Valparaíso, a city of contradictions

Valparaíso (Valpo) is often described as the cultural capital of Chile. It is bohemian to its core, but also where the government legislates from. The city has definitely seen better days. Before the Panama Canal opened in 1914, it was a major seaport that played a vital role in Chilean economy. 

View of Valpo from Viña del Mar
(Between the two cities, Viña was the
right choice for my to find a place to live)

It took a long time for Valpo to endear itself to me, and for this reason I am glad to have had several months to get to know the city. It smells like urine in some parts, and some of the best smelling fresh baked bread in other parts. Cruise ships park next to container ships and navy ships. Decayed or burnt buildings are situated next to modern highrises. The hills are as steep if not steeper than those of San Francisco, but it's a maze pattern rather than a grid pattern. This makes it impossible to find anything, but its situation next to the sea makes it impossible to get lost. There are trendy restaurants close to hidden dives next to traditional family-owned restaurants, tourist pockets next to some of the dirtiest places I have seen, and some of the most incredible street art I have ever encountered. 

It's a difficult place to photograph, but at the same time it's a photographer's dream. I am not a photographer, so bear with me. 

The row of houses is about as structured as it gets

It is still an active port, but not nearly as much
as it was before the Panama Canal opened

Streets under repair

More hills

Sharp turns

Lots of forks in the road
Google Maps has not mastered them

Staircases everywhere.
Google maps has not mastered
these either.

Beautifully decorated decayed building

Excellent ice cream options

Sister city to Long Beach, California
There's a mirador to prove it

Repurposed receptacles for recycling

Acensors make a difference
when ascending the hills of Valpo

Mercado Central

It took a long time, but I think I might actually heart Valpo

Cementerios de Chile: No 1 Of Valparaíso

The numbered cemeteries are where the good Catholics of Valparaíso come to rest.  

Cemetery Number One is a lot like the city itself. It features tight "living" quarters for the number of people the space accommodates, narrow walkways, is mostly in good repair, and really beautiful when you get down to it.

Built into a hill, naturally

Mostly good repair

I love cemeteries, but the sites
with missing bricks were a little creepy
even to me

Narrow passages

When "up" is the only
way to go

Earthquake damage?

Cementerios de Chile: Cementerio de Disidentes

If you're looking for your British or German ancestors who lived and/or died in Chile, you may find them in the Cemetery of Dissidents in Valparaiso. If you're looking for the Cemetery of Dissidents (or Protestant Pantheon) be prepared to be looking for awhile. The only clue that we were even on the right track was this sidewalk mural along the way, and the fact that we were going up hill. I suspect that maps (including Google Maps) are not exactly to scale when it comes to los cerros in Chile.

Cementerio de Disidentes
This is where Protestant immigrants are buried. Prior to the establishment if this cemetery, non-Catholics of Valparaíso were buried in other cities or tossed out to sea, as they were not allowed to be buried in the Catholic cemeteries. (So many restrictions!). The burial grounds for dissidents was established in 1823. More narratives are included in these headstones (how they died, what they were doing when they died) which is always a favorite.

Efficiency
This cemetery (and in general) uses its available resources well, including water and space.  Unlike cemeteries in the United States, which look like grassy parks from a distance and require a lot of water to maintain the grounds, cemeteries in Chile tend to be entirely concrete. Space is limited, so to accommodate the growing population (ha!), several people share one plot.

The cemetery was renovated in 2011 after the damage of the 2010 earthquake. 

Concrete Cemetery

View from the entrance

Several names on each headstone
with death dates spanning decades

Several folks
share this plot as well

It is not uncommon to see company plots
or single graves for groups of firemen, policemen, etc

He fell asleep

German

English

Unos incendios en Valparaíso

There was a huge forest fire in Valparaíso on Saturday, and another today. 

I saw the smoke beyond the city around 2:30 pm, and it looked pretty small. Noticeable, but it looked manageable. I didn't really think much of it until a few hours later when the smoke from the fire had reached and covered most of downtown Valparaíso, and the fire trucks, brigades (at least one bus full of people) and army trucks were driving through the city. All of the bomberos are volunteers in Chile. 

Alerta Roja

Before we realized the severity of the situation, Alicia and I casually wondered how they got fire trucks up the steep, narrow, winding streets in the hills of Valpo. 

We weren't far off. That is actually part of what makes containing fires in Valpo very difficult. That, the amount of garbage in the streets and the strong winds from the Pacific help fires spread quickly. This one happened to be one of the worst in the city's history. 

By the time we got back to Recreo, the smoke had spread across the sky and the flames had spread to the city and were visible from Viña. The president had declared a zona de catástrofe Valparaíso, and called upon the military to help manage an evacuation and fight the fire.  I'm not sure at what point the 14 helicopters or 6 planes arrived, but the fire is contained at this point. 

11 people have died. 500 houses have been lost, and 10,000 people have been evacuated. The people of Valpo should have potable water by tomorrow. 

And, just as an FYI, the winds seem to be blowing south. Although I am close to Valparaíso, I am not afected by the flames, the smoke, or the need to relocate. 

Also, as an FYI, I have been watching CNN and 24 Horas as a way to listen to Spanish for the last few weeks. The thing about 24-hour news channels is that they say the same things over and over and over again. This is great for language learning (and annoying for just about everything else).  

Cerro Bellavista y La Sebastiana

The first stop in Valparaíso was to Cerro Bellavista and La Sebastiana (a house of poet Pablo Neruda). 

The plan was to take an
ascensor up part of the hill.

The first impressions I had of Cerro Bellavista were not exactly pleasurable. It was a hot day, which didn't help the odors around the metro stop. The streets were crowded, smelly, noisy, and not easy to identify on a map at first because the street names were painted to the side of the buildings, but had faded from several of the buildings.

After I got my bearings it was easier to get a sense of where we were headed.  And it doesn't take long to know that when in Valpo, you're heading up.

After the long walk up a hill (a switchback, good for pedestrians and drivers, requires drivers to honk as they go around those very

It was closed.

steep, blind corners) we found La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's houses.

Now, he was a guy who knew what he loved, what he wanted, and how to design a house to suit him. He loved to host parties and friends (and create individual menus for each guest), so the first two floors were party and gathering spaces. He kept fantastic conversation pieces (such as taxidermy, cow-shaped punch bowls, antique rocking horses), a well-stocked built-in bar next to the kitchen and a large dining space. He also named everything in his house -- his chair was called La Nube (the cloud), and his fireplace was called...(erg, I forget. something fun though.)

He wrote every morning in a room with a wonderful view of Valpo, surrounded by things that he considered his inspirations, including (but not limited to) a portrait of Walt Whitman and a sink he found in Paris.

Cerro Bellavista.
Honk when you come flying
around those corners!

He didn't attach the sink to a water supply -- just hung it on the wall.

Also, he did what he wanted when he wanted to do it - particularly with regards to napping. If he invited someone over, but all of a sudden wanted to take a nap he did. If he went to some one's house and wanted to take a nap, he did. 


I did find myself thinking about what I want out of my next house. I don't want a house like Pablo's (although, the vertical space is intriguing, I love that each room was a different color (some stripes, some solids) and I would absolutely take a stone mural of Patagonia in my entryway), but I do want a house that is suited to both Dan and I, the things we love, and the lifestyle, habits and routines we want. Our current house isn't totally off, but it isn't on either.

The question is whether we will be patient enough to find the right space for us or not.

La Sebastiana

View of Valpo from La Sebastiana

Street art of Cerros Concepción, Artilleria, y Bellavista

It's worth it to climb los cerros (the hills) of Valparaíso, because that is where the street art and murals are happening. Have a look...

...at the walls of buildings and houses

Infinity Eyes

Captain Max?

...at the drainage pipes

...and lampposts

...and at three of the many, many staircases you'll find.

Pasaje Galvez

There's always more to come!