Valparaiso and Isla Negra

Because of the time I missed blogging there's too much to cover in one post, so I'm going to break this up into a couple separate posts and hope I cover everything.

Valparaiso is a port city about an hour and a half from Santiago. It's popular because it's a pretty city on the ocean that has a sort of bohemian vibe to it. There are lots of little hills that you take acensores (kind of like elevators) up to go to little restaurants and shops. The houses are all vibrant colors and from any of the hills you can get a really good view of the rest of the city. And that's more or less it. There are a few museums, but they aren't really the draw of the city. The oceanfront is completely ruined by a massive port right in front of the city, so it's not as nice as it sounds. It's a popular place for tourists, and a fun place to wander around, but I think I misunderstood the draw of the place and left disappointed. It reminded me of San Francisco, without all the fun things there are to do there.

Well, not quite. Valparaiso is also known for its nightlife. I went with a group from my university, and someone who had been there before took us all to a club there called El Huevo. Four floors with different music, and a live band later that showed up in the middle of the night, plus the fact that it doesn't close until 5 a.m. makes for a fun night.

The next day, still recovering from the night before, we went to Isla Negra where Pablo Neruda's house is. Neruda is one of the most influential Latin American poets and was also a politician and world traveler. This house is oceanfront and filled with his souvenirs from all over the world. Surprisingly, the house is pretty simple, but still incredible.

Overall, the trip was a bit disappointing, but was a look at another side of Chilean culture. Chile has this great bohemian subculture that resembles something you could find in Greenwich Village. The difficult part is that it can be hard to find at times. Chilean culture at times seems to be bland, but, like any other place, people who take their time and search around are rewarded for their effort.

Apologies

For various reasons (homework, tests, traveling, and pure laziness) I haven't posted in a while, and for this I would like to apologize. I hope that you haven't given up on me yet, and I promise that I will return to keeping up on this blog shortly. I just returned from a 9-day trip through the North of Chile, and have some tests to study for this week. But if you check back this weekend I will set to work recounting my (mis)adventures and revelations of the past month or so.