So, hello from Valparaiso.
That means paradise on the valley.
We have a few days to explore the city and we're planning to do most of it on foot.
Yes, and most of it is going up hills as well.
And there is so much cool street art here.
So we're going to be taking a few different walking tours while we're in town.
Today we're doing the first one which should be an overview of the city.
And it should be fun.
So we're going to take you on a little guided tour of Valparaiso.
Yee-haw!
To say Valparaiso is a bit hilly would be an understatement.
The city is a maze of steep inclines which means the best way to get around and save
your legs for sightseeing, is by riding up and down the funiculars.
It might seem a bit daunting considering some of these are well over a hundred years old,
but they still do the job.
And this is our friend the pup who has joined our tour.
She's the official bodyguard.
And she knows where the funiculars are located so she took the stairs instead.
Hi, pup.
You're sweet aren't you?
Yes, you are.
How was it?
I survived.
Hahaha.
Hi, pup.
Hello, friend.
Hi, friend.
Someone is busy filming.
Yes, this is the kind of place if you're a photographer you do not put your camera down.
No, not for one second.
If we can offer one recommendation for visiting Valparaiso, it would be to join one of the
free walking tours towards the beginning of your stay.
This is a great way to get some background history and to familiarize yourself with the
various neighbourhoods.
The local guides know where to find the best murals, so consider this a scouting mission.
You can always come back with a bit more time to explore the area with your camera in hand.
Alright, so Sam we have been walking around Valparaiso for about an hour and a half or
two hours.
What are your first impressions so far?
Well, my impressions are you should always give a place a second chance.
Because where we were staying, on the flat part of the city, is a little boring.
Not super exciting.
A little boring for sure but once you get up on the hills it is a whole different city.
Apparently, there are 42 hills in the city and we're just exploring it for the first
time today.
And my first impressions are so much better now that we're seeing this cool part.
It is so colorful, so artsy and lots of fun to check out.
Exactly.
Another thing we really enjoyed about our walking tour of Valparaiso, was the company
of all the dogs.
Valparaiso has a lot of strays roaming the streets, but we found the dogs to be super
friendly and affectionate.
We also noticed locals feeding dogs in the park and homeowners leaving water bowls out
on their doorstep for strays.
As for all the dogs following us, our guide told us that the strays already know his routine
and they are always there to meet him at various points along the walking tour.
We had pack of 7 at one point during the tour.
We're having a little food break.
I think we're going to try some empanadas.
And I see that they have shrimp ones on the menu.
Shrimp and cheese empanadas so those should be really tasty.
So snack time.
Your first deep-fried Chilean empanada.
And this one is stuffed with cheese and shrimp.
Yes, cheese and shrimp.
And this is my first time to ever try one with shrimp so this is an exciting moment.
And they were cooked in oil.
These were deep-fried so they're probably still a little bit hot.
Oh, the cheese is so gooey.
I have a nice big piece of shrimp too.
This is honestly one of the best empanadas I've ever had.
This is incredible.
And we're been walking around for a long time.
Yes, and I skipped breakfast so that may be a factor in what I'm saying here.
Okay, let's get a closer look then.
Let's see.
Oh, ooey gooey but can we see the shrimp.
Okay, it is kind of in there.
Nice.
So it is a little early in the morning but we're trying our first Chilean Pisco.
Is it sour?
Is the pisco sour?
You know, it is a little sour but I mean it is also quite sweet.
It is kind of nice.
Like sugary and lemon-y.
It is almost like a syrup.
It is a little thick.
Have some.
So it is day two in Valparaiso and today we're going to do a bit more sightseeing.
We're actually revisiting the area where we were yesterday because we didn't get enough
pictures and video.
Yes, and the light is fantastic this morning.
Normally here it doesn't get sunny until like maybe four or five PM.
And we have blue skies today.
Hive five!
So these are the famed piano steps and it doesn't look like it when you're going down
but I'll show you as soon as I reach the bottom.
Piano steps.
Okay, so next up we're about to ride the oldest funicular around.
This should be exciting.
Yes, and this is how we've been getting around this part of town.
Going up and down the funicular.
Because otherwise it is really steep.
Hopefully it won't be too rickety.
This one is from 1883.
So this one is definitely more rickety than the last one we rode.
There goes the other one.
So we weren't really planning on doing a boat tour today but we have blue skies, the weather
is great and we finished our walking tour near the harbor.
So why not?
Yeah, why not.
Let's do it.
We hopped aboard, it is 3000 Chilean Pesos per person.
It should give us a different perspective of the city that is for sure.
Yeah, and it is going to be a thirty minute ride.
So it should be fun.
The harbor tours depart from Muelle Prat as soon as they get a boat-full of passengers.
During the outing you’ll go past container ships, tug boats, and navy vessels, plus you’ll
also have a guide on-board to point out sights along the way.
If you’re lucky, you might even get to see some sea lions basking in the sun.
So still catching my breath from the last hill we finished climbing.
Right now we're visiting the neighborhood of Bella Vista.
This is where the open-air museum is located.
This is basically a collection of little streets and lanes with lots of street art and colorful
murals.
So we're going to be walking around and checking out the art.
So it is day three and we kind of had a bit of a change in plans.
We were originally planning to do another walking tour.
Yep.
But it is a really sunny day so decided to have a beach day instead.
So we'll be taking the train over to Vina del Mar.
Getting some seafood, some sunshine.
So just mixing it up here and we were hoping to go this place before we left so I think
we made the right decision hopefully.
Viña del Mar is a super quick day trip from Valparaiso.
The two cities are only 8 kilometers apart and you can easily get there with the above
ground metro system that runs along the beach.
It’s only a 15 minute ride, and it’s quite the change in scenery.
Whereas Valparaiso is colorful, artsy, and gritty, Viña del Mar is a bit more chic and
modern.
That being said, while we enjoyed our day trip to Viña del Mar, we were really glad
we decided to stay in Valparaiso as we felt it had way more character.
Yes, are you cute pup?
Are you cute?
We made it to the beach.
And we're soaking in some rays.
It is still a little bit windy because it is early in the morning so I've got my scarf
on.
But I think the day is going to warm up.
It is 25 degrees.
There is no reason for you to have a scarf on right now.
It is chilly.
Just saying.
And yeah, it is kind of cool here.
It is really different from Valparaiso.
Lots of condos and hotels along the beach.
Lots of seafood restaurants.
Yeah, it couldn't be any different.
You can tell this is kind of like maybe a popular weekend destination for people living
in Santiago or nearby.
It is less artsy and more upscale I would say.
So our time in Valparaiso is coming to an end.
What are your final thoughts of the place?
Yeah, that is a wrap from here.
I loved it here.
It was one of the coolest cities that I think we've visited on this entire South America
trip.
Yeah.
What was really unique for me, obviously was going up to the hills and seeing all of those
artsy gritty neighborhoods.
It is a city I've never been to before.
Like I backpacked in 2010 and this is somewhere I didn't get to go to.
Finally a new destination for Sam.
Yes, a new place for me.
A lot of these places on this trip haven't been new for me so this was a little bit extra
special.
And so I really loved it here and I would highly recommend you come.
And the views are so cool.
We have to show you the views from our balcony.
Look at that.
You get to see the hills, the colorful hills.
Bye Valparaiso.