#6 Valpariaso & Viña del Mar – Cities by the Sea

The city of Valpariaso is often described as a natural ampitheatre. It is located on a bay, which was once the major port of Chile, surrounded by a backdrop of hills on which thousands of colourful buildings rest so precariously that UNESCO has given Valpariaso world heritage status. The city´s beauty was lost on us as we struggled to locate its centre, unintentionally heading up to the coast to the next town of Viña del Mar (our master plan of following a tour bus into the city failing when we noticed school children get off).

While other backpackers were soaking in the city's charming cobblestone streets, winding up from the seaside, we were spending our Saturday night trying to locate a place to stay. In a city short on space , back yards suitable for securely storing a motorbike proved impossible to come by. Back to Viña del Mar we went.

The first day of riding left me already questioning our decision to take this trip. Arriving in a town as dusk was falling, without a place to stay (and being too late to tee-up a place to watch the rugby semi-finals the next day), losing our way, being sent to act as our linguist in full motorycle regalia while Reece watched over the bike, simply because my Spanish was approximately 5 words ahead of his, had brought out my short-temper. Reece as usual remained optimstic, oblivious to my hardships, while I, in his words, self-imploded. And then homesickness set in after endng up in a sterile motel unit (despite a big 'hostel' sign outside) where no one spoke English, and as far as I could tell no travellers passed through. The next day these feelings had of course passed and Saturday had become one of those 'it makes for a good story' days.

Sunday began with what sounded like a thunderstorm but we determined must be a small earthquake when we felt our entire room move from side-to-side. Our 'hostel' turned out to be a small, student residence run by a group of matronly women who were very patient with us as we committed a number of cultural sins during our stay. We particularly enjoyed their nougart chocolate mouse – even if it was served for breakfast! 

With the motorycle safely locked up we were able to explore Valpariaso, a short metro ride from Viña, on foot. Like Santiago´s Bellavista, what would otherwise be a run down city of graffitti, rubbish, and stray dogs, albeit with a spectacular harbour view, was improved by local artwork lining the street walls. Being a Sunday it was very peaceful and allowed us to listen into a free organ concert recommended by Lonely Planet. This turned out to be a full Catholic mass, which would have been testing listening to in English, let alone without understanding a word of the sermon. Our pain was shared by four young boys in front of us, and their mother who was attempting to keep her sons under control with no help from her husband. But for an invisible tenor accompanying the organ music the hour would have been lost forever; had the remainder of the congregation not insisted on accompanying him it would have almost been enjoyable.

During its heyday, in the early part of last centruy, chairlifts (acensions) were constructed all over the city so its people were saved from a breathless climb. Combined with the abundance of sweet food and white bread we have seen in Chile, it's no wonder when thinking of South American beauties Chilean's aren't often front of mind! We took a ride up one (purely for the experience of course) and admired the view from atop. 

Rather than relying solely on our map of Chile purchased from a Christchurch store we thought it might be a good idea to purchase some road maps during our second day in Viña. However, after finding that maps produced by Chileexpress are not sold at Chileexpress (go figure) and being on the verge of breaching our check-out time we made the possibly fatal decision that tourist maps of the province picked up from Viña´s information centre must suffice. Mendoza here we come!