Day 15: Valparaiso and Santiago

We arrived in the port city of Valparaiso on a cool, foggy morning.

Our disembarkation from the Veendam was quick and painless, and we were soon on board another stylish bus. Valparaiso is an old city that seemed a little tired and faded in the grey light of the fog. A little ‘gentrification’ might be a good thing here. We were dismayed to see the amount of graffiti on the buildings and structures, even though some of it was quite artistic.

Like so many cities in South America,
there are many sculptures on the boulevards and parks.
This one is in the middle of the market.

Detail from a beautiful old building

some 'good' graffiti

We drove to the central square of the city, which was bustling with activity on a Saturday morning. People were lined up to renew car registrations, and students were gathering to work on removing some of the graffiti on the buildings around the square.

students registering for their graffiti removal

The architecture in the square was very interesting.

Tributes to the national heroes

   Valparaiso Seamen’s Institute

The cornerstone was laid by the Prince of Wales

in 1925

The new building has been constructed within the old one.

In every town and city we visited in Chile, we saw lots of dogs. Our guide explained that they are a holdover from the time that most people lived in the country, and that everyone looks after strays. They all looked well-fed, healthy, and accepted.

We stopped for coffee on the way our of the city, driving through a residential and resort area on the beach.

Our drive to Santiago took us up to the sunny plateau that reminded us of the area around Pheonix, Arizona.

Once we arrived in wine country, we saw the similarities to the Okanagan area of British Columbia.

The roads were excellent, built on contract by European firms, who then collect tariffs at the toll booths. No lineups heading inland as there is no toll, but lots of cars waiting to pay on their way to the coast.

We had a late lunch at the Restaurant Camino Real, on San Cristobal Hill, overlooking the city of Santiago. The food and service was excellent, and our tables provided a wonderful view of the city below. The brown "haze" in the background of the photos is actually the Andes Mountains, viewed through the heavy smog.

We had time for a swim in the pool on the top floor of our hotel, and felt quite refreshed. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant, quite good, but huge servings. The highlight was a beautiful plate of fruit that tasted like it had been picked within the hour.

Our hotel was lovely, and the room seemed very spacious after our stateroom on the Veendam. Everyone was ready for bed early that night.