August 29: Valparaiso Part 3

Word of the Day:
Sea lion- lobos del mar (Sea wolves- not sure why they are a different animal in the spanish name, although come to think of it, they don't really look like lions either)

Our entire Tufts group went to Valparaiso again, which despite not being a new experience was simply delightful since it is pretty much my favorite place on earth. Mild exaggeration, but at any rate, I could stay there for days and just wander and photograph and gaze at all the color and ocean and art. Today's adventure was slightly less spontaneous than our last trip since we were with a tour guide, but he was quite knowledgeable about history and being a local, filled us in on a lot of interesting information:

-Slang in Valparaiso uses a lot of expressions with animals, such as calling clothspins "perros" (dogs), a child you are proud of "hijo de tigre" (son of a tiger), etc.
-The legend of Emile DuBois, a frenchman convicted of assasinations whose gravesite has become a local landmark and place to go for those who are wrongly accused of crimes. http://www.ciudaddevalparaiso.cl/inicio/patrimonio_historia_sxxi_nueva.php?id_hito=25 (Sorry, couldn't find a link in English)
-The effects that containerization, the Panama Canal and the end of the nitrate boom had on the city
-The effects that being declared "Patrinomy of Humanity" has had on the city and tourism, which hardly existed to the same level 15 years ago.
-The city's attempts to control their stray dog problem

As our guide pointed out, Valparaiso is a very "honest" city: it's impossible to see the good, beautiful parts of the city without seeing the average or poor areas as well. I think that's part of what I like about it so much although it also creates something of an awkward dynamic as you navigate the streets: most of the areas of interest are people's houses or are near them and unlike touristy areas of other cities, it isn't devoid of local residents. Ironically, however, neighborhoods that have been designated as special cultural areas are starting to face problems with vacancy because housing prices are so high and the rich would rather live in nearby cities such as Viña del Mar that have beaches, car access and are safer.

We went for a boat ride and saw the city from the water, as well as some absolutely adorable sea lions! We visited Gran Britania street, an area with good views of the ocean and Victorian architecture. Then, we had a nice seafood lunch in the port area, complete with an old guitarrist who sang "Valparaiso de mi Amor," a famous song about the city for us. Then we took "El Peral," an ascensor (elevator), to Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción, two of the most famous hills in Valparaiso. Lastly, we saw parts of "Museo Cielo Abierto" where we were hilariously accosted by two rambunctious youngsters.
All in all, an absolutely lovely day.

"Si no buscas nada, nada va pasar" : Valpo Take 2

After an overnight trip to Valparaiso, my sense of time and space is entirely warped and overwhelmed, due to crazy angles and hills and staying up all night. "Valpo" is one of those places that if you are the kind of person who likes it, will get into your head and never quite let you go.

From my overly romantic worldview, Valpo proves that city planning takes all the fun out of things. Vibrantly colored houses are stacked up on incredibly steep hillsides overlooking the port, streets are practically vertical with tons of staircases and bridges, ancient ascensores(cable cars) ferry people up and down hillsides, and graffiti and art fill every corner, even more so than Santiago. Basically, Valpo could best be described as having a hip, working class artsy vibe.

After our quick 1 day trip last week, we felt like we had a lot of unfinished business with the city. So, since it's only $11 to go round trip (cheaper than 2 one way tickets), we figured we had to aprovecharlo.(take advantage of it)

We stayed at El YoYo, a really cool and quite cheap hostel, filled with art, circus silks and trapeze equipment. The staff was really laid back and cool, which took a bit of adjustment for our Tufts type-A selves, but made for a great time. They were so nice that they let us lock up our stuff, gave us the keys and let us go out to dinner before they even remembered to ask us to pay the $10(US) for the night.

We ended up going to a club close to the beach that night called La Sala, which was quite a steal ($4 entry, including a free drink) and an excellent time. It was divided in two parts, one side playing dance remixes of American pop and the other playing reggae/reggaeton and filled with Rasta type characters. Needless to say, a recipe for an interesting evening. One of my friends was dancing with a guy who coincidentally had ten other male friends and we ended up pairing off. Also, a total coincidence, I ended up pairing off with a really awesome guy with whom I had a ton in common. We ended up actually having a real conversation, as much as this was possible in 2 languages (he kept speaking to me in English) in a loud club. I don't know if it was just because I was so starved for a real conversation after 4 days of attempting to not bring up anything controversial around the host fam, but we were talking about social class in Chile. In a dance club. I could not have happier.

So, when things winded down around 3:30, they asked us if we wanted to go to their beach house nearby. Normally, I would never do anything like this. But, remembering advice I'd once received from a teacher in high school that you should do at least one thing a month in college that you would never do normally, I decided to lump up a couple of months worth of crazy doings into one night. After all, we were in a group, they were our age and we could always have called a taxi, had it been necessary.

Best "bad" decision I've ever made. Although we ended up staying up literally all night, we had a wonderful time. The whole group was musical, and just kept singing Chilean songs, both new and traditional, drumming along with various things. They even played La Bamba for us, figuring it was the only song we would know. They were pretty much right about that...It's so funny how other countries have a canon of popular songs that pretty much everyone knows. Not that the US doesn't, but there's so much more variation...

In one of the more brilliant episodes of the night, we learned the cueca, the national dance, from a former national cueca champion, using toilet paper instead of the usual handkerchiefs. (Lol)

It was so great to finally meet Chileans our age, something that has really been challenging for those of us without young host siblings. Corny as it sounds, it was so great to find so much in common with people across hemispheres, cultures and everything else. They were totally a bunch of hipsters, but they backed it up better than most.

And I have a new favorite song now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzgpJuUyFCY

After a short nap, we hit the city to explore the market and climb a few cerros, to get views of the city. An amateur photographers dream. We ended up climbing a cerro filled with art, including an open air mural museum called "Museo Cielo Abierto."

Then I came home and slept for 15 hours.