Valparaíso is a popular tourist destination about 2 hours from Santiago. While many Chileans opt to spend there summer vacations there, foreign visitors flock to the beach town as well. When visiting for the day, I was struck by the colorful hillsides- although only 1 hill appears in the photo below, several other similar ones lined the coast.
We also passed by the town cemetery, which is not a typical point of interest, but I appreciated the special stop. Our guide explained the variety of tombs there reflect the different social classes in Chile. Ranging from a section of children's colorful, dirt covered tombs to walled-in streets lined with smaller adult tombs to larger, marble buildings, the cemetery was filled with sections of distinct character. To top it off, the cemetery is high up features a view overlooking the rest of Valparaíso.
Valparaíso also contains one of Pablo Neruda's 3 famous homes, La Sebastiana. Unlike La Chascona and La Isla Negra, tours of La Sebastiana are offered in a self-guided audio format. Since I opted to take my tour in Spanish and the quality of the recording was low to begin with, I had some trouble catching all the details about La Sebastiana, but still had fun simply walking through Neruda's home- not only was it filled with interesting collectors items, but the view was also wonderful.
The Hills of Valparaíso
Outside La Sebastiana
Lunch
in this picture, we were eating Palta Reina, a traditional appetizer that features avocado stuffed with a chicken-mayonnaise salad
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