Valparaiso - city of Funiculars

Vina Del Mar - the Chileans seem to love their castles
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I havent woken up at 8am in my entire life unless i had to be at school or work - what is going on?!

Today i woke up and headed down to the kitchen for my 'continental breakfast' - you beauty i thought, danish pastries, crossaints, you name it - 'Man i dont even know' turned out to be toast with butter and marmalade (i hate the shit but damn it tastes a lot sweeter when it is complimentary!), coffee and strawberry juice - hit the spot and got me ready for the day ahead.

To think these people live in such poverty yet express such joy and livliness makes you think twice of even the thought of complaint

The 'Val' crew - Mel, Amee, Irishman and moi (l-r)
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I met another Irish fella in the common room and found out he was heading up north to the coastal cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso - i had plannted to spend a day up there so i when he invited me to join i figured i'd get it out of the way sooner than later.  It ended up being myself, Mel and Amee (whom i met the day before) and the Irishman (i forgot his bloody name!).

2 hours on one of the most comfortable buses i've ever been on (South America, believe it or not is suppose to have some of the best long distance buses in the world) and we arrived in Vina del Mar.  Ashame about the weather - it was really overcast - we were obviously not far enough from Santiago and the fog from the ocean was trapped between the mountains a short 10 km or so from the coast.

Valparaiso
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Not much exciting about Vina del Mar - apparently it is a summer / weekend getaway city for the locals in Santiago - cant say it was exactly pumping with exciement - mind you we were there on a tuesday!  The Spaniards seemed to have engrained a love for castles in the area.

After a decent sized lunch and chatting to the waiter at the restaurant we decided to walk from Vina del Mar and Valparaiso - apparently a 'beautiful and relaxing' hours walk along a the coast - couldnt be further from the bloody truth!  We walked for about 2 hours along the side of a highway on a walkway that couldnt have been wider than 3 feet - buses flying by on the outside lane hanging for the gringo to stick his arm out for a souvenir for the fam! - we made it safely to Valparaiso after a few suicide crossings and a long walk - this deserved a cold cerveza!

Valparaiso - hillside neighbourhoods
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Valparaiso was a really unique city - bustling with life - and the second largest city and the main port in Chile.  The city is actually declared a World Heritage Site due to its unique architecture and layout - thousands of houses built into the side of the hills creates an incredible backdrop.  The local joke in Santiago is that women from Valparaiso have chunky thighs - true unless they ride the Funiculars up the hills to get home!

The Funiculars were the main attraction of the day as Amee was obsessed with checking them out - after spotting one from the city we decided to head to the hills and find it - arriving at the bottom of the hill with no funicular in site we thought it would be a good time to prepare for the Inca Trail and hike up through the neighbourhood - now i understand the local joke re: chunky thighs!  Fark en hell i tell ya i'm gonna fall flat on my arse on that inca trail - i best be waking up at 6 every morning to get myself fit enough for the first kilometre of the trail!

The oldest Funicular in Chile -1883!
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It was actually incredile to be that close to these neighbourhoods - though i did feel as if we were intruding on their private and personal land (i dont think the fella in the photo appreciated us being there!).  To think these people live in such poverty yet express such joy and livliness makes you think twice of even the thought of complaint - (and this is only the surface of the poverty i will witness along the trip).

After getting our breath back from the hike up we decided to continue to look for this bloody Funicular for Amee - putting the spanish to the test (i was the only one that could even say hola!) we eventually found the oldest Funicular (or 'ancensores') built in 1883 - pretty rickety ride up, but thank god it was only a short 30-40metres otherwise i reckon i would have had to put my insurance to use!

Valparaiso - the poverty
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All in all it was a wicked but long day out and my bloody toe that i thought i broke had swollen up to the size of my thumb!

Valparaiso - the highlight this far into the trip (1 day and counting!!)