Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar
April 20th 2008
Waking up with a nasty hang-over (have not been drinking much lately), the hearty breakfast that compliments the nights stay helped me shake it off (jams, fruits, coffee, and fresh bread).
Now that I can see in daylight, this little city is really spread out along a mountain side pushed right up against the coast. All the houses have an amazing view of the ocean (although half of
the bay is taken up by the huge port). There are many valleys so the city is divided into areas, each one called a "Cerro". There are winding streets leading up into each area.
I started out the day with a walk around the "Cerros" that can also be accessed by these legacy pulley type systems called "Ascensors"built about 160 years ago. It is a similiar idea to getting in a gondola except that the pulley system is not suspended, rather it is on the surface of the slope. Now, there are 2 gondola-type carriages (one at the top and one at the bottom). They are simultaneously loaded and take off at the same time as they share the same wire pulley. Just imagine that halfway through the trip you pass by the other carriage.
There are so many street dogs and street cats in this city it is ridiculous. My weapon of choice today was my empty 1.5 litre water bottle. Sure enough, i was chased by 2 dogs who thought that I was encroaching on their territory. Where is Norman when I need him (he would have got his ass kicked).
I decided to grab a bus 9 km away to Vina Del Mar. This proved to be very worth while. This was a much cleaner city without the steep slopes or port and actually had nice sandy beaches. I ate a nice "westernized" meal at an oceanfront restaurant and made my way back to the comfy hostel.
It is now Sunday night and the city is asleep. I think I will follow suit.
Waking up with a nasty hang-over (have not been drinking much lately), the hearty breakfast that compliments the nights stay helped me shake it off (jams, fruits, coffee, and fresh bread).
Now that I can see in daylight, this little city is really spread out along a mountain side pushed right up against the coast. All the houses have an amazing view of the ocean (although half of
the bay is taken up by the huge port). There are many valleys so the city is divided into areas, each one called a "Cerro". There are winding streets leading up into each area.I started out the day with a walk around the "Cerros" that can also be accessed by these legacy pulley type systems called "Ascensors"built about 160 years ago. It is a similiar idea to getting in a gondola except that the pulley system is not suspended, rather it is on the surface of the slope. Now, there are 2 gondola-type carriages (one at the top and one at the bottom). They are simultaneously loaded and take off at the same time as they share the same wire pulley. Just imagine that halfway through the trip you pass by the other carriage.
There are so many street dogs and street cats in this city it is ridiculous. My weapon of choice today was my empty 1.5 litre water bottle. Sure enough, i was chased by 2 dogs who thought that I was encroaching on their territory. Where is Norman when I need him (he would have got his ass kicked).
I decided to grab a bus 9 km away to Vina Del Mar. This proved to be very worth while. This was a much cleaner city without the steep slopes or port and actually had nice sandy beaches. I ate a nice "westernized" meal at an oceanfront restaurant and made my way back to the comfy hostel.
It is now Sunday night and the city is asleep. I think I will follow suit. On my walk back to the hostel, I snapped this photo of one of the many murals posted along the street walls leading up into the cerros.
posted by Justino at
7:49 AM
1 Comments:
Ah-ha! Your "ascensor" is a funicular (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular). They're all from that 1850s to 1900 era. I've ridden on one in Penang (Malaysia), Athens (Greece), and Wellington (New Zealand). They're great fun!
On the funicular in Penang there were signs with arms sticking out and monkeys. Basically, the monkeys would hang out alongside the track and would bite and scratch any limbs sticking out from the rail cars.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home