Valparaíso

'Valpo' as the locals call it, is a faded, or should that be crumbling, coastal city that was once grand and affluent due to its importance as the gateway port to south america from the Pacific. The geography of the area is that of craggy 'cerros' on top of which houses are stacked in all manner of configurations, mostly all clad in corrugated iron decorated in colourful, if flaking, paint. This poor city suffered an economic slump when the Panama Canal was inaugerated along with no less than 3 earthquakes in the last 100 years. In someways Valparaíso seems doomed. There was a forest fire the day we arrived, burning down more than seventy houses.

A couple of the cerros are very attractive, where the bohemian locals have made a real effort to spruce up the buildings and open attractive cafes, craft shops and the odd gallery and we spent a nice day wondering about and taking in the view of the pacific and the bustling container port, complete with naval ships in the distance.

To reach any of the cerros (some of which, we were warned by our hostel, were 'no go areas') you can climb up steep, rough lanes or take an 'ascensor'. Yep you guessed it another silly form of transport to enjoy. These funiculars are little more than wooden boxes that are hoisted up the side of the hill, and are very cheap. At the top there are usually great views and the obligatory 'feria artesania' or craft fair (selling the usual cheap, poor quality hippy stuff or rip offs of the traditional mapuche textiles - steer well clear!) In fact Valparaíso has more than one form of silly transportation to choose from - the 'trolley buses' are quite charming, some being swiss and from the 20's or 30's, but very slow. (Hannah)

While in Valpo we also visited neighbouring Viña del Mar, a short distance away via the hair-raising micros (minibuses who compete with each other for fares, with consequently little consideration of passenger comfort, let alone the safety of those who might wish to board them) or via the modern metro train. We took the latter and were amazed to find such a clean, quiet and efficient service... most train lines in South America have been abandoned. Viña was fun for a day at the beach - and seemed a lot more developed than Valpo. In fact after our visit we worked out that Viña del Mar and Valparaíso are essentially two halves of the same city - one crumbling yet historic, and the other modern and commercial. (Robin)

Our beach experience was quite hilarious, in fact, as the waves crashed onto the shore quite violently and the water was freezing. Once nice and toasty from the sun we went and cooled off for a bit. This consisted of us standing on the water's edge, and then running madly in the opposite direction as the waves came splashing in, frequently drenching us! Robin eventually made it into the water head first and was tossed about as if in a washing machine. When he surfaced there were complaints that the sand had gotten into all sorts of places it really shouldn't be. I was the weed this time, and never made it beyond waist deep. Brrrr! (Hannah)

Another feature of Valpo was the hostel we stayed at, the 'Yoyo'. This was a great place to meet people, although it was essentially obligatory to party every night, or listen to everyone else having fun right outside your door. We had a great time here and met some very clued-up travellers as well as some americans. No, that's not fair really, although there are a LOT of americans travelling in Chile - far more than in Argentina. (Robin)