We hadn’t planned or expected to visit Chile at all but after reassessing our time left, along with a curiosity to see Valparaiso after reading a blog earlier this year, we decided to go!
As partly annoying as some of the bus journey was (2 loud drunk Argentinian aul hens cackling the whole way there) it was entertaining at the border all the same when our drunk friends got sniffed out by the dogs for carrying bananas!
The drive over the Andes was beautiful – not as much snow as you might have pictured but snow-capped mountains all the same.
We were like 2 restless kids with first sight of the sea on a day trip to the beach! It was so long since we had seen a coastline that we just got so excited when we turned that first corner onto the waterfront that looked out onto the Pacific Ocean (you miss the sea when you have a view of it every day at home!).
After a fast exit out of the dodgy looking bus station in Valparaiso we were soon on our way out of the not so nice part of town and to the well known ‘Concepcion Hill’ – famed for it’s colourfully painted buildings, artistic graffiti’d walls, boho vibe, and spectacular views over the port and out to the Pacific.
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| Hostel Valparaiso |
Our first taste of Chile was on checking into our hostel when the ground under our feet became jelly and the walls of the hostel shook around us. “Don’t worry, it’s just a small tremor” Horhay reassured, then he laughed: “welcome to Chile!”. Our first sort of earthquake – we both thought it was pretty cool, any stronger than that though and we may have been on the 1st bus back out of Chile!
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| View from our hostel room window |
We went for a stroll around Concepcion Hill after getting directions & a map from Horhay. Concepcion Hill is a maze of narrow hilly streets, steps, & colour that can sometimes look confusing similar and most of them have a view of the harbour so even the most talented of navigators can get lost up here – and
he did! Well
we did, but given that I’m not trusted with maps - except when I’m the passenger in a South American rented car, Niall was the one who was completely disorientated! And what a blessing – to get lost in Concepcion Hill.
We stumbled upon some amazing view points; quaint pretty streets; a church like something from a Walt Disney movie; a ‘piano’ of steps; and a gallery of street paintings.
There was so much colour around us that at one point I remember commenting to Niall that it was like being in an ad for Skittles! Even at night when the colour was gone, the panoramic view from these streets of the harbour with all it’s lit up boats and city lights all around it in an almost semi circle, made you give your full silent attention as you breathe in the Pacific air.
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| Me with the friendly lift operator |
The next morning we headed down the one of a handful of working lifts in the town – they’re like a tiny cable car that takes you down steep hills, and ours took us down towards the port area.
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| View from inside the lift |
We browsed first through the tacky ‘artesenal’ stalls at the port before getting the all important ice cream and then hopping onto a boat for an hour’s tour around the bay.
We weren’t sure it would be any better that what we had already seen but since it was cheap we thought why not, and it was worth it. We waited and all chatted amongst each other, all while using the life jackets as invaluable sun hats, until the boat filled up.
We could see the different sections of the town as we pulled out of the bay – the different hills and the newer part of town to the far left where we arrived on our bus.
There was a lot of activity on the bay; a tall ship that we were sure we recognised from Galway Bay at some point, lots of small boats, industrial ships, seals, and about 8/9 Navy ships – all equipped with massive guns and weapons I had never seen before outside the cinema.
Apparently Chile has the largest Navy in the world. We were told though we could not take photos of the Navy ships even though I tried to sneak one or two!
On our walk back we stopped into a gorgeous little café called “Colour Café” for some lunch. The place was decorated with all sorts of vintage paraphernalia, all different table cloths & chairs, and handwritten random notes stuck to walls – which we had also seen in a small place that we had dinner the night before.
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| Musical score sheets covering the walls in the ladies! |
We had another stroll around before dinner that night where we met a nice local guy called Claudio promoting a restaurant that we had planned to go to anyway.
He gave us the low down on ‘Valpo’, as it’s called here; it’s history, it’s story, it’s good & bad areas, and asked us plenty of questions about Ireland – as all locals seemed to do! After a great meal in ‘Paparazza’ just round the corner from out hostel, we headed back and got ready for an early start as we were leaving this picturesque town and hill the next day.
Although short, we felt our time here was enough to see the real heart of Valpo, and we were both glad of our plan change to come here first instead of head straight to Patagonia from Mendoza. Well worth it!
The drive over the Andes was beautiful – not as much snow as you might have pictured but snow-capped mountains all the same.
We were like 2 restless kids with first sight of the sea on a day trip to the beach! It was so long since we had seen a coastline that we just got so excited when we turned that first corner onto the waterfront that looked out onto the Pacific Ocean (you miss the sea when you have a view of it every day at home!).
After a fast exit out of the dodgy looking bus station in Valparaiso we were soon on our way out of the not so nice part of town and to the well known ‘Concepcion Hill’ – famed for it’s colourfully painted buildings, artistic graffiti’d walls, boho vibe, and spectacular views over the port and out to the Pacific.
We stumbled upon some amazing view points; quaint pretty streets; a church like something from a Walt Disney movie; a ‘piano’ of steps; and a gallery of street paintings.
There was so much colour around us that at one point I remember commenting to Niall that it was like being in an ad for Skittles! Even at night when the colour was gone, the panoramic view from these streets of the harbour with all it’s lit up boats and city lights all around it in an almost semi circle, made you give your full silent attention as you breathe in the Pacific air.
We browsed first through the tacky ‘artesenal’ stalls at the port before getting the all important ice cream and then hopping onto a boat for an hour’s tour around the bay.
We could see the different sections of the town as we pulled out of the bay – the different hills and the newer part of town to the far left where we arrived on our bus.
There was a lot of activity on the bay; a tall ship that we were sure we recognised from Galway Bay at some point, lots of small boats, industrial ships, seals, and about 8/9 Navy ships – all equipped with massive guns and weapons I had never seen before outside the cinema.
On our walk back we stopped into a gorgeous little café called “Colour Café” for some lunch. The place was decorated with all sorts of vintage paraphernalia, all different table cloths & chairs, and handwritten random notes stuck to walls – which we had also seen in a small place that we had dinner the night before. 
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