The following trip for our adventures was a day trip to Valparaiso, a colorful city on Chile’s coast which still houses the National Congress (though the rest of government is in the Capital city of Santiago). It also used to be the most important port of South America as sailers from the Atlantic wanted to make their way to the gold rush of California in the mid 1800’s. Since the opening of the Panama Canal, however, it has lost some of this industry though it still keeps its lively people and culture.
Our day started in the early morning on one of these double decker cross country buses:
When we got to Valpo, as the locals call it, we stepped off the bus and almost immediately ran into the local market and were mesmerized by all the commotion. There were rows and rows of vendors with all sorts of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood all being sold in the market and on the street. Tough to see in this picture but these are the largest/fattest ears of Choclo (corn) we have ever seen!
Once we got to the city center we soon started a walking tour of the city which started at the vital port:
And quickly took us up one of the Asencores (furniculars) that can be found around the city when you don’t want to take the steep stairs up the hills:
The city is built on 47 different tours so these Asencores come in quite handy!
And the tail end of the tour took us to some of the colorful murals which can be found all over the city. The street art can get quite impressive!
And the tour ended with a traditional cocktail called a Chichon, spanish for “bump on the head”, because after you drink one… or two or three… you may feel like you’ve gotten bumped on the head!
And after that treat we had to wash it down with one of the traditional dishes meant to be shared between several friends called Chorillana, a plate (MOUNTAIN!) of fench fries topped with fried pork, steak, chicken, and topped with cheese! What could possibly be a better way to end another great day in Chile?
Travel Fun With Cassie and Alejandro 