Oh Valparaiso!
Upon arriving in Valpo we dropped our stuff at our hostel and rushed to do the Valpo TOURS 4 TIPS, leaving that afternoon.
Valpo is very well known for its street art, and if you’ve looked at any of our photos you’ll see why… it’s insane!!! It is absolutely everywhere ranging from a tiny graffiti tag to a 50m tall building design. It’s beautiful.
It is also very unique due to it cerro’s, or in english, hills. The town is built into the hills and resultantly it is a labyrinth of amazing bars, cafes and restaurants hidden amongst tiny art stained alleyways and colourful staircases. Each cerro is basically a different neighbourhood and has it’s own little tight knit community.
Our tour guides were Priscilla and Andrea. Again we were blown away by the local culture and stories behind how all these people and places came to be the way they are today.
Again on our tour we were given a drink and a snack. The snack was an afogato, a DELICIOUS handmade chocolate biscuit with caramel in the middle, and the drink was a cocktail of some sweet juice and a local chilean chicha. This drink was another goon derivative, but again, absolutely free.
That night we went to dinner and the boys got a churillana, basically a heart attack on a plate. After dinner we went to the local micro brewery, Altimata and had a taste of what they had to offer.
The next day in the morning we went back to the hill’s to have another look before heading off to Vina Del Mar in the afternoon for a swim. Chile by name and nature. Vina del Mar is a “beach resort” town next door to Valpo but to me was not nearly as special, it felt a little bit more gold coast, with huge high-rise hotels on the beach. However that being said we were only there for 2 hours and I don’t want to judge a book by its cover.
That evening we walked a fair way into the hills to a restaurant called La Coco Sanguicheria, that served delicious sandwiches along with some cracking chilean wine. It was super yum and after dinner we headed back down the hill for a little more exploring.
The next day we rushed back to Santiago in the morning so that we could do the afternoon TOURS 4 TIPS city tour, this time covering the “city” sights in and around the main CBD.
The tour was run by Antonia, a local Chilean who knew the town inside out. You could tell she really loved her city and was very enthusiastic about showing foreigners all there is to love about Chile.
Again the tour was culturally and intellectually enlightening and ended with a free cocktail. This time the drink was delicious and slightly like a sangria. It was called borgonha.
That night we had too many drinks at the hostel with our room mates and fellow hostel stayers, went on a pub crawl and didn’t get any sleep.
Needless to say we packed our belongings whilst drunk at 5am and somehow managed to get ourselves to the airport and on the plane to Rio. The flight was a bloody nightmare.
Until next time Chile….
Next stop…. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
NB: Recipe for Borgonha, so so delicious.
Ingredientes:
1 garrafa de vinho tinto (1 litro)
1 xícara de açúcar
½ kg de morangos frescos
Modo de fazer:
Misturar tudo 6 horas antes de ser servido – servir bem gelado e com uma pedra de gelo.
I.e. Sugar, red wine and strawberries and serve chilled. Enjoy!