The graffiti capital of Chile

Words cannot describe how excited I was when my friend Tom, whom I stayed with in Rio, described my next destination in Chile to me - "Valparaiso is a city unlike any other I've ever seen. ALL the houses, pavements, lampposts, walls, etc are painted in every bright colour you can think of. Plus the most incredible graffiti I've ever seen. Great seafood too"

Well, to say my expectations were high were an understatement, I love graffiti and Im quite partial to bright colours and don't mind good seafood, so Val (as I chose to nick name it) sounded like a great place!

I arrived in Val at 7am after taking the night bus from Pucón. Tired and unwilling to navigate the city by bus with my now quite heavy backpack, I chose to get a taxi to my hostel which meant I got there super quick. In fact a little too quick as the receptionist hadn't yet arrived at the hostel, so I was there ringing the bell for what seemed like eternity until someone opened the door! I was then told that my bed wasn't ready until midday (?!) but I could have a sleep on the sofa upstairs in the hallway whilst I waited...so I donned my eye mask and earplugs and curled up like a hobo and slept for a few hours : D 


On awaking, I ate a delicious breakfast consisting of fresh local fruit, toast and tea. The owner of the hostel - a camp German who spoke English with an accent similar to Dick Van Dyke in Walt Disney´s Mary Poppins - very kindly explained what there was to do and see in the area, not much it would seem.

When I was finally allowed to enter my dorm, there were two other travellers I was sharing with - a Brazilian dwarf (he was actually a dwarf) and a German girl. I had a mass of laundry to do so in the spirit of making friends I invited them into town to accompany me and then have lunch. On reflection I wish I hadn't. They were both nice but unfortunately the chat between us was fairly dire and consisted mostly of me trying to make conversation as neither of them were very forthcoming. The German girl also freaked me out a little as she just kept staring. To make matters worse, the Brazilian didn't think to tell us he was a veggie, so there I was suggesting we eat at a steak house and he just sat at the table not saying a word! To add more fuel to the fire, I suggested taking a short cut back to the hostel and then in true form, I got us lost, in the middle of the scorching day heat. We were all struggling with the steep hills (Valparaiso is very hilly), especially the Brazilian, so I felt really bad. We finally made it back where we discovered we had a new roomie - a Dutch girl called Lucienne who was hilarious and I instantly clicked with (thank goodness!!).


Lucienne and I then met a British guy called Tom who was also staying in the hostel. Tom had just travelled the length of Africa solo which was pretty amazing. The three of us then spent the rest of our time in Val exploring the amazing graffiti in the city - there is loads - and visiting Viña del Mar which is a town further down the coast which couldn't be more different to Val. 

A Cholo

Where is your mama?

Chile´s answer to Banksy...

Viña del Mar is the modern mundane younger sister to Val, resembling a Spanish seaside resort, but not in a good way. Val on the other hand is the older, charming but slightly decrepit sister. We all preferred Val.

Marge from The Simpsons taking it easy in Viña del Mar along with Mike and Sully from the movie Monsters Inc

Benidorm?

One of the few places to visit in Val is the house of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. He also had houses in nearby Isla Negra and Santiago. All were designed with the sea in mind (he was famously obsessed by the sea, but terrified of it at the same time?!) and all resembled ships in some form, with his bedroom always being at the top of the house should the land suddenly become flooded he would be OK! We had a quick look around (mainly in the shop) and shamefully decided that we couldn't be bothered to pay the entrance fee and go in. Yes I know we´re heathens but frankly his taste in furnishings didnt set my world on fire so I wasnt going to pay to look at a house I found distasteful.


Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, Val is famously one of Chile´s best kept secrets. Despite being quite run down and just plain dirty in places, I can totally see why people find it an attraction with it mixture of crumbling multi coloured houses (which reminded me slightly of Notting Hill in London) and ascensores (funicular elevators) which creak up the steep cerros (hills). 

Notting Hill?

This dog and the random caption beneath him made me chuckle...

This reminded me of the Painted Ladies in San Francisco, California...

Going up...

...Going down

There certainly isn't much to do here, other than wander the streets and take pics at all the amazing graffiti and marvle at the breath taking views overlooking the city. But we all grew to love it : D