No alarm clock today! Had a lovely breakfast out on the patio, overlooking a hidden backyard garden with a small pool, then checked out and stowed our luggage with reception. Guess what, Michael? We headed out to your favorite: the Hop-on Hop-off bus! In 2 1/2 hours, we circumnavigated the city and were able to see the wild variety of neighborhoods, the financial district, the major parks and monuments and the fact that this city of 7 1/2 million people (out of 17 million in the entire country) is bustling and growing. I realized, as the quasi-economist that I am, that in the discussion of emerging markets, Argentina and Venezuela take up way more ink in discussions of South America than does Chile. And Chile seems to be doing pretty darn well, thank you very much. The people are friendly, the country is clean, everyone is engaged, and barely a homeless person to be seen. No photos because they all just look like generic cityscapes!
As we “hopped off”, we headed back to LaStarria and had lunch at a small shop, then picked up our bags and hailed a cab for the bus station. Pimped out buses leave every 20 minutes or so for Valparaiso and a few other cities along the coast. We were lucky enough to get a double decker, so sat on the top and watched the countryside on top (didn’t get one with WiFi, but so much the better). After about 45 minutes, it was vineyard after vineyard. Too bad, I guess, that I don’t really care much about wine (only the kind with an “h” in it!).
From the Valpo bus station, which you could tell was in a kinda funky part of town, we took a cab to our hotel, named after Thomas Somerscales (a painter who used Valparaiso harbor as the subject of many of his works).
Checked in, and walked around the very steep ‘hood to enjoy the beautiful graffiti murals and character of little shops and restos before heading into Taulat, which was a tapas place recommended by the gentleman at our front desk. Had a lovely meal…grilled pulpo:
Baby squid (I didn’t like so much):
And the traditional tortilla (omelette filled with sliced potatoes and carmelized onions – it was the best) accompanied by a Pisco Sour with fresh basil and green pepper:
We walked up to the rooftop terrace and gasped at the lights of the city, which is basically built into the amphitheater shape of the mountains sloping down to the bay. Valparaiso was a major port in the Western Hemisphere, where all ships stopped after heading through the straits of Magellan, until the Panama Canal halted all that. It has purposely recovered by concentrating on the areas of culture, tourism, fishing and shipping. In any event, the view was beautiful, and the walk back uphill to our hotel, excellent for my behind.