat me as a solo person. I thoroughly enjoyed the food. I am low-key (or high-key?) becoming a foodie, and can get behind a tasting menu. It’s a way for chefs to be creative, and many of them highlight the flavors of their culture/country in unique ways.

I loved the meal! I highly recommend going there- they have “regular” food too in case you don’t want to do the tasting menu.

On New Years Eve Day I made it to a walking tour! I did a pretty good job on my own the day before and saw some of the same things, but it is always nice to have a guide. We rode some of the “ascensors” that take you from the bottom part of the city to the top on an elevator.

They are pretty affordable, and you hand your coins to the lady and then get into the little old box. It’s slow, so it’s not scary or anything.

What luck! There was no line to take pictures on these stairs. When I had passed it the day before there were at least 12 people waiting, so I skipped. My tour guide took this photo.

Looking at these pictures you can see how colorful this city is! It’s really quite magical.

For New Year’s Eve itself, I spent the night with a dinner party organized by the hostel! It was overpriced and a little lame, but we made it fun! I met some great people, and we all went down to the shoreline together to watch the fireworks. I brought absolutely nothing with me. Not my phone, not my watch, not anything I didn’t mind getting stolen. (Except my kidneys, those had to come with me.) My new friends were skeptical about my skepticism, but I am still traumatized from getting robbed, and I was only on day 3 of my trip, I needed my phone to record all my amazing memories to come.

One of my new friends sent me that picture. All in all, everyone was fine. I was cautious for nothing, but it did give me the perspective to just sit back and relax and enjoy the fireworks show. It was like 22 minutes long people. At the end I was almost thinking- okay people, that’s enough, cut it off. It was beautiful and I do love a fireworks show. (Here is a random guy on youtube that recorded more of it in action if you’re interested.)

This is year 2 of 2 of traveling to an incredible destination known for their fireworks. Last year was Rio de Janeiro, and this year Valparaiso. If I am going to compare the two, I prefer Rio’s show on Copacabana. Yes, all the fireworks are spread out in barges, but they are closer together so it looks like one giant show. I think Valparaiso’s show might actually be bigger, but the boats are placed all around the city so you can see it from anywhere, which makes it less clumped. Also Rio is a whole vibe with traditions of wearing white and jumping over waves, etc. In Chile you just watch them. Also because you can see them from anywhere, you don’t need to gather, in Rio you kind of have to go to the beach. Take this as you will- they were both still incredible. Your girl here just happens to be in love with Brazil and Brazilian culture as a whole right now. 🙂

After Valparaiso, I took a bus back to Santiago, to then take an Uber to the airport, to then take a flight to Puerto Montt (where I would take an Uber to Puerto Varas!). Stayed tuned for the next leg of the journey.