Two hours from Santiago – one hour more than the amount of sleep I got last night after a long, strange trip from Easter Island back to Chile involving several modes of transportation, all delayed but none truckin’ – lie Viña del Mar and Valparaíso. Shari and I toured those cities today, expertly guided by the knowledgeable and engaging Esme of StampsTour (stampstour.com), an outfit I recommend highly based on our experience.
Viña del Mar is a wealthy resort area on the Pacific coast. It served as the appetizer to Valparaíso: we stopped to see a flower clock (purchased from the Swiss before the 1962 World Cup and, being Swiss-made, still keeping accurate time), a moai (soon to be returned to Rapa Nui), and a very pleasant walk along the waterfront.
I didn’t find the flower clock particularly photo-worthy, and between the horde of selfie-takers and a Star Wars storm trooper (shades of Times Square) there weren’t any good angles. As for the moai, been there, done that. Apparently, the museum behind the moai has an impressive collection of shrunken heads, but I don’t favor such skullduggery. (Sorry; there’s not much in the way of cranial humor.)
There’s a castle looming over the waterfront. It was built by a wealthy German who wanted to live in style, and apparently it triggered a wave of castle-building by other wealthy ex-pats in the area.
Below the castle, cormorants dried their wings, boogie boarders braved the 51-degree waters, and a dog chased a ball on the beach.
Vibrant, colorful Valparaíso sits on the opposite end of the cove from Viña del Mar (they coharbortate). Our first stop was Caleta Portales, a busy fish market. I love photographing markets of all kinds, and Caleta Portales is wonderfully photogenic, not to mention bustling and, as you’d imagine, rather aromatic.
From the market, we strolled around two of Valparaiso’s many hills, Cerro Alegre (commonly called “Happy Hill”) and Concepcion Hill (Cerro Concepción). The hills’ flanks are covered in 19th century buildings, many sided with vividly painted corrugated metal.
Gorgeous street art adorns virtually every vertical surface; even the steps display murals. Given the “picture is worth a thousand words” exchange rate, I’ll opt for efficiency and just post some of my favorites.
Our tour concluded with a visit to a highly regarded winery, Casas del Bosque. It’s a beautiful spot but I can’t vouch for the wines; I opted for a refreshing glass of mango juice.
Adiós for now.
PuffinlessTravel 
The street art is really spectacular! Wonderful pics.
Thanks! It’s a remarkable city – just so vibrant and full of energy. I met a retired infectious disease doctor at breakfast this morning (David Lintz). I asked if he knew you, but he said your name wasn’t familiar. He lives in the LA area, but I’m pretty sure originally was from NY or NJ based on his accent.
OMG, Jeff! Would you believe that my closest friend from Infectious Disease fellowship training interviewed with David Lintz and considered joining him in practice in New Jersey? (He took a job in Albany instead). Small world.