Valparaiso

We have arrived in Valparaiso, the largest port on the west coast of South America. Set on a steep hillside the narrow, cobbled streets wind up and down between the houses. The walls are often covered in graffitti, but it is hard to call it that when so many of them are pieces of art in themselves. In order to save energy and instead of climbing hundreds of steps we occasionally cheated and rode one of the many funiculars up or down the hillside - they seemed ancient but we trusted the fact that the locals use them regularly so must be reasonably safe!


Paul's friend Christian, and his girlfriend, Leslie took us to a small fishing village 40 minutes south of Valparaiso for a Sunday seafood lunch. The food was so fresh! The village used to be a whaling centre, which, of course is long gone, but there was a small museum marking its history. Now the village is a few houses, some wonderful seafood restaurants and a few fishing boats, and incredible views.