getting out of Santiago

Not all of my time in Santiago was spent in the comforts of the Plaza. And not all of your time should be spent in Santiago...not much there. So we backpackers ventured out some. And I even got a chance to catch INTERPOL live at the Teatro Caupalican! Awesome venue and even better show. Another day we hit up the TurBus for the two hour journey northwest to the coast. Where lies the UNESCO world heritage site and port town of Valparaiso. Reminds you a lot of Cinque Terre, with all its colorful buildings and lively culture. This must be the real Chile. Because petty crime is more rampant here and people honk their horns more. Trust me, I was on guard the whole time like I was walking through Washington Heights or Spanish Harlem at night. Totally worth it during the day though, because this city is a photographers paradise. Shot after shot is full of color and something new. Like the graffiti which is remarkably exquisite here in Chile, like works of art. Its not only the orginal artwork on the streets you see here, its also the architecture and plenty of the originally decorated buildings that stand out. Like this giant blue important looking building in the center of town. And all these other colorful dingy types that people live in. Coming here and not taking one of the acsensores is like going to New York City and not riding the subway. These things are old wooden boxes on rails taking people up and down the hilly streets each day. Mad shaky inside. You can hear the wood cracking as it inches its way up the hundred year old track. But once you get to the top its more of those colorful places. Only in Cinque Terre, Italy have I seen colorful houses on hills. But Valpo stands out in some respects because the locals like to deck out their walls in unique artwork. Im bout to come home and paint our house some odd colors now.

The streets of Valpo itself offer some good scenes of daily life...what I refer to as the real Chile. Have a taste for yourself...