Feliz Ano Neuvo

In stark contrast to last year’s New Year’s where the sun set by 3pm and the temperature dipped below 0, we celebrated this year in true Chilean fashion – with pisco sours watching the sunset at 9pm, an Italian five course dinner and a Latin choreographed firework display on the roof deck of our hotel.

Our hotel in Valpo was owned and run by a Chilean man who had lived in Italy for 20 year and his Italian/Indian wife whom he met while living abroad.  (As a side note, every couple we met on our trip was intercontinental - Mexican / French, German / Chilean, American / Columbian, etc ).  As part of the reservation we made back in September, we opted to partake in their New Year’s Eve dinner at the hotel.  It allowed us to avoid having to make reservations in town, dealing with the crowds and guaranteed us an earlier night (we had an 8am start the following day).

Dinner was impeccable, with 15 guests, locals and travelers alike, all sharing a long table in the top floor sunroom of the hotel.  Each of the five courses (appetizers with bruschetta, mussels in tomato broth, white fish with capers and cream sauce and a perfectly cooked steak, followed by tiramisu) was gorgeously plated and heavenly to eat.  The conversations flowed endlessly with the wine, until dinner’s conclusions at 11:45pm, signaled by the warning fireworks…to ensure you didn’t miss a thing the city was kind enough to set off 3-4 fireworks at 11;30, 11:45 and 11;55.

We grabbed our glasses and headed out onto the roof deck to enjoy the show and ring in the new year!  And what a show it was –12 different platforms dotted along the 20 mile coastline all synchronized their fireworks to allow for an endless view of colorful bursts of flowers and waterfalls.  What would have been sufficient for one city was repeated 12 times over.  From start to finish, the fireworks lasted for over 20 minutes and the beauty of lights offset against the night sky was enough to make us forgot our previous few days and allowed us to enjoy the moment.

Forty minutes later, Martin and I were ready for bed, however the city showed no signs of closing down.  We woke up to our alarm at 7am and heard the distance sounds of the party still alive and well in the city below.  By 9am, while sitting at the bus stop, waiting to head back to Santiago, we were encircled by party-exhausted yet energized young adults wrapping up their celebrations of ringing in the new year.  My 20 year old self was impressed with their functioning state, my current self was ready to get out of dodge.  

Vino Del Mar - The Garden CIty

I am surprised and slightly insulted that while everyone was singing the praises of Valpo, not one of our friends stopped us and told us about Vino Del Mar.  Just five minutes away, Vino Del Mar proved to be the haven from the chaos I was looking for.

After a full day of exploring Valpo, we took a quick bus ride up the coast to the next city and immediately felt cheated – we should have stayed here instead.  While the beaches were not necessarily picturesque (check out the tanker in the background), sun bathers and beach goers were still enjoying the sun and waves.   

In sharp contrast to Valpo, every street was nicely paved, stray dogs were at a minimum and we had our option of countless parks to sit in silence in the shade of noble old trees to contemplate life. 

They even have a statue from the Easter Islands!

It was at the Quinta Vergara park, aside the old palace and under a beautiful tree that I was able to reflect on the trip so far and begin putting my thoughts onto paper.  Fully engaged in my notebook and the calm surroundings, an hour later it saddened me that I had to go back to the chaos of Valpo for one more night. 

Our little garden of eden

I would like to believe I am more forgiving and maybe Valpo is one of those cities that takes a local experience to appreciate, but I was done.  It took the promise of ice cream on the beach to get me off of that park bench and moving in the direction of home.

Valparaiso; What Have We Done?!

When researching where to go during our trip we looked into a few options on the coast and, with rave reviews from our guide book, we selected Valparaiso. It was apparently the San Francisco of South America!  Our decision was further reinforced by both the bride and groom and various other friends; they all claimed “it is really nice!” and confirmed that we would have a great time.

Taking the bus from Santiago, I grew in excitement at the idea of a few days on the beach and a fun New Year’s Eve (Valpo as the locals call it, allegedly has the biggest firework display and party in Chile).  However, while I daydreamed of the warm sun and clean sand as we passed through the desert like hills and lush green valleys not too dissimilar from California’s central valley, Martin was reading up on Valpo from a difference guide book. This one warned of poverty, dirtiness and crime and Martin’s concerns began to grow.

Rolling into town and arriving at the bus station, my stomach clenched at our potential misstep; the city’s first impression reinforced Martin’s recent research.  And unfortunately all hopes of finding the charm in the city were dashed within 24 hours. 

Perched on the side of a few rolling hills, with a still working harbor, the city was a complicated mixture of the Oakland harbor, hills of South San Francisco (bordering between deep Mission and Bernal Heights) and the run down feeling of a long forgotten Sicilian city in the process of redefining itself.  My San Francisco it was not, but closer to the faded memories of Palermo, Italy.

 

The homes were built into the hillside seemingly one on top of the other, lacked any assurance of structural integrity and were patched up with brightly covered corrugated steel.  Every winding alley or steep ravine was speckled with garbage and we walked in fear of looking up, afraid of the uneven pavement and scattering of dog poo at our feet (thanks to the 1,000+ feral dogs that roam the city). 

Our first impression, the view from our Hotel

Much prettier in the sunset

The city had a few key points of interest which kept our days filled exploring:

The city, thanks to its step hills required and still relies on the use of vernaculars and acensors to connect the various neighborhoods.  These old carriages on cables were a unique find both in their historical significance as well as the lack of signage identifying them. Throughout our stay, we rode a few (including one acsensor that turned out to be just an elevator), but when location and destination required, Martin and I opted to walk the steep narrow streets and hidden staircases.  In one such instance, we waked up a hill only to realize we missed our turn and ended up on the wrong side of the valley.  Instead of turning around, we found a way down and back up through concrete stairways and long forgotten streets.

The marking of a funicular...down a hidden alley.

Paulo Nerudo, the nobel winning poet also maintained a residence in Valpo during the early part of the 20^th century.  An eclectic five story building, each room was filled with various nick-knacks and personal treasures that Paolo had personally acquired over the years.  An avid collector, he was known for bargaining and obsessing over any object even if it was not for sale, not giving up until he owned it.    He seemed like a man I could relate to.

And finally, Valpo, in an attempt to replace their maritime industry that was decimated thanks to the opening of the Panama Canal, has also become a spot for artists, hippies and the likes.  The Conception neighborhood was the best example of what the city is potentially trying to become.  Perched on the hill above the old city center, Conception was spotted with restaurants, cafes and shops.  But even more impressive, was the graffiti art that covered every possible surface available and then some.  The vibrant colors and bold designs were a much needed distraction to the congestion, dirt and wilderness of the city below and around.  

Below are a few images we had captured of the various art work during our walks.   

Anyone up for a ride?

Our first impression of Conception

What have we done?

I have no idea.

Unfortunately while the photos are intriguing and most likely what I will remember in the future, I have no desire to return and would not recommend more than a day trip from Santiago to this city in transition.  The howling dogs that kept us up all night and the howling winds of dirt and grim during day will help keep that promise.

Ger-Span-Glish

Before we left on the trip people asked me if I spoke Spanish…of course I spoke Spanish! I live in California and took three years of it in high school. Unfortunately for me, I also speak English and am learning German which means I tend to speak all three at once when under pressure.  My train of thought goes something like this:  Two please, swei bitte, swei please, Swei, swei, swei...Dos! dos bitte, dos please, dos por favor.  The first two days were a complete mess;  not only was I confused but so was everyone else I talked to…I ended up defaulting to Martin to whom I had forgotten lived in Madrid for a few months and hiked through Spain.  Eventually I had to admit American defeat – the one language skill I thought I could add to the relationship to compliment Martin’s German, English, Italian and French was outside my cognitive reach.

In my defense, we were spending most our time in Santiago with Germans or German speakers.  With Tim’s family 100% German and Anna’s a combination of Chilean and German, Deustche was inevitably the default language.  However that defense only took me so far as to put me in my proper place – all of Anna’s family, and we are talking extended family of cousins, cousins girlfriends, nephews, etc could all speak Spanish, English and German fluently and could flawlessly transition between them depending on their audience or mood.  It was truly awe-inspiring and humbling.  Even more amazing, the only other American at the wedding (a friend of the couple’s from Berlin) could partake in all conversations regardless of the language of choice.

 
I have some serious work to do but am partially resigned to the fact that I won’t be fluent until I am re-immersed. In the meantime, Martin was kind enough to point out that I do in fact speak more than one language – I can speak English AND hillbilly.  Such a loving man.

Day 3 in Santiago

We woke with another late start and another late breakfast but with no real plans or obligations for the day other than to stop by the house to say goodbye to the newlyweds and drop off their wedding present (yes we forgot to do so the previous night).  We were both very relaxed about the day and, with it being a Sunday and most shops being closed, we headed to the city park to take the vernacular up the hill to see the statue of the Virgin Mary on Cerro San Cristóbal.  Built in 1925 the Funicular runs for almost 500 meters on a 45 degree incline.  While not entirely afraid of heights (more afraid of something breaking and me falling to an unpreventable death), I was happy when the 5 minute ride was over.  The kid behind us could have enjoyed the experience all day, although to be fair a 30 minute wait for 5 minute ride did seem a lot like Disneyland so I can understand his confusion.

At the top of Cerro San Cristobal stands the Virgin Mary.   Similar to the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, she watches over the city at 22 meters tall.  And while the views were great, the sun was hot and my stomach was empty so after a hot lap around the hilltop park we made the trip back down the hill and began the search for food.

 

After two failed attempts based on my lunch spot choices (we got so far as ordering a beer and eating the free bread at the second restaurant before giving up on the bad service), I handed over complete responsibility of restaurant selection to Martin for the remainder of the trip…and while we had great meals throughout the trip, on this particular day we ended up with no selection and went without lunch…he would argue that the beer and bread counted. Typical Martin.

We wrapped up our tour of Santiago with a wander through Barrio Lastarria which was possibly my favorite neighborhood with its quiet calm streets, local cafes, and artisian feel…they also supposedly have a great flea market but we were there on the wrong day…regardless, I was in heaven. 

Feeling satisfied with our time in Santiago and confident in ability to navigate the city and metro, we called another uber taxi to head back up the hill to Anna’s house to say hello, congratulations and good bye one more time to the happy couple. 

While already late afternoon by the time we arrived, the day was still hot and young, so the entire house -  family, cousins and friends - hopped into the pool to cool off, play around and enjoy the remains of the day.  Playing around turned out to be a very physical game of water rugby, similar to water polo but where you could stand on the bottom of the pool and the only time you had to stop was if someone was bleeding (no joke, Tim the groom received a black eye from a friendly game the day before the wedding). I cheered from the side of the pool while Martin played a few games (considerably well, I might add, given that he wasn’t wearing his glasses or contacts and therefore couldn’t’ see anything).

Pool time ended and we got dressed again for cocktails, beers and Palomas (white wine and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice…my new favorite drink).  Cocktails turned once again into dinner….  And what a dinner it was!  30 friends and family enjoying a Chilean BBQ feast of meats, tomato salad, grilled veggies, yummy dips, sausages and a gorgeous views of Santiago in the valley below and the Andes in the distance.  It was surreal.

 
We finally said goodnight after the last cake was finished and left with promises to see Anna and Tim in Berlin this summer.