Valparaiso, Chile

After independence from Spain in 1818, the harbor at Valparaiso received all shipping traffic that went between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as the international port. With the development of the Panama Canal in 1914, this port received less traffic and slowly the city started to diminish in size and wealth.

Today the majority of the shipping traffic in Chile goes to another port in San Antonio, about 100 miles south of Valparaiso. But it is hard to tell in this picture. Fishing boats, navy ships and others were in port (with many waiting to dock). If this is a slow day, I can't imagine the traffic that this port used to see.

Valparaiso, Chile Grafitti

Valparaiso is a city that shows its past.  Once a major shipping destination as discussed here, the city started to decline when the Panama Canal opened and ships were no longer required to navigate around Cape Horn.

In many ways, the city reminds me of San Francisco with the steep hills and homes built on every square inch of the city.  It also has an arty vibe which is used to highlight the sentiment of the young people in the city.

But mostly I loved seeing this city was willing to share its soul.  It had a past which was evident when others made it visible via their art.

Bring on the Music Festivals

This last weekend was the first part of Coachella in the US.  Spring often seems to be the start of music festivals and Chile is no different.  This amphitheater is the home to the largest music festival in Chile; some say it is the most important music festival in the Americas.  

The facility holds 20,000 people and is located in the middle of the the Quinta Vergara Park in Vina del Mar, a town just north of Valparaiso, Chile.  The "ceiling" is filled with pipes to aid in the acoustics of the venue.  I was told that during the era of Pinochet, this was the only way a Chilean could hear foreign music in the country.

Walking Among Giants

Recently I celebrated a big birthday. To celebrate I wanted to do something grand. I hadn't been to South America yet, and I started looking at options. I didn't want to be on a 15 day tour, where I was with the same people every day and a schedule planned months in advance. Instead I found an awesome travel group who allowed me to pick and choose a number of options (and fill the rest of my time with my own adventures).

I knew Chile was my destination but was hesitant about adding on a trip to Easter Island (or Rapa Nui) onto this trip. It was expensive, and took two days of travel to get there and back. But wow! Was it worth it! This is a photo of one of the resurrected sites on the island. Thanks to Japan for donating the money and a crane to assist in the effort.

What I love about this picture is the view of the people wandering just to the right of the status. I think this photo gives an idea of the scale of these moai. The history of the island is amazing. While sometimes you look back at a trip and think it was special, I knew this one was magical from the very start.

Crossing the Andes, Chile

Crossing the Andes via a chain of lakes was one of those items on my must do list. When I was in college, a friend had passed from Chile into Argentina using this passage -- although she was smart enough to do it in the summer.

While there are a series of ferries to cross the lakes, there are times when one must hop on a bus and cross a section of land. I crossed over in September 2011 with 15 fresh inches of snow covering the Andes. It was beautiful! And cold.

Having grown up in the midwest, I was accustomed to snow for 4 - 5 months every year. But I didn't realize that the majority of the people on my bus had never been in snow before. (!!!) So imagine my surprise when the bus stopped to put chains on the tires and the bus emptied in seconds and a huge snowball fight erupted.

See the woman in the tan jacket in the upper right corner of the photo? She must have been in her 70s. But she was a ferocious snowball fighter. That large chunk of snow did not stay in her hands for long. After 10-15 minutes, everyone was back on the bus filling the air with the scent of wet wool and we carried on to the next lake in the chain.