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Any Port in a Storm :: Compass Points :: South America :: Valparaiso, Chile
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AuthorTopic: Valparaiso, Chile (Read 1,806 times)
ilbonito
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Valparaiso, Chile
« Thread Started on Apr 11, 2010, 7:38am »		[Quote]
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The recent earthquakes in Chile got me to thinking about my trip there two years ago, to a wonderful town called Valparaiso. I hope it wasn't hurt in the quake. This is what it looked like then, anyway:

Valparaiso is like a weird little fairytale town. It is a fishing port built of brightly painted corrugated iron houses, on steep hills around a glistening Pacific bay. Each building is different: different colors, different shapes, mansions, shacks and church steeples, connected by winding flights of stairs and cobblestoned streets. Alleys lead to unexpected little terraces and breathtaking views. It has evolved without planning, organically, and invented its own cityscape as it went.

The houses, many of them built of (cheap) corrugated iron, were brightly painted by their owners and now the city continues this tradition of self expression with wonderful, surreal streetart and grafitti, plastered everywhere, over everything. The combination of this organic art, the history and unique architecture, and the beautiful setting around the bay won Valparaiso a (much-earned) place on the UNESCO World heritage List in 1992.


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These strange devices, a cross between public elevators and trams, are known as “ascendores”. The old wooden machines creak up and down the hills that rise from the city´s port, each one covered in a labyrinthine patchwork of colored houses, red clay cliffs and bushy patches of blazing yellow wildflowers.

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #1 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:39am »		[Quote]
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #2 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:41am »		[Quote]
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #3 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:43am »		[Quote]
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The city streets were full of semi-wild dogs, wndering in the midday sun. I even found one dead and flattened on some traintracks, semi-mummified;

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #4 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:46am »		[Quote]
I was especially impressed by how the city was as charming up close, in the details, as it was seen from afar as a multi-colored panorama:

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #5 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:48am »		[Quote]
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #6 on Apr 11, 2010, 8:00am »		[Quote]
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #7 on Apr 11, 2010, 9:53am »		[Quote]
I really liked Valparaiso too. I have been there on two separate occasions. My son was there recently and said there was some damage. By the way, those elevator things are "ascensores". I don't remember seeing as much graffiti, but I was last there in 2006.

I have some pics too.

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #8 on Apr 11, 2010, 9:59am »		[Quote]
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guys playing cards
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a demonstration
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #9 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:02am »		[Quote]
Valparaiso is indeed one of those world geography words that people dream about, but I confess that I had no idea what it looked like other than "hilly." Now at least I have an inkling from these great photos. I'm wondering if there are any 'paint police' in such towns to make sure that the colours remain harmonious.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #10 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:04am »		[Quote]
Great photos depicting the city. so real and not all touristy, that makes them interesting. Ilbonito, I don't quite understand the picture with the two men on the stairs. Did someone paint those men on there and why?

Sad about the semi-wild dogs. I see a lot of road kill where I live too. The roads are just dotted with little and large animals who have been run over in the Spring time.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #11 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:09am »		[Quote]
Yeah, the two men on the stairs is a mural! Just a quirky little touch. It looks quite real as you walk past, you have to give it a second look!

bjd: thanks for the correction. My spanish is nonexistant :) Did you go to other places in Chile? I only saw Valparaiso and Santiago. I would've loved to have headed south to Chiloe or Patagonia!
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #12 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:13am »		[Quote]
I had to go back to that picture twice! It's painted so well, it makes you do a double take.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #13 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:40am »		[Quote]
You're welcome, Ilbonito. Going to Chile without speaking any Spanish the first time made me realize I had to learn in order to go back!

Yes, the second time with my husband we went south, stopping in Valdivia, then to Chiloe, before crossing the Andes back into the Lake District of Argentina.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #14 on Apr 11, 2010, 11:47am »		[Quote]
Kerouac, about paint police -- I think people just paint their own houses to keep up the colours. There were some rattier areas that we walked around where there was more rust than colour. Don't forget, we take pictures of the good stuff!

Deyana, there are indeed loads of stray dogs but they are not really wild. People feed them and they are not vicious at all, even when there are packs of them. There was a suggestion a few years ago of getting rid of the dogs in Chile (they are everywhere) but there was a public uproar about it.

It's not all hilly, Kerouac. Along the waterfront there are more modern buildings.

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #15 on Apr 11, 2010, 12:52pm »		[Quote]

Apr 11, 2010, 11:47am, bjd wrote:


Deyana, there are indeed loads of stray dogs but they are not really wild. People feed them and they are not vicious at all, even when there are packs of them. There was a suggestion a few years ago of getting rid of the dogs in Chile (they are everywhere) but there was a public uproar about it.


That's good to know, bjd. I do wonder about things like rabid dogs, what becomes of them? I like how the people rallied around to keep the dogs and are feeding them.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #16 on Apr 11, 2010, 5:02pm »		[Quote]
This is amazing! I had no idea that Valparaiso was so adorable! Sorry, but it's charming beyond belief. I have to say that your use of the word "town" threw me, though, since I knew part of Chile's govt is based there. Looking at Bjd's pic (& checking Wikipedia) it appears that Valparaiso is sort of a conglomerate of a large city with smaller, almost distinct towns attached to it. Is that true?

As always, I love your photos and how you present them. The contemplative dog picture is particularly captivating. The flair and impulse to beauty everywhere are wonderfully shown. It's striking how many of the large & small pieces of artwork remain undefaced, even with graffiti right next to them.

Please, what is the little wooden room or building in the OP? Is it a waiting area for the ascensor? So much to see and take in. Where did you stay?

Wow, Bjd, what a treat that you had pictures and comments to add to this fascinating thread.

(& I need to point out that there is a streamline moderne bldg in Bjd's last pic above)
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #17 on Apr 11, 2010, 6:34pm »		[Quote]
Offhand, I would say that the little wooden building in the OP is indeed a waiting room for an ascensor.

I'll let Ilbonito answer for himself, but the first time I went, in 2004, we stayed in an old house on one of the hills. A young couple were turning it into a bed and breakfast. The house dated from 1912 and had huge rooms, painted bright colours, but it was just the early days of their hostel so it wasn't very well organized. They also wanted to open a restaurant, so we corrected the English on the menu. 2 Years later when I went with my husband, a woman offered rooms as we got off the bus. It was down near the port, right behind the Congress building. The place was a real dump, but they were friendly and it was cheap.

Since the reactions have been positive, I'll add a couple of pictures and maybe Ilbonito can add some more when he wakes up.

Plaza Sotomayor and the Navy building

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The entrance to Ascensor Concepcion
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #18 on Apr 11, 2010, 6:46pm »		[Quote]
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It's certainly one of the most photogenic places I have ever been.

And more card players
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #19 on Apr 11, 2010, 7:48pm »		[Quote]

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Since the reactions have been positive, I'll add a couple of pictures and maybe Ilbonito can add some more when he wakes up.


You're just teasing, right? Making photo reports about such places is the whole reason that the site exists! And when we started, we weren't even able to base anything on "positive reactions" -- if you think the subject is interesting, just post it! :D

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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #20 on Apr 11, 2010, 8:34pm »		[Quote]
I had no idea. What a wonderful surprise seeing these. Thanks all.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #21 on Apr 11, 2010, 10:17pm »		[Quote]
Offhand, I would say that the little wooden building in the OP is indeed a waiting room for an ascensor.

NO, that is actually the inside of one!! You sit in that as it goes up and down the hill.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #22 on Apr 11, 2010, 10:42pm »		[Quote]
Really?! It's pretty big and so, so room-like. What is the metal grate part, Ilbonito?
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #23 on Apr 12, 2010, 12:28am »		[Quote]
Yeah, its like a little room that goes up and down the hill on an incline ...
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #24 on Apr 12, 2010, 7:11am »		[Quote]
The only one we were in was much smaller than that one looks.

This is Ascensor Concepcion from the outside
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #25 on Apr 12, 2010, 7:12pm »		[Quote]
I have used things like this in three places in my life (that I can think of) -- the funicular in Montmartre, obviously. Also a device like that in Lisbon, and also one in Como, Italy. I can think of a few others in Europe that I have not taken, too... I love them.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #26 on Apr 13, 2010, 7:05am »		[Quote]
wow what wonderful pictures! Makes me want to visit there. :)
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #27 on Apr 13, 2010, 12:44pm »		[Quote]
This is a total revelation to me and a place that I now want to visit. The colors! I have my own theory of the paint police. (there is such a thing in a Florida community, Seaside) Painting is one of the least expensive ways to provide joy and beauty and protect your home. Many of the corrugated houses are owned, or rented, by people with very little money. There is so much creativity, even in small ways, revealed in these photos.

The unexpected wall painting of the two workmen and the pastel painted stair risers are two of my favorite shots. Aren’t the asensores great? I have been on two, one in Paris and one in Budapest. The dog looks brave, but a lonely warrior.

Your photos add so much to this essay, bjd. I love the card players and the decrepit staircase going up the weedy hill. Somehow, Valparaiso seems hilly, even though you say it isn’t. Thank you both.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #28 on Apr 13, 2010, 3:17pm »		[Quote]
Oh, Valparaiso is hilly, but there are a few flat areas along the sea.

The ascensores are not funiculars -- there is no counterweight cabin.
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Re: Valparaiso, Chile
« Reply #29 on Apr 13, 2010, 10:29pm »		[Quote]
This is such a great thread. Two of the photos I keep revisiting are the (live) dog & the "Miró" house -- wonderful pictures.

I have a question -- there is a facing on many of the buildings that looks like plywood. It can be seen most clearly in the second photo of Reply #7. Any idea what it is, whether plywood, or sheet metal, or ... ?
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