Colorful Valparaiso

The bus pulled into the terminal around 5:30. We were immediately approached by a tour agency and whisked inside for a map and a hope at getting us to book a city tour with them. Uncertain of our plans, we graciously declined the tour option, but took them up on an offer for a lift to the hostel.

There were two other couples dropped at other hostels before us, but we finally made it up the steep, curvy, narrow streets of Valparaiso to Cerro Artilleria and Hostal Portobello. Alejandro came out to greet us and offered a cup of tea once we were settled. He took us upstairs to our room which we instantly liked: fourteen foot ceilings, views of the port, private bathroom and lovely furnishings. We surveyed the surroundings, took a few pics from the window and went downstairs to complete check-in and have a cup of tea. Alejandro spoke wonderful English and provided us with a map of the city along with three recommended walking tours. Having not eaten since breakfast, we asked for a nearby restaurant recommendation, freshened up and set off towards Puerto Viejo, just a down the hill and a couple of blocks away.

Having become accustomed to being the only table in the house due to our eating schedule, our arrival at Puerto Viejo was no different. We were welcomed in and given a menu in Spanish plus a binder of photos of the dishes. What a clever tourist tool! Of course, the house specialty was seafood, so I selected Salmon a la Margarita (seafood sauce) and Todd opted for the seafood platter with all manner of of delights de la mer. Both were outstanding and an outrageous amount of food. We took leftovers back to the hostel for a late night snack with crackers and avocado a couple of days later.

For our first of four nights in Valparaiso, we stayed in, unpacked and caught up on emails, the market and the blog over a bottle of wine before succumbing to sleep. We awoke the next day to the scent of fresh baked bread and coffee and headed downstairs for breakfast: homemade country white and whole grain breads, butter, a trio of lovely jams, ham, cheese, a basket of fruit and just hand made pineapple and strawberry aqua frescas. Meals such as this have even Todd looking forward to morning. :)

We set out early afternoon to wander towards Cerros Concepcion y Alegre, the two arsty, bohemian areas of Valparaiso on a mission to find the authentic Napolitano pizza place recommended in our Frommer's guide. Oh! And I have forgotten about the Ascensors! They are ancient "elevators" that ascend the very steep hills (cerros) that makes up the neighborhoods of Valparaiso. We took Ascensor Concepcion up and absorbed the inspiring views of the port and surrounding cerros. Graffiti, stencil art and murals are rampant throughout all of Valparaiso adding to its colorful nature. There were some lovely murals and thought provoking stencil art in Cerro Alegre.

Our stomachs led us up a steep, two block long stairwell to find the pizza joint. We found the building with the correct address, but it was gated and locked up with no signage around. We were able to peek in one of the windows and could confirm that it had indeed been a functioning restaurant in the near past. Damn! We were so in the mood for a stone-oven pizza. Note to self: Splurge on the most current edition of the guide book rather than saving a few bucks at Half Price Books on a 2005 version.

Ah, well. Live and Learn. We decided to head back down the hill to Alegretto which we noticed had a pizza sign in the window. On the way down, we saw a cute place with a chalkboard menu outside offering the daily specials as well as cooking classes, so we popped in. The chef would not be available until after 5pm to discuss a class with us, but we certainly took notice of the aromas wafting from the kitchen and the yummy food on the plates of diners. And then it hits Todd: Cafe Vinilo? Cafe Vinyl! There are two turntables behind the counter to confirm the suspicion, so he asks the guy if there is a vinyl shop in town. We mark an approximate location on the map and plan to seek it out the next day.

Proceeding to Alegretto, we step inside the colorful, funky little place and grab a table. After surveying the menu, we decide on a couple of locally made brews and their traditional pie with bacon, red onion and pineapple added. Yep, Love finds a way. This is one of the best pizzas we have encountered on our journey. It has a crispy thin crust, light straight-forward sauce, good mozzarella, fresh toppings and a perfect dash of herbs and spices. Finishing off with a couple of rum and cokes while the cook and our waiter have their lunch, we ask for la cuenta, give props to the pizza dude, tip heartily and reemerge into the world.

That Thursday, we took the Metro a few stations over in order to walk to the bus terminal and purchase our tickets to Mendoza. The vinyl shop was only a few blocks away so we decided to follow one of the walking tour routes in that direction. Just a few blocks along, we happened upon a street market where vendors lined the sidewalks and spotted a couple of boxes of lps that proceeded to rummage through. The vendor actually had some rare vinyl and although most of the sleeves were worn & torn, the albums were in great shape. In the negotiations, the stack was whittled down to four. Score!

We ambled through the market a bit more, bought a little travel buddha for good luck and continued down the street to the vinyl shop. They had a ton of lps, but not anything really special and the quality was poorer. So we continued on the route that would take us to Cerro Bellavista and the Open Aire Museo. To get there we rode the Ascensor Espiritu Santo up and walked over to Gato Tuerto, a recommended restaurant that was attached to Fundacion Valparaiso, a non-profit that organizes music & film festivals, produces an English speaking paper and works to preserve the art and character of the quirky port town. For lunch we had curried lamb and a trio of sea bass, salmon and conger eel served with three different sauces and jasmine rice. A few of the things I miss most (aside from the kitties!) are Indian food, breakfast tacos, margaritas, bagels & cream cheese and spicy Thai food. Who wants to join us and Taj Palace when we get back?! :)

The Open Aire Museo is a collection of twenty murals adorning the walls throughout Bellavista. We discovered a few by their placards and decided that we had probably passed a few others and just not realized that they were a part of the collection. Not quite as impressive as in our imaginations, the murals had been dulled by weather and sun and tainted with graffiti. Wandering around the steep hills, we bumped into a couple from New York and Canada and chatted with them for a few blocks more until our paths diverged. Such is the way of travel: meet people, share a few moments or a few days inhabiting the same space and then continue on to the next experiences. It has made me reflect on the nature of friendship and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people and and good energy. Life is too short for neutrality and too precious for anything less than openness, honesty and integrity.

For our last full day in Valparaiso, we decided to take the Metro up to Vina del Mar, a more touristy beach town not far up the coast. The weather was not nice enough to entertain braving the ocean, but we wandered around town for a bit, had some empanadas and juice and, preferring the atmosphere of Valparaiso, headed back to Cerro Bellavista and El Irlandes, an authentic Irish pub with a pretty amazing selection of local brews and Belgian ales. We tried a few new ones before walking towards Cerro Concepcion to return to Cafe Vinilo for our final meal in town. The restaurant is very small and was packed, but we scored a tiny table in one of the two front windows. Likewise, it was a small menu which the chef brought to the table and went over with us. We had a wonderful meal and a lovely Chilean Carmenere, a varietal which has become a new favorite, along with an Argentine Bonarda. In our food and wine bliss, we walked to the bottom of the hill and hailed a taxi for the last several blocks and uphill climb to Hostal Portobello.

We packed for the 7:30am ride to the bus terminal and turned in for the night. Alejandro had generously offered to have breakfast at 7am instead of the usual time. A young British couple that had been staying also had an early bus to Mendoza, so we shared the taxi to the terminal and bid a fond farewell to Valparaiso...