Day 62: 31/8/12
So today I had my day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. We were a while on the bus in the morning as they were waiting for someone who never showed. Valparaiso was 120km away so a decent bus journey!
The guide was telling us that the most important industries are copper, timber, fish, fruit and veg and wine. The metropolitan region where Santiago is and the coastal region together have all these 5 industries between them. We saw copper mines on the way and lots of vineyards!
The names of most of the places aren't Spanish words at all buy Mapucho words. The Mapucho people are a native group from Chile. There are different groups from different parts but they all speak the same language.
In this area there are men called Wassu (don't know how to spell it) - they are white with dark hair. They ride horses. They are a mix between spaniards and indigenous- a bit like gaucho. Wassus take care of the land, not animals.
This Area is rich in Chilean food and drink. Most important drink is chicha-fermentation of any fruit that has sugar and there's chicha from corn too. Long ago the men used to harvest the corn and the women used to chew the corn to get the juice and then spit it out to let it ferment! Yuck!!
In September they celebrate their independence with chicha, empanadas (food- kind if pastry) and traditional dance.
We drove through the Valley of CAsablanca which has lots of Vineyards. The First grapes were brought from Spain. They brought the grape so they could make wine for Mass. Later when they had independence they imported some grapes from France. Later they improved technology and brought in winemakers from all over the world to improve the industry. They introduced coastal vineyards as well as vineyards in mountain valleys. They Harvest from September to February. Most wine is exported. (65% to China uk, brazil, states.. 185 countries.) They Produce 1000 million litres of wine a year. They are the Most important exporter of some particular grape. They are Not the biggest consumer. They have a population of 16 million people but they drink beer and pisco instead!
Valparaiso was founded in 1536 by the spanish. It has a few names but One means the pearl of the pacific. THe National congress is here (there was a military coup in the 70s and it was moved here when they got democracy back in the 90s.)
Valparaiso area is the third most populated area in Chile. Most people live on the hills around the centre area which is mostly for commercial areas.
There are Elevators which go up and down the hills. It Was a main port and lots of European immigrants came so there is Lots of different architechture. no Spanish arhitechture though. The whole place is full of colourful houses. They used to paint boats here and they used the leftover paint to paint the houses.
Stop 1 was a viewpoint from the hill looking over the bay. It was decent enough but once again there was a really cloudy day so couldn't see much.
Valparaiso is a World heritage site because of the buildings on the hills. They aren't built like normal houses due to the hills. We saw some that look like bungalows from the street but at the back you could see that there were about four storeys high.
Stop 2 was a walk through Part of the heritage site. We saw a buildjng called the Boathouse because it's in the shape of a cruise ship. It's built into a corner really. There wa also One of the oldest buildings in the hills of Valparaiso which was built before the Earthquake in 1906. Most buildings on the hills were destroyed during the earthquake. We went down one of the Elevators and found out afterwards it was built in 1902. It did not look too safe to be honest! They are built on the hill with pulleys bringing one elevator up against another one going down.
We got back on the bus then and drove around A square with the oldest hotel in Valparaiso- Queen Victoria hotel 1902. There was also a Monument for the pacific war against peru and Bolivia. Also the Armada de chile was there (navy)- it is the most important naval port in the country. After that we saw some old buildings as the flat area survived the earthquake.
Valparaisos Golden age was the 19th century as the only way to cross from pacific to Atlantic was by boat and it was a very important port.
It was a centre for Technology. It haf the first stock exchange in south America, first football team in chile (both introduced by the British), first to have electricity and gas, also had the oldest newspaper in Spanish 1827.
Then we passed the Main square, a street with Palm trees which were given as a goft from Brazil in 1910 celebrating 100 years of independence. There was also a massive Fruit and veg market with stalls of colourful fruit everywhere. There was Another market but its closed after since the earthquake in 2010.
When the Panama canal opened, boats did not need to come to Valparaiso and it suffered a lot. The government Moved navy and congress there to try to support it. It is now Also a cruise ship port and is a huge tourist area. Its Tourism is based on the history and culture of the port and the buildings.
Stop 3- was at the entrance to vina del mar (another city around the corner). Enetering the city there was a Flower clock. There were flowers in the ground and hands of a clock going round over them. It was a Gift from Switzerland for the world cup held in chile. Brazil won that year and Chile came 3rd.
Stop 4 was for lunch. We had it in a castle looking over the sea. There were loads of pelicans flying around outside!
There are 3 castles there at the start of Vina del mar. People Moved from Valparaiso to here in the 20th century. It was Always a beach area, a city for relaxation. It has the Oldest casino in the country and is One of the most luxurious. One of the Castles on a hill is a national monument. Beside it is the Presidential palace, the presidents summer house.
Stop 5 was a walk on the beach. We only had a few minutes so I just walked along the prom area. There was a lovely sandy beach. There was a dock there too with the sun shining it so I was singing 'sitting on the dock of the bay' to myself!!
Stop 6 was outside a museum where there is an Easter island sculpture. It is one of Only two originals in the country. There are Others around the world. This one was 3m high. It looked way smaller than the ones on the island!
Near the main square there was a hotel called Hotel o Higgins. It is the oldest hotel in the city. I have to find out about this O Higgins lad as his name is everywhere!!
The area used to be a Farm area- vina del mar- the vineyard by the sea.
It was Founded in 1878- one of the youngest cities in the country- Valparaiso one of the oldest.
After that we drove back to Santiago and I passed the time looking at the videos on my phone. The ones from the night before I left are really priceless. I was laughing away to myself on the bus!
We drove to the shopping centre and then everyone had to get on different buses depending on where they were going. It took ages then to get back to the hotel as the traffic was terrible- Friday evening rush hour!!
Eventually got back anyway. Spent a good while unpacking and repacking my bag for the morning!! I'm all set for this 14 hour flight I think!! Saturday and Sunday will all be the one day for me as I lose a lot of time!! So both days will be on the one blog, which you mightn't see until Monday!
Farewell South America!!