Day 26 ValparaisoOct 14, 2011
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View of Valparaiso, colourful buildings
Our hotel in Valparaiso, Manoir Atkinson
Relaxing on the roof top of the hotel, great panoramic view
| Today was our first day in the city of Valparaiso, located 120 km to the northwest of Santiago. Valparaíso has a very mild Mediterranean climate closely resembling that of San Francisco or Santa Barbara at a similar latitude in the northern hemisphere. Lots of sun and blue sky today and forecasted for the rest of the week. Valparaíso is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its urban design and unique architecture and unusual system of funicular elevators (highly-inclined cable cars). The city is built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Today we visited 4 or 5 of these areas. Just walking the street gives you a good workout, a couple of times we had to take the funiculars up the hills. The funiculars are not very new, but for 100 pesos ($0.20) it is well worth the money spent. The town is very interesting and unlike anything we have seen. The houses are very colourful and literally built one on top of the other and sandwiched together. One thing you also notice in the city is the amount of graffiti that is present. It is very well done art and adds so much character to the place. The hotel we are staying at is very nice and a big difference from the last place. It is a large Victorian style house with 7 bedrooms and attached bathrooms. The place has lots of old wood throughout, the kind of large family type house where the stairs squeak when you go upstairs. Breakfast is served downstairs and is served on real China dishes. Our bedroom has a private balcony and the roof also has a terrace with a panoramic view of both the town and Pacific Ocean. |
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