Roadtrip Peru, Bolivia & Chili - Part 12
Valparaiso – Tuesday 26-09-2023
After a truly delicious breakfast made with care, we take a taxi to downtown Valparaiso. After walking around the port, we head into town. Soon we come across the elevator "Ascensor Cordillera from 1886".
These are a kind of cogwheel elevator built on a slope. We have to get in here because these elevators are high on our bucket list. So we don't hesitate for a second and go up after paying a few pesos. Arriving at the top, we discover that if we walk through the neighbourhood we can walk to another elevator to go down again. We walk through the little streets and at one point we find ourselves in front of a closed park. But a friendly lady Cinthia lets us in and this is lucky because from the park we have a beautiful view over Valparaiso. Cinthia is a walking encyclopaedia and tells us all kinds of things about the city. Also, she finds it very nice to practise her English. As we leave, she presses us to be very careful and to put the camera in the backpack. A man forewarned by locals counts for two. We stroll delightfully through the little neighbourhood, enjoying the city and the peaceful and quiet area. Apart from a few locals, we don't run into anyone. Arriving at the second elevator, we head down and find a restaurant for a delicious lunch.
In the afternoon we have a citywalk. When we tell the guide that we have already had a wonderful walk in the Cordillera district, he is startled. It turns out to be Valparaiso's most dangerous neighbourhood. So these amateurs have been very lucky!
We have a great walk, beautiful stairs, stunning graffiti, narrow streets and winding alleys. Breathtakingly beautiful. After a few hours, we arrive back at the starting point. We seriously enjoyed ourselves!!! We end the day at the Cafe Terraza Miaw. After this wonderful day, an ice-cold beer tastes great, not to mention, a lot of delicious nuts!!!
Valparaiso is a colourful port city on the Pacific Ocean. The city lies in a bay and is built on 42 hills. It is without doubt the most beautiful city in Chile and one of the most beautiful cities in South America. You will find unusual architecture, built-up hills and brightly coloured houses. Not for nothing has Valparaíso's historic centre been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.
All the hills are connected. Through the zigzagging streets or by elevators on the steeper hills. Valparaiso is like one big coloured maze. Not one street in the city seems to run parallel.
The beautiful street art, the coloured mansions left over from colonial times, the churches and the rainbow-coloured houses on the hills make it a unique city. Valparaiso enchants you with its beauty.
A famous writer Pablo Neruda said this beautifully "If we walk up and down all of Valparaiso's stairs, we will have made a trip around the world",
