Once called the little San Francisco, you could say the history of the world has passed through this jewel of the pacific. Before the completion on the Panama Canal in 1914, Valparaíso grew exponentially. During the 19^th-century, German, Spanish, Italian and English immigrants passed through and often settled. Early world globalization efforts easily dominated throughout this region of South America in the 1800’s. The city was the main port connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans before or after ships navigated through the straights of Magellan, which sits at the southern tip of Chile and Argentina. There have even been major battles fought just within reach of its harbor.

After the Panama Canal the port activity slowed dramatically and as the harbor traffic slowed, so did the growth of the city. Today, its resilience is a testament to the cities history and its people. While still an important seaport for Chile, especially with the largest city of Santiago being only 75 miles (120 Km) away, the more southern port of San Antonio has taken over the major role of not only the countries largest port but also the largest in all of South America. Now Valparaiso widely serves as one of Chiles hottest tourist destinations. Cruise ships pile up in the Harbor during the summer months. Artists, cafes, swank hotels and hostels and regular festivals dot the landscape. The last three days of the year hold a huge celebration culminating in a fireworks display to bring in the New Year. The popular upscale beach town of Viña Del Mar is only a few miles up the coast as well as other popular beaches.

We started out our journey from Santiago and drove about an hour west to get to Valparaíso. Santiago is 1,870 ft (570 m) above sea level. It’s basically a slow climb down hill to get there. It gets noticeably steeper the closer you get. Arriving in the main part of town the first thing you notice besides the age is the culture. It sweats culture and seawater. The landscape is phenomenal. The city sits like a natural amphitheater overlooking the southern Pacific Ocean. Colorful historic buildings, terraced up the hills, go deep into neighborhoods mostly built during those early globalization years. Valparaiso, much like San Francisco, tends to have regular fog but when we went the skies were blue and you could see clearly for miles.

Our first stop was the main harbor entrance and a place on the water called Restaurant Bote Salvavidas. The food was great albeit a little pricey. The view was amazing and the initial service was good but for some reason waiters switched up on us and we got lost in the shuffle at the end. We sat there for a long time after we were finished and had to hunt someone down to get the check (la cuenta). Maybe thats a cultural thing? Beyond that little mix up, the location was amazing. It's known as one of the best seafood places in town.

From there we shopped at a few small vendors at the dock but opted not to get anything. A few local friends had joined us and warned us we could get all that stuff much cheaper most anywhere else. Angela really wanted to get something with Chilean Lapis Lazuli. The often-bright blue stone is native to Chile and prices vary wildly for the stone. If you purchase any, try and buy from a reputable seller to insure quality and authenticity. 

Across from the harbor is the Plaza Sotomayor with the magnificent Monumento a Los Heroes de Iquique. It’s a dedication to fallen heroes during the Battle of Iquique. The famous naval battle was part of the war of the Pacific in 1879 between Peru and Chile. The streets were bustling with activity and friendly street vendors were selling their wares in the plaza. Some vendors were even selling interesting antiques I wish I could have purchased but we generally travel lightly with only carry on luggage. Any purchases we make to take home have to be small in size. 

Before heading up the hill Angie managed to catch some great shots of kids hanging out and skateboarding by the Appeals Court. We had to be mindful that during our stay in Chile large, and at times dangerous, protests were going on (as discussed in the Santiago blog). The largest protests were going on in the capital of Santiago but evidence that some of the protests carried onto Valparaiso were all around us in the form of graffiti and postings. Sotomayor Plaza was usually where the protestors congregated every night after the vendors packed up and went home. We still had some discovery in the hills to do before any of that broke out later. We really didn’t want to get caught up in that unknown so we started our trek upwards.