|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:38:02 GMT
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. 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.
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:39:36 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:41:37 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:43:41 GMT
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;
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:46:30 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 7:48:55 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 8:00:21 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 9:53:26 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 9:59:58 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 11:02:03 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 11:04:50 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 11:09:21 GMT
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!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 11:13:15 GMT
I had to go back to that picture twice! It's painted so well, it makes you do a double take.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 11:40:13 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 11:47:11 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 12:52:33 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 11, 2010 17:02:16 GMT
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)
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 18:34:54 GMT
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 The entrance to Ascensor Concepcion
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2010 18:46:06 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 19:48:38 GMT
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!
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Apr 11, 2010 20:34:13 GMT
I had no idea. What a wonderful surprise seeing these. Thanks all.
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 11, 2010 22:17:59 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 11, 2010 22:42:43 GMT
Really?! It's pretty big and so, so room-like. What is the metal grate part, Ilbonito?
|
|
|
Post by ilbonito on Apr 12, 2010 0:28:01 GMT
Yeah, its like a little room that goes up and down the hill on an incline ...
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 12, 2010 7:11:22 GMT
The only one we were in was much smaller than that one looks. This is Ascensor Concepcion from the outside
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2010 19:12:12 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by gertie on Apr 13, 2010 7:05:23 GMT
wow what wonderful pictures! Makes me want to visit there.
|
|
|
Post by Jazz on Apr 13, 2010 12:44:06 GMT
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.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 13, 2010 15:17:29 GMT
Oh, Valparaiso is hilly, but there are a few flat areas along the sea.
The ascensores are not funiculars -- there is no counterweight cabin.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 13, 2010 22:29:01 GMT
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 ... ?
|
|