Before we get started... just a warning there will be LOTS of photos from our time in Chile. It was such a beautiful place and is so different from our other travels that I just couldn't help myself when it came to capturing the trip. Also, Valparaiso is known for street art and stray dogs. Random, yes, but keep that in mind as you read.
As with most of our travels, we did a short turn around but we were able to maximize our time and got to experience a great bit of the amazing culture that Chile has to offer. First things first, we took the red eye leaving Wednesday evening and landed in Santiago by 9am local time on Thursday morning. By the time we got through customs, got some much needed caffeine and our rental car it was about 10:30. So all in all, not too bad. Since we couldn't check into our Airbnb until 3pm, we decided to head out to the Casablanca Valley and try out a vineyard. For those of you who may try this, be aware the drinking limit in Chile is .03 so you have to be extremely careful!
After about an hour and a half on the road we pulled up to
Veramonte. I highly recommend this place but there are so many in the valley, there's definitely something for everyone. We decided on the hour long tour and tasting for 13.000 Chilean Pesos/person. The scenery was incredible and our guide did a great job explaining how their wines are fermented differently to create the unique flavors. Another cool thing we learned -Veramonte is an organic vineyard meaning there are no chemicals used on the grapes. The land has a number of different ecosystems which address different predators naturally. After the tour we were able to taste three wines: Ritual- Sauvignon Blanc, Ritual - Pinot Noir, and Primus - Red Blend. All were incredible. Both me and hubs were extremely impressed with the Sauvignon Blanc because we aren't typically fans of white wines but this one was exquisite. During our tasting, we got to talking with the guide and it came up he's from Valparaiso. Perfection. When we explained that's where we were headed, he opted to let us try another wine from the Neyen line while we discussed what Valpo has to offer.
To play it safe, we opted to eat lunch at the cafe onsite. That was definitely a great decision. We tried a few empanadas, I got a quinoa salad with the freshest veggies I may have ever tasted and hubs got a torta. Once we were full, we packed up and headed onto Valparaiso for the next leg of our journey.
 |
| A pano of the view from the back deck of the restaurant facing the Coastal Mountains |
 |
| A palm tree, looks pretty different from those in the states |
 |
| Lilly pads which make up part of the ecosystem I referenced above |
 |
| This was the entrance to the vineyard |
 |
| I was stunned at the beauty of these mountains |
Originally, the plan was to try and hit two vineyards but I'm glad we didn't attempt it. We ended up pulling up to the Airbnb right at 3pm. Our host, Alejandra, was... oh gosh... like the nicest person we have ever met. We both want to host her sometime should she visit the states! Her place is simply incredible. It's a little three story town home with views of the hills all the way to the bay. She was sweet enough to provide some fresh fresh fruit, bread and some spirits for our stay! Since she knew we were only staying a couple of days, she had a map ready to show us the highlights. After we were settled in, we took a short nap (hey, it's tough to fly all night and drink wine all the while navigating a foreign country) before we took a walk through the streets until we came to the bay. We walked through a few markets and thought about stopping for dinner but ultimately, we decided to have a low key evening in to rest up for a lot of site seeing the next day. At first, I was disappointed. I'm always one to try lots of local fare but the views of the sunset from our place and the wine left by Alejandra made for a wonderful low key night.
 |
| View from the bay looking back up the hills |
 |
| Look at those clouds, I couldn't get over them |
 |
| The port |
 |
| Wine and views from our third floor panoramic window |
 |
| Us at the bay |
 |
| Closer to sunset, hubs was starting to think I was nuts |
 |
| Valpo at night |
We woke up fairly early the next morning, made our breakfast and headed out for Plaza Sotomayor where we met up with our guide Wally for the
Tours 4 Tips. There are two tours daily at 10am and 3pm. The 10am tour does the offbeat sights of Valpo while the 3pm focuses on the highlights. Hubs and I are much more of "off the beaten path" types, so it was clear to us which one we should partake in. I cannot sing enough praise for this tour and for our guide. We started out in what used to be the city center of Valpo until the Panama Canal opened. Wally told us about the history of the city and the struggles they have faced from an economic perspective. From there, we caught a bus up one of the many hills to Plaza Bismark. It was a really unique experience to watch the city change as we rode up the hill. Once at Plaza Bismark, we saw some mosiac columns and a bit of the infamous street art just below the view of the bay. I feel like I am starting to repeat myself but I couldn't help but be stunned by the character and beauty of this city. Sure, it wasn't the cleanest place I've visited but it was definitely the most unique. I've heard it described as gritty and I think that's a fitting description.
 |
| Mosaic columns at Plaza Bismark |
 |
| A different look at the columns and the cute pink house |
 |
| At the time I did not love this photo but now I think it may be one of the best shots I took the whole trip. It really shows Valpo for what it is - beautiful, creative and full of hills |
 |
| Another shot showing the hills |
 |
| Love this bay photo, I am a sucker for water shots what can I say |
Next stop on our tour was the Cultural Park. Again, just an example of the uniqueness of this place! The park used to be a prison for political prisoners and there's a history of violence associated with it. After some time, it was closed and eventually became overrun with street art. The local residents took notice and proactively turned it into a beautiful park where people come to work on their art of all forms. Our guide even went into some of the history behind Chile's dictatorship (which was not overthrown that long ago) and how it still affects the Chilean people today. The tour continued with a walk past one of the famous cemetery's in the city and onto another park which was being used for a local school's gym class. The mosaic patterns in the park were some of my favorite art that we saw.
 |
| I love this shot, shows the past , mutitions storage, present, prison, and the future, cultural center of the park |
 |
| View from the park overlooking the bay. I love the church on the left hand side |
 |
| Walkway from the cultural center |
 |
| These faces are painted by very famous street artists and can be seen throughout the city |
 |
| I thought this bird was cool. These are painted in a cement water storage container that used to be used for the prison |
 |
| Another great example of street art (bonus, that beautiful church was in the background) |
 |
| We interrupted a gym class with our tour but this little one didn't seem to mind |
 |
| My favorite mosaic we saw on the tour |
Once we got back down the hill, we hopped on one of the many street cars back to Plaza Sotomayor for a treat from our host. We said our goodbyes and headed onto find lunch. At the suggestion of Wally, we stopped at Terra Blanco, a small hole in the wall with a great lunch special. For roughly $10US/person, we got a drink (we chose a Pisco Sour which is a famous South American drink), an appetizer (soup or salad), entree (funny story... we ordered chicken but somehow ended up with the veggie meal of the spinach tortilla, it was great but that chicken looked tasty too), and a desert (crepe filled with caramel, yum). It's a toss up whether this meal was better than lunch at Veramonte or not. We are still debating...
 |
| Monument beside Plaza Sotomayor |
 |
| I love the architecture of this building |
 |
| Beautiful statue... I spy a stray dog, do you? |
 |
| Another bird I was fond of |
 |
| This building used to be a palace and hasn't been renovated since 1908. Tours 4 Tips has their office here. |
By this point it was nearly 3pm. We decided it was time to enjoy that balcony view and enjoy more Pisco Sours. Since it was the first day of spring when we went, the weather was perfect. It was a bit windy at times but it never got above 67 degrees. By around 6, we decided we were hungry again. We decided to walk down our street and then up the street behind us since there was a large number of bars and restaurants that looked like fun. We settled on a pizza place and before you call that boring... keep in mind a large number of Italians immigrated there in the early 1900's and Chile is actually known to have great Italian food. Plus, pizza is always a good choice. Especially when coupled with Chilean beer. So there. After dinner, we decided to walk to another local spot and enjoy a mojito whilst we people watch. Once those were consumed (highly recommend, btw), we decided it was time to hit the hay.
 |
| Enjoying views and Pisco Sour. The fresh ones are best but this premix was tasty, too! |
 |
| Ours was the yellow on the end |
 |
| Hubs and I enjoying a gorgeous first day of spring |
 |
| I loved the irony here... the eyes watching the street artist work. Also made me think of Great Gatsby. |
 |
| More views from our balcony |
 |
| Our dinner spot, definitely recommend |
 |
| Also recommend these beers! Austral's are great as well |
Hubs woke me up the next morning around 8:30 and I wasn't in the best mood. I always hate leaving. Especially because we were both so taken with Valparaiso. Begrudgingly, I got up and started on breakfast while he packed up. Over coffee and our fresh bread with orange jam, we decided that we had time for one last adventure in Valpo. I mentioned earlier the local street art is infamous and we set off to find some of the iconic pieces. To be honest, I wish we had dedicated an entire day for this because it was almost like Easter egg hunting. It was so rewarding every time we found another one. . This art is seriously legit, some of these paintings are so beautiful they will take your breath away. Part of the fun was walking down a street from both directions because inevitably you miss some the first time. Below you'll see some of my favorites.
 |
| Just one of the stray dogs that I wanted to adopt! I'm not sure it would be safe for me to live in a city with 100s of strays |
 |
| Not my fave but it's a pretty famous one |
 |
| I loved this one. The photo doesn't do it justice |
 |
| Everyone find this street! So much street art and it's all mind blowing |
 |
| Another famous one and one of my faves from the trip |
 |
| Love this one. Note - dogs above were not thrilled so we snapped this one quickly |
 |
| This one was something we had missed the first time we walked up the street |
 |
| Mosaics on our street stairs |
 |
| Beethoven's stairs, love this one! |
Our mission was complete and it was time to say goodbye to Valpo. We had 1/2 a day left and we wanted to see some of Santiago before it was time to head back to the states. I hadn't expected to see the Andes mountains on our drive back and as with the rest of the trip, they were stunning. And finally, we were back in Santiago. We had gotten some advice to park at the end of
Bustamonte Park because it was a local hangout on the weekends. People will gather and exercise, catch up, let their dogs out for some fresh air, etc. We parked and walked through the park until it was time for lunch. We stopped at a local dive where I enjoyed some white fish while hubs has some steak. We tried a couple more local beers and then continued until we reached the plaza at the end of the park. I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't keep going at that point. Later as we were on the way back to the airport, we noticed there was a local market with street vendors just beyond the busy roundabout at the plaza. Oh well, c'est la vie. From the plaza, we just kind of meandered around town until it was time to go back to the airport. Santiago definitely did not hold our interest like Valparaiso did. That being said, I would LOVE to go back to Chile and experience more of it.
 |
| One of the many gorgeous church in Santiago |
 |
| Statue in the Plaza at the end of Bustamonte Park |
 |
| More street art! You can't really tell but the circles in the middle of the feathers are mirrors |
 |
| Statue in Bustamonte Park |
Please comment if you have questions or need advice, both me and hubs did our fair share of research before we went.
