Well, Jason and I are finishing off our last day in Valparaiso. The city is nicknamed "Valpo" for short. The first day we explored Valparaiso all day...well, after sleeping in until 10:00am. What lame bumbs huh? Well, after 4 days in Santiago where there were parties went off until about 3 or 4am we needed the sleep. On top of that the cleaning ladies always promptly came up to the floor that my hostel room was on at 7:30am sharp. The supplies closet was right outside my room and so I wasn´t ever able to sleep in. This hostel in Valpo though is dead silent in the morning and so we just went ahead and let our bodies recieve the sleep that was needed.
So, we had a slow morning and then went up and explored the city. I really like it. It´s so interesting. Apparently it´s a very poor city and there are some risks for mugging and what not but overall we have felt super safe. There was the one time though that we tried walking up a hill to find a finicular (an elevator type thing that takes you up steep hills). We were stopped by two people telling us that it wasn´t safe. They kept going on and on to Jason about all the possibilities that could happen. Finally the lady mimicked being stabbed in the ribs three times. So, we have dubbed the universal symbol for Valparaiso as being the motion of being stabbed in the ribs.
**ATTENTION PARENTS: Ok, so I have to say that though it probably wasn´t the safest place to go to, and we didn´t, we turned around, it probably wasn´t quite so extreme as they described. A host family of one of our volunteers freaked out and told him that he was going to die when he went into the ocean. Another volunteer´s host parents literally wouldn´t let her leave the house out of "safety" in her city that really had no safety issues. In our training at the beginning of the program they warned us that the Chileans might be a little "protective". In sum, the Chileans watch out for each other and also for foreigners which is very helpful and very sweet. You just sometimes have to read between the lines when it comes to stuff like that. But don´t worry moms and dads, we turned around!**
Anyways, so the 2nd day we went to the ritzy neighboring city of Viña del Mar. Eh. Not that great. It was rich and very western (not that western is bad...we just want to experience more of the "real" Chile.) It had no charm or "culture". Although, to be totally hypocritical we did enjoy the Starbucks that it offered. I mean, we went ALL the way there. Might as well cease the opportunity. :)
The 3rd day we walked and walked. We saw the house of Pablo Neruda (a famous Chilean poet and politician). His house was awesome. It was a giant mix of things from all over the world. He had an original map from 1698 which actually showed California as an island. All of his things from all over the world were super fascinating.
So, the best way to explain Valparaiso is through pictures but I´m not able to upload them here...maybe in Pucon! Just imagine a maze of crazy houses piled upon each other up ridiculously steep hills. There are endless steep staircases to explore. Really, the hills and roads here make San Francisco look FLAT! hahaha. It´s amazing and probably one of the most fascinating cities I´ve been to! Love it here! So, we will show you pictures soon.
And also for the parents...tonight we hop on a bus and head south to Pucon. We´ll be on the bus for about 12 hours more or less (blah) and will arrive tomorrow morning. Can´t wait to get there! Ok, welp...that´s all for now! <3, Anna
Sounds like you guys are really enjoying your last week of travel. The town does sound really interesting. I am glad you turned around(I hear knives are more lethal than guns). But I think I was actually more worried about you doing all that running in Copiopo(were you out by yourself?). Of course your Dad assured me that he taught you some hard core self-defense (apparently breaking fingers and poking out eyes doesn't take much physical stregth). He made you sound like a miniature blonde Rambo. So I try not to worry too much.
ReplyDeleteHaha! That comment really made Jason and I laugh! I´m glad that Dad has so much confidence in my self-defense ability! :) Although, I can´t remember how to break fingers so I may need a refresher course.
ReplyDeleteCopiapo´ was quite safe. I only ran in the middle of the day and I ran the exact same small course in our neighborhood over and over. It got pretty boring. hehe. I ran with Jason sometimes. Everyone in my neighborhood recognized me as the crazy running gringa. I would literally meet new people and they would say, "I know you, you are the one that always runs!" haha. Guess my blonde head stands out a bit in this country! The only comment I received from a Chilean about running and safety in Copiapo was the time of day. They were concerned that I would get heat stroke and told me it would be better to run near dark. Mmmm. Wasn´t into that idea so I stuck with the hot time of the day! :)