Valpariso

Valpariso, how absurd you are...you haven't combed your hair, you've never had time to get dressed, life has always surprised you.
 - Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and Noble Prize winner.
 


The fires have calmed down. In all, approximately 3000 homes were destroyed and 15 people were killed. It will go down as one of the worst tragedies to hit the city. And this is a city, and country, wracked by natural disaster after natural disaster. Earthquakes are as common as getting a cold here. The last one – a monster at 8.2 – hit just a month ago. Then there was the really big one 4 years ago which killed over 500 people and caused billions in damages. Oh, and then the huge one in 64...earthquakes and disasters are just a way of life here it seems. For the moment though, everything appears to be back to normal, including the sale of wine, which was temporarily suspended during the “state of emergency”...what?! can’t buy wine?! It was a tough blow J


So Valpariso, or just Valpo to friends. A common theme here in South America, it’s one of those places with an illustrious past, but has lost its former glory in the modern era. Before the Panama Canal went in, ships travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific had to go around the bottom of South America, otherwise known as the notoriously dangerous Cape Horn. Valpo was the first port encountered on the Pacific side, and was therefore of huge importance in the shipping world. Since the canal went in, in 1914, that strategic significance has obviously been diminished to a large degree. However, Valpo, population 280K, is still an important city in Chile, seat of the country’s legislature, and a major naval base for the Armada de Chile.


The main draw to Valpo for us gringos and other travellers is the old city, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Valpo is also officially recognized as Chile’s cultural capital, and home to the nation’s poets and artist communities. Valpo’s uniqueness is centred around the 42 hills, or cerros, that the old parts of the city are built on. Each cerro has a name and forms a distinct neighbourhood complete with a labyrinth of twisted streets and cobbled back alleys. A highlight of the maze is a series of turn-of-the-century funiculars (cable car/train that runs up and down cliff areas), known locally as ascensores, combined with strategically placed stairways (escaleras) that provide access to the cerros.


The result of all of this is a historic and gritty port city with an artistic bohemian flare to it. The standard traveller mission is therefore to simply walk around and navigate the spaghetti-like myriad of streets, stopping once in a while to admire the views and take in the vibe.


Gritty, edgy...among other descriptors. Part seedy port, part cool seaside town, part artist colony, Valpo is an interesting place. The first thing you notice is the graffiti art. It’s everywhere. Some of it is just tagging bordering on vandalism, while other stuff is amazing and simply brilliant. For those of you familiar with the Rick Mercer Report, walking around Valpo is like a day of Rick’s Rants. Then there’s the “St. John’s look-alike” city. Turning corners here and seeing the stacked rows of multi-coloured houses, ocean in the distance, makes us shake our heads and wonder if we’re back in Newfoundland. Amy’s line for Valpo is that it’s a gritty St. John’s. Pretty close.


Speaking of gritty, it’s definitely that. We are actually quite shocked at how gritty, and downright dirty, things are. As our first taste of Chile, and coming from Mendoza, we were expecting something a little more refined. Ah well, it is a port city after all. But one thing, speaking of rants: what is with all the freakin’ DOGS?!! To cite a good Newfoundlander saying, the place is maggoty with ‘em. I believe the correct term is “street dogs”. They’re everywhere. Sleeping, lying around, and, obviously, sh---ing wherever and whenever they get the urge, creating a mine-field sidewalk situation. It’s a bizarre spectacle unlike anything we have seen...and we’ve been through the rest of South America which surely has the largest stray dog population on the planet. The craziest thing though, is that upon study, one notices that unlike the scraggy flea-bitten varmits elsewhere, the street dogs here are large, healthy, well-maintained, and affectionate. They look and act like pets. Then, upon further study, one notices the piles of dog food – yep, dog food – scattered around here and there. They’re being fed! Then we notice the lady in front of us in the grocery store buying the 8 bags of dog food, and the guy beside us complaining that people should be buying food for poor people, not dogs. Ahhhhh, it all makes sense now...yet very very bizarre and disgusting since the poop-and-scoop rule has yet to come to South America. I don’t think they want to hear what my solution would be J


So anywhoo, our week in Valpo and transition into Chile is almost over. Our accom, basically a 2-bedroom apartment that we have had mostly to ourselves, has been fantastico. Tomorrow we pack up and head south through wine country and along the coast. The wine, while a tad more expensive than Argentina, is obviously quite amazing. The whites, especially, appear to be fantastic. We haven’t really gotten into it yet though, and are looking forward to some more wine country, Chilean style. You really can’t get enough can you? As always, more on that soon. Saludos.