As I try to finish up my blog post from Valparaiso, I need to be somewhat sensitive to the tragic events currently being visited upon this coastal Chilean city. Fires are raging through this UNESCO World Heritage Site and are the worst since a fire in 1953 wiped out most of the city. Already, 16 people have died and more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed (so far 11,000 people have been evacuated). The fire began a few days ago in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city's many hilltops, and spread quickly as high winds rained hot ash over wooden houses and narrow streets. These formally colorful neighborhoods hug hills so steep that people often have to use staircases and funiculars, rather than streets. Many homes have been built without water supplies or access points which would enable firefighters to intervene, so much of the fight has been from the air. One can only hope that the situation is brought under control as quickly as possible.

Although nearby Vina del Mar is actually the number one tourist destination in Chile, that's primarily due to beach-going Chileans. For travelers I suspect that Valparaiso is near the top of the list (no doubt helped by the fact that it hosts a good number of cruise ships). It takes a little imagination but Valparaiso could be/should be one of the top city destinations in South America and yet very few people have even heard of it. It has a wonderful setting on the Pacific coast of Chile, it has tremendous character with unique and colorful homes blanketing the seven hills surrounding the harbour area, it has a wonderful history as told by many of the older buildings in the town core (it was once the wealthiest city in Chile), and it has a bohemian culture that it is currently trying to nurture and tolerate.
 
So why is imagination required? It's really hard to see past the ugliness of chronic tagging and spray-painting, the garbage strewn everywhere, and numerous buildings in varying degrees of disrepair. The tagging, in particular, is simply out of control and I believe leads to a situation where the citizenry has given up on addressing the aesthetics of the town. We did our best to remain in motion fearing that we would end up covered in spray paint if stood still for too long. I thought Santiago had a problem with these inbred morons whose talent seems to start and finish with the ability to squeeze down on the nozzle of a spray can, but Valparaiso is at a point of desperation. Even the much better option of wall murals is a bit overdone here with rather pointless space aliens and flaming skulls showing up too often.

As much as we saw a city in need of a significant power-wash, over the past 15 years, the city has staged an impressive comeback which involved attracting many artists and cultural entrepreneurs who have set up shop in the city's hillside historic districts. In 2003, the historic quarter of Valparaíso was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a new national law named the city "Chile's Cultural Capital." (we went on a tour with a Where's Waldo guide who suggested that the excessive spray painting was actually protected by the UNESCO designation as part of the cities heritage but I find that very hard to believe). Prior to an extended period of decay, the city was the star of Chile- it served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Valparaíso mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco" and based on the weather that seems to include a steady diet of cool weather and fog, San Francisco would seem an apt comparison. Valparaíso’s former glory included Latin America's oldest stock exchange, the continent’s first volunteer fire department, Chile’s first public library, and the oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world, What happened?? The opening of the Panama Canal and the resulting reduction in ship traffic dealt a staggering blow to Valparaíso. It continued as a university town and currently hosts four of Chiles significant universities (probable care and feeding zones for the cities spray painters- when we were there some sort of hazing ritual underway that involved freshman dressing up as zombies/bums and hassling people for spare change which was then pooled to support a drinking binge?). 
 
Valparaiso is still worth a visit but underneath the paint, grime, and no-go neighbourhoods is a city that could be in the top tier of must-see city destinations. Hopefully the authorities of Chile recognize the treasure they have and as they develop plans to recover from the latest fire disaster, they look to what could be a brilliant future.