Oh, the randomness of life in Chile...

Where to start....travelling is one of the most exhilarating and yet weirdest feelings ever. I am struck all the time by the oddity of it all. Maybe I´m not making any sense here...I guess maybe I should show you some of the things I´ve been up to here in Chile and you´ll understand what I mean when I say that you NEVER know what´s going to happen here. Its like adventure finds you wherever you are, even if you don´t want it to...hahaha...c´est la vie...

So, a couple weeks ago, I headed to Isla Negra, a small city south of Viña where there is absolutely nothing to see other than Pablo Neruda´s house. Pablo is the most famous Chilean poet. He won the Nobel Prize and he has houses all over Chile, one is in Valpo and I showed it here on one of my earlier posts. This is the beach in front of his house and its is really beautiful, its no wonder that this was his main house.

He´s the house from the front, and where I´m standing is the location of Pablo and his last and third wife´s grave. All of Pablo´s houses are really excentric. He was an avid traveller and therefore his house kind of resembles a museum. I wish I could have taken photos inside because there are some really interesting things. His living room is full of his collection of those statues that are always on the front of boats, there's a large collection of shells and bugs and china from all over the world and really anything you can think of is there.

This sad looking llama is one of the animals that I saw a week ago in a tiny town about 20 minutes away called Quilpue. He looked so sad, probably because this was a flaite (sketchy) zoo with really poor conditions for the animals and too small of cages. Pobrecito...

I have been getting together with a Chilean, Tomás, every Thursday for the last four or five weeks for "Intercambio de Idiomas". The university sets you up with people to exchange your respective languages so we meet up and talk in Spanish and in English and share lots of cultural insights and in general, just have fun. Well, Tomás is a rock climber and last week he invited me and my friend, Kate, to go to the Isla Oceanica which is a cluster of rocks, shown here:

You can look out over the ocean and then if you climb down in between the rocks above, you'll be where Kate is in the picture above this one. There are tons of climbers there and Tomás let us borrow his stuff to climb a small rock. It was by far, one of my favorite things I have done so far, very exhilarating even though I feel and now have a large cut on my elbow and a bruise the size of a softball on my leg that is now purple and green...kind of pretty, really.

And here is the Isla Oceanica from another view point, and it is now my computer background. I'm constantly amazed by the beautiful views here and will definitely miss the ocean and the beach when I leave. Its truely breathtaking!

So, that's my last couple of weeks in a nutshell, always exciting and always an adventure.

Besitos a todos!

e

Ex-Carcel

Last week I explored the Ex-carcel in Valparaíso. Its an old jail that amazingly just closed down in 1999 and has been "renovated" into a cultural center and park. Basically is is covered in tons of grafitti. It's really quite intriguing. Here is what the entrance looks like:

Various classes and workshops are offered in rooms that they've made out of ex-cells, I'm assuming, and most are based in the arts. They also offer various theater performances. While we were walking around there was a drum circle practicing which added a certain intensity to the experience. You can see them practicing on the right side of the picture. Erin is enthused...

Once you walk farther in, its quite maze-like, but there is one big open area that I'm assuming was the "recreational area" for the inmates and it now serves as canvas for various artists. I think it would make a nice area for frisbee...

Here are some of the interesting pictures covering the walls of this old, creepy prison:

"Preso de mi mismo" - "Prisoner of myself"

Ben enters the circo...

And is eaten on the other side...

Although it doesn't show up well here, this is my favorite...

This artist does lots of work throughout Viña...

Well...hope you enjoyed...un besito!

Valparaíso, mi amor

I think this picture of the gatito (kitty) represents Valparaíso best. Although this porch is old and a bit dirty, its painted in funky, bright pink and green so you don't notice it, and the cat, like all good Valparaísanos is clearly not worried about anything other enjoying the last rays of summer sunshine.

Valparaíso is simply unlike any other place I've seen before. It is such a mix of contradictions. It is really dirty and old and downright ugly in many areas of town while at the same time extremely funky, artsy and beautiful because of the wonderful rainbow of colors they use to decorate their houses, restaurants and really any surface available. Here are some good examples of the random surfaces that people have decorated with plain art along with strong political images.

Above is really typical of many areas of town where people, mainly students, have beautified their city. Below are some classic examples of stencil graffiti that often has political themes, in this case, someone has adequately summed up Chileans wacky style by stating something that I think most Americans would have to disagree with: "Grunge is not dead."

Its extremely difficult to explain how Valparaiso is set up because it is set on the cost and then slowly moves its way up into the cerros (hills) behind it. Each cerro has a different name and makes up a different "neighborhood" that has a distinct feeling to it. Below you can see how the lower part of the city is by the beach, very much like any other city layout.

Here you can see how the rest of the city slowly goes up and is just a mass of houses and then some little businesses, cafés and restaurants. Its really packed full of houses and I really have no idea how they go about putting some of these houses in because a lot of them are down in valley areas and the ones above have the back part of their house on stilts!
Here is one of the main streets on Cerro Alegre, one of the well known hills for its artsy atomsphere and full cafés.
Like everything else, they are really creative with decorating the outside and inside of their stores and homes. I loved the door on this resto.


I have a grammar teacher who lives in Cerro Alegre and he recommended a café that I should go to in the neighborhood because I was complaining about the lack of good cafés in Viña. Café del Jardin was possibly the cutest café I've ever been in, in my life. It was really love at first sight. The owner is Brazilian and also serves you, cooks your food and gave us a map of the cerros so we could find our way. What really cemented my love of this adorable café was not the delicious coffee and adorable little dishes that she brought out our breakfast meal call appropriately "El Turista" (fresh bread with jam and butter, coffee and cafe with chocolate sauce...yummm), but sitting on the table next to my comfy pink striped sofa was a copy of Chocolat, my favorite book! I really think that me and this lady are kindred spirits...jaja...note the joy on my face. Ah, coffee makes me happy!
Finally, here is a picture of the house the fits in so well in Valparaíso. Called La Sebastiana, it was the home to the late Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet and activist. He is one of only a couple Chileans to receive the Noble Price for his poetry. He was also exiled for a period of time for being part of the Communist Party and had to flee to Europe. It has about four stories with a great view and all kinds of neat collectables that decorate it beautifully and very appropriately, it has a large mural painted on the side of it.
I think the most wonderful part of Valparaíso though has to be the amazing views! They are absolutely breath-taking!

¡Ciao, Ciao!