Take an asconsor to the colourful hills of Valaparaiso... a town that flourished during the gold rush and collapsed after the Panama Canal was built. A cityof colour with an unusually colourful past. Artist colonies now thrive on the steep hills overlooking this port city. Bright yellow, orange, red, blues... every colour you can imagine decorate the houses here. God help these people during an earthquake as the houses cling impossibly to the steep hills overlooking the port.
The best access to this colourful area is by taking an ascensor or tram car. It is an almost vertical climb on creaky old trams to the high twisty streets. Here artists have painted whimsical murals on the sides of many homes. It is easy to get lost as the streets make no sense and few are marked. I was so busy looking at the murals that I completely lost my sense of direction. Good thing Shane was paying attention. Maybe it´s a good thing he isn´t in to art as much as me.... he´s always looking for a way out. You think??
The buildings reflect the history of this area. Valaparaiso flourished before the Panama Canal was built. As a main port for ships travelling around the Cape from Europe. A lot of gold went through this port. It is easy to imagine the large Haciendas up on the hill where the rich lived far from the pirate fortified port below. Many of the old buildings remain near the port. Now a center of commerce for the city.
As a world heritage site the buildings are being repaired slowly. The city has seen difficult times but has managed to maintain it´s uniqueness. Well worth the visit.
We had planned to stay longer but my `crap detector' kicked in and we found ourselves on the night bus to Villarica. Long story that started with being grabbed by two very nice women... one young and one older.... at the bus terminal. "Come see my home and stay for $5 per person.... including bathroom... including breakfast.... just come look"  So... Shane said "Come on Mary... just a look".   Trudging along the streets with our packs we came to their home which was not a hostal or at least there was no sign anywhere. Took a long time to agree on a price when we arrived. Big rooms (with an acute absense of tourists)... two nasty looking bathrooms (found out later the doors don´t close) and no breakfast for 5000 pesos each (or $10). Shane got it down to the $5 agreed on but I was not feeling comfortable. We did leave our bags there and set off for the day to explore. We really enjoyed the day but in the back of our minds we wondered if our bags would still be there. I had taken a picture of the propriators and of the doorway number (so we wouldn´t get lost as we´re apt to do).
As we sat enjoying a delicious fish meal at the Marcado we decided that if there was room on the night bus we would head off to our next destination. To their obvious surprise we took our bags.... told them to keep the $10 and headed on our way to Villarica.
Just didn´t feel right and besides... I didn´t bring any flea powder on this trip. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
We may go back to Valaparaiso for a day trip at the end of our journey. It is very close to Santiago and I´m sure there is more to see. For now we are happily settled in our new home for a few days. The lake district of Chile. Active volcanos and happy people with lots of hiking, biking and hot pools. But that´s for the next blog.

For those of you wondering about JC.... just heard he is standing on his own again. A proud display on Jim´s shelf.