For those of you who enjoy the quirkiness and charm of Brighton or those who may prefer the more rustic, tram-lined, undulations of Lisbon and its delapidated side streets, this town is quintessentially all of the above in a topsy-turvy jigsaw. Valparaiso is an artist's paradise, home to many artists and writers namely the late poet, Pablo Neruda. A colourful array of houses adorn the cobbled streets, each 'barrio'(area) is located on top of 'cerros' (hills), so get your walking shoes on and your walking stick, or just hop on a twentieth century funicular or tram, characteristic of the city.
To Gordon's delight, Valparaiso boasts endless seafood delicacies! I, on the other hand, was in my element after devouring fresh calamari at a rather alarming rate, with green-eyed pelicans watching over my shoulder. We stayed in a Chilean-German hostel, the oldest hostel in the area, in the heart of Cerro Conception. The couple who ran it imparted their knowledge across the breakfast table every morning, while we tucked into fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and homemade jams (Gordon's element). We hopped on a funicular to catch a glimpse of the city from one of the cerros, perused a local artesenal market and explored the hills and their run-down, graffitied cobbled passages.
Later that evening we discovered the Brighton cafe much to my excitement, where we had hors d'oeuvres and fed stray cats accompanied by views of Valparaiso sprawling below. We found a couple of local haunts where we indulged in some local wine and ended the evening relaxing on one of Valparaiso's better lookout vantage points. Susan didn't quite expect what happened next. Like the chivalrous gentleman that Gordon is, he dropped to one knee to ask Susan's hand in marriage. No, he wasn't as romantic as that, but upon asking Susan to marry him, she gracefully declined to Gordon's disbelief. We are now happy to let you know though, that we are engaged, a nice present for Susan's birthday.
We celebrated the following day at a cooking school with a local chef, Andres, who coincidently lived for several years in Brighton. He took us to local markets to select our fresh meat and vegetables and met Tyrone, and his sea lion buddies as well as many hungry Pelicans waiting for the locals to throw them some left overs. He taught us to make a razor clam hors d'oeuvre (note: Susan had to kill and peel the still wriggling clams) empanadas, Chilean salsa, 'pastel de choclo' (a meat and corn dish served in a clay dish) and topped it off with a surprise birthday cake and 27 (!!!) candles. We also learnt how to make Pisco Sours, the local cocktail (although Peruvians claim it belongs to them and there is a very tense history there), so Susan was suitably giddy by all the attention, Pisco and surprises!
We wrapped up our stay with a trip along the coast to Vina del Mar and a fishing village called ConCon, or what we refer to as 'With With'.
So, in no particular order, here we go...
Gordon barely had the camera out before this little snack was devoured
Valparaiso's lively local market
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The ladies sunning themselves
Gordon, Andres and our fishy vendor.
Pelicans and seals awaiting their feed from the local fishermen at the morning fishmarket
Undoubtedly the least fishy smelling in the market
Poetry on steps, one of Valparaiso's many enjoyable wall art pieces
Susan messing about in one of the graffiti laden side streets.
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Street art depicting the famous funicular.
More street art.
The aged cerro funiculars in the town that take you up to the various 'cerros' or hills in the city. They were as rickity as they were back in the eighteen hundreds.
One of the many colourful climbs
A local admiring the street art
The Brighton cafe. Just to the right was where we got engaged.
Ah, good memories.
Street art depiction of the local trams and oddly, the actual beetles hanging from clothes pegs down by the port.
The brightly-coloured funicular to Cerro Artiller
Fishbowl of Gordon in one of the many run down side streets
Empanadas. This had nothing on our super-empanadas from Bariloche.
Susan and Andres laying out the razor clams for starters.
Enjoying Susan's birthday present, the Chillian cooking class.
Susan looks happy for the camera, but in reality, she is knocking the life out of every one of those poor little razor clams. What a 'clamity ;-)
Enjoying some empanadas and salsa pre-main course
Pastel de Choclo. The local, apparently national, dish with some salsa chucked on top.
Stray kitty enjoying the cooking class left overs. This is what they call 'cupboard love'.
Susan and Andres pre-mains.
Happy 27th birthday, Susan. Who organised a surprise cake for you?
Tasty raspberry cheese cake. Guzzle! Munch!
Locals going about their daily business in Vina del Mar.
SUPER OCHO!!!!! Gordon's life line.
A beach vendor looks thoughtfully over his patch.
Pelicans in Con-con. Time for the one foot game.
Pelican alert: 2 feet away from our lunch
Susan finally got her calamari. It didn't last long.
Gordon getting his mainland taste of Easter Island.
Ah, memories of Gordon's bug.
Saluting one of the many schools parading on the 12th May (commemorating the Pacific war against Peru or that's as much as we gathered).
Every school in Valparaiso showed their patriotism by marching and parading down the streets
The final patriotic gathering by the war memorial in the main plaza
Fresh bread for sale
Fatty cat
R.I.P spork, we had fun times in SAmerica...
