Our second outing to Valpo with Nicholas took us to the city’s 3 main cemeteries and the surrounding hills. One interesting aspect of the cementerios católicos and the cementerio de los disidentes (non-catholics) were their diversity, another reminder of the port’s multicultural heritage. Names on tombstones varied from German, Croatian, Italian, French, English, Spanish and other immigrant groups, and the hilltop setting makes a striking impression on those who visit.
Yet another impressive vista.
An interesting looking pub/restaurant
Jo and Nicholas
Valpo’s first Jail, in operation until the second half of the 20th century, is now a cultural center.
More interesting graffiti
An few old churches in the area
Over the past month we’ve gone out on two Sunday tours of
Our first day out we visited the neighborhoods where Nicholas grew up. Apparently the city has changed a lot in that it isn’t as clean or safe as in years past, however, the landscape and architecture has been left untouched. When you look beyond the rusty roofs, the broken glass, and the graffiti you get a glimpse of the real Valpo, an eclectic mix of poor and middle class thrown together with no regard for social hierarchies amongst the seemingly endless cerros (hills). We tromped up and down the hills, explored buildings literally built into the hillsides and saw pieces of Valpo’s past and present.
An old wooden foot bridges now closed.
A 5 story series of residencies built in to the hillside, typical Valpo construction.
A historic mansion with vibrant color
The reconstruction of much of the city would be extremely expensive by today’s standards. The hills, the narrow crowded streets or in some cases no street access at all means that in many cases manual labor is the only option. These 3 to 4 foot concrete footers are a good example. They stop the hills from encroaching on the residencies below.
A strange and often surprising landscape
Some of the graffiti in the city is an eyesore but colorful pieces such as these often brighten up the landscape.
The colorful barrio Prefecto Lazero, traditionally inhabited by politicians and policemen
A view of the city from next to the Ascensor Florida
For 200 pesos you can ride the ascensor rather than trudge up this imposing hill.
Jo crossing one of the newer footbridges.
For a few bucks you can take a boat ride or “lancha” and see a little bit of a working harbor.
A sea lion or “lobo” just chillin’ on an abandoned boat.
This is how they repair the huge cargo and naval ships.
Nicholas and Jo
An impressive wooden door near the harbor.
On Friday 10-14 we traveled 5 hours north with our friends Clayton,
Breakfast on the patio!
After resting up and chowing down on a nice breakfast of bread, papaya jam, cheese, and real coffee (yes, real coffee!!!!) at the hostel we headed east to the famed Elqui Valley, heart of Chilean pisco production, which is also famous for it’s UFO sightings (OVNIS in Spanish) and its “woo-woo” cosmic energies.
As we drove east the scenery became more and more awe-inspiring. Stark semi-desert landscapes surrounded by 5,000 foot cactus-covered peaks contrasted with lush green vineyards along the Rio Elqui. Our first stop was at the Ruta Norte Pisco distillery. Although we were too early for a tour we took some photos of the girls and of the lake and vineyards that surround it. WOW!!
Our next stop was the sleepy
downtown Vicuña
After Vicuña we set off again in search of the elusive pisco tour. After a bit of uncertainty at which one to choose, JoAnna made a quick decision and pulled off in to what appeared to be a small vineyard. Here we encountered the owner and learned we had stumbled upon one of the few wine producers in the region, a small family-owned operation called Cavas del Valle that produces tasty organic wines. She explained that organic wine production in
We sampled several varieties on the beautiful back patio and learned about their operation. The owner was friendly and the wine was delicious. We all bought a few bottles at quite reasonable prices for consumption at a later date.
This is where they live and make the wine as well. beautiful!
Afterward we continued through the valley to the town of
After our extended lunch break we opted to head back the way we had come in search of the elusive “pisco factory tour”. After getting rejected at the Pisco Mistral’s distillery (“no se puede”) we settled on the Artesanos del Cochiguaz which offered a somewhat lackluster “virtual tour” and a few tasters of the product. Honestly, the highlight of the tour was the touristy donkey billboard.
