...Valparaiso...iago?

The houses are all different shades of pastel blues and greens, pinks and oranges. They sit on a steep hill overlooking the ocean. No two neighboring houses are the same color. Valparaiso.

We took a bus from Vina into the city winding between mountains and ocean. They dropped us off in front of the plaza where the President made her speech for the Dia Feriado and where the students protested for education reform. It was peaceful when we arrived. The firefighters were showing some students their trucks and we were able to take photos with one of the antique vehicles. The streets were not distinguishable from the sidewalks so we were almost hit a few times, but we figured it out.

Our first stop in Valpo was up Cerro Alegre, one of the highest points of the city. We rode a janky funicular up to the top (these are apparently very popular in this country. We met a really cool artist that does screening and etchings using Mapuche culture and folklore as his inspiration. Lonko told us the story of the Man Bird who connected humans with the heavens and was gifted the ability to communicate between man and god. The story was captivating and the artwork became more beautiful the more he shared about their history.

We then ventured up the hill, admiring the houses and street art, all while burning calories from the high resistance climb. The art started off very simple, a mural of the city depicting the hills, the ocean and happy chileans, but the farther up we climbed the more extraordinary the art became. Before we left for Chile we had to research various things about Chile and it's culture. One of my topics was on the street art and I found a photo of a mural depicting a blue haired woman painted high in an alley. The photo stated it was in Valparaiso, but had no other details about where I could find her. Well, she's in an alley on Cerro Alegre.

Fascinated by the variations of the drawings and the respect artists have for each other (no picture was done on top of another), we took a bajillion pictures with our favorite pieces. We went up the hill and back down. On our descent, we all dropped our jaws and gasped to see a mural of a beautiful brown girl amplified along the wall of a warehouse. We had passed this corner before but none of us noticed the artwork that was behind us. Seeing it collectively as a group was amazing. We were so surprised, and excited, to see a girl who looked (sort of) like us so grandly displayed, especially in a country that has not hardly seen people with skin darker than a summer tan. Naturally we took pictures.

We also went to this art museum, Palacio Baburizza, that was extremely boring (and I really like art museums). There were almost no artwork done by Chilean artists and the few that were there were indistinguishable from the French and English artists we're familiar with. There were almost no depictions of the indigenous population in the works displayed. We did, however, find one moreno depicted in a painting. He was creeping in the background of a painting of two little (white) girls. It was weird.

We left the hill, mostly because we were suffering of hunger and needed a lunch break, and headed to the south of the city to see Pablo Neruda's house, La Sebastiana. It was a beautiful house overlooking the ocean. The audio tour that you listen to expressed how Neruda loved the sea and his home decor is a reflection of this. No photos were allowed to be taken, so I'll say that if you find yourself in Chile, take time to visit this house.

Valparaiso is a picturesque town and has a lot of character in it's architecture. The buildings and art tell a beautiful story. In comparison to Santiago, it is much less sterile and cold. Santiago is all steel and air pollution whereas Valpo is vibrant and open aired. It is probably one of the few places in this country that I'd visit again.

Poll: Would you rather....

A. Live in a beach house (because you love the ocean) but never be able to go near the water (no boating, swimming, fishing, etc.)

B. Live in an apartment/house of your desired size/style but never be able to leave (not go past your porch).

C. Be able to go outside freely but have to move/relocate every two years.

Leave your answers in the comment section!