Day 62 - Steep stairs and street art
January 16 - Valparaiso, Chile
We arrived in Valparaiso at approx. 8:30 AM, an hour or so later than our intended arrival. Our hostel /guesthouse was only a few blocks away. We walked up to an anonymous door with and looked around with how to signal our arrival. We found a bell and pressed it...nothing. We found another, and pressed it....nothing. A few seconds later, not one, but TWO windows opened above us, and women on separate floors were leaning over the railing motioning to us. We'd hit the wrong bell....sorry, ladies! The correct bell was poorly marked, but we finally found it. We woke the owner when we rang the bell, as she had forgotten that we’d arrive early. She was super sweet and we felt welcome in this “hostel", a 4th floor apartment style guesthouse with five room, give or take, a shared bathroom, and a shared kitchen. She made us a welcome espresso - Lorena, you're the best!
We left our stuff and decided to ride our caffeine high, before we crashed. Valparaiso is port city known for its art and culture. The financial area is along the water and relatively flat, surrounded by 40 hills, “cerros” that are known for colorful houses perched. While the buses were crazy, flying wildly down the road, with nondescript stops, it seemed like the best way to get around. We caught a city bus on the “cinturon”, a road that goes up and through the hills, dropping us at San Sebastian museum, a famous local artists house turned museum that is extremely popular. The house is perched on a hill, and so we enjoyed the views, then began working our way down to the next hill. We worked our way to the main drag, then found some stairs up an alley.
Valparaiso is notorious for getting lost, which makes total sense, but if you get lost, you just go downhill to get to the main street, then begin wandering back up again. We were in need of real food, so stopped at a café. Their lunch deal was better than just a sandwich by itself, so before we knew it, we had coffee, cake and juice delivered to our table, for each of us, followed by sandwiches. Dessert first! We walked down to the water and the main square, then headed back to the hostel.
We regrouped, Evan napped, then we headed out for dinner. The hostel owner recommended a place with a view for a drink.
We arrived in Valparaiso at approx. 8:30 AM, an hour or so later than our intended arrival. Our hostel /guesthouse was only a few blocks away. We walked up to an anonymous door with and looked around with how to signal our arrival. We found a bell and pressed it...nothing. We found another, and pressed it....nothing. A few seconds later, not one, but TWO windows opened above us, and women on separate floors were leaning over the railing motioning to us. We'd hit the wrong bell....sorry, ladies! The correct bell was poorly marked, but we finally found it. We woke the owner when we rang the bell, as she had forgotten that we’d arrive early. She was super sweet and we felt welcome in this “hostel", a 4th floor apartment style guesthouse with five room, give or take, a shared bathroom, and a shared kitchen. She made us a welcome espresso - Lorena, you're the best! We left our stuff and decided to ride our caffeine high, before we crashed. Valparaiso is port city known for its art and culture. The financial area is along the water and relatively flat, surrounded by 40 hills, “cerros” that are known for colorful houses perched. While the buses were crazy, flying wildly down the road, with nondescript stops, it seemed like the best way to get around. We caught a city bus on the “cinturon”, a road that goes up and through the hills, dropping us at San Sebastian museum, a famous local artists house turned museum that is extremely popular. The house is perched on a hill, and so we enjoyed the views, then began working our way down to the next hill. We worked our way to the main drag, then found some stairs up an alley.
Valparaiso is notorious for getting lost, which makes total sense, but if you get lost, you just go downhill to get to the main street, then begin wandering back up again. We were in need of real food, so stopped at a café. Their lunch deal was better than just a sandwich by itself, so before we knew it, we had coffee, cake and juice delivered to our table, for each of us, followed by sandwiches. Dessert first! We walked down to the water and the main square, then headed back to the hostel.
We regrouped, Evan napped, then we headed out for dinner. The hostel owner recommended a place with a view for a drink.
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