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Valparaíso
“Valparaíso”, he told me between drags on his cigarette, is “like a real La Boca”.
Images of Valparaíso
Expect: A labyrinth of colour, beaches and far too many photo opportunities.
Pack: Swim gear, camera and shoes (all those stairs are a nightmare in flip-flops).
As I lost myself in the labyrinth of winding streets, dead ends and hidden staircases of Valparaíso’s cerrros I remembered what a young French guy had told me back in Buenos Aires. “Valparaíso”, he told me between drags on his cigarette, is “like a real La Boca”. The irritatingly touristy ‘outdoor museum’ of Caminito certainly pales in comparison to Chile’s bohemian mecca. Valpo (as the real immersion gringos call it) has the colour, the attitude, the vistas and the bars to keep you in a swirl of busied contentment for weeks. When you eventually come to your senses, your neatly planned itinerary will be smashed.
Valparaíso puts two fingers up at Chile’s usual grid system. Instead, as the city outgrew its limited flat land (as a result of the port’s growing importance) it rose haphazardly into the surrounding hills. The result is an astounding and beautiful mess; a Unesco World Heritage mess. It is in these hills (los cerros) that most of the excitement is to be found. Travellers particularly throng to the cheap and cheerful hospedajes of Cerro Concepcíon and Cerro Alegre. Here, you can wander the steep, narrow streets for hours enjoying the colourful houses, the beautiful port views and the sensual street art. However, as you emerge from the chaos of the cerros into the flat city centre, known as El Plan, the magic ends. Banks, mobile phone shops and supermarkets transport you back to a busy, polluted Chilean city like any other.
Fortunately you can ride the magically, old-school ascensores (elevators) up into the urban maze once more. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to leave; the sandy beaches of Viña del Mar are only 15 minutes away. Valparaíso and Viña del Mar may effectively run into each other, however, their differences run deep. You will meet some ‘travellers’, as I have done, who refuse to stay in Valpo, saying it is too dirty and dangerous. In reality, you would probably never have hung out with these people at home, so why listen to them now. Valparaíso does have a tad more petty crime than other big Chilean cities, but a little bit of care and awareness should mean you have a problem-free stay.
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