Valparaiso

After 1-1/2 hrs. On the bus we arrive in Valparaiso.  We are met by a fellow who whisks us away to a waiting taxi.  In 10 mins. we are deposited at our next residence.  A lovely two bedroom apartment on the 10th floor of an apartment on the hill.  Fantastic view especially at night.

At first our impression is not good as the city seems old and run down but after taking a 3 hour walking tour with Tours4Tips we are shown the hills which were magnificent.  The views and buildings were great.

We ride the 100 year old funicular up the hill.  Scary!

Great views.

Murals are plentiful!  They decorate the streets all over the hills.

This building is the reason that Valparaiso is a world heritage site.  This is not two buildings.  The modern glass building has been built on top of the old building.  When this happened people complained so they made Valporaiso a world heritage site so it couldn't happen again.  The problem is that it also stopped future improvements in this area so a lot of beautiful old buildings are going to ruin!

The following day we caught the Metro and went to Vina del Mar which is a short ride along the coast. The metro was clean and really easy to use.  This young lady was singing opera on the metro.  She was wonderful.  Too bad they don't have Chile's Got Talent!

Beautiful, clean town.  We really enjoyed Vina del Mar.  Went for a great lunch in an Italian restaurant.  Yummy seafood.

Checking out the markets that take place in Valporaiso on Sunday.  This was full of antiques.

We also decided to be proactive and check out where we would board our ship for our cruise.  Like the rest of Chile nothing is clear and simple to find.  We always seemed to be sent in different directions no matter who we asked.  This is the entrance to where you check in for your cruise and then they bus you to the other end of town where the ship actually is so that you can board.  Apparently the water is no longer deep enough here for the ships so they have to go to the other end of town.  But do you see any signs????  Does anyone tell you this???  It will be nice to be on board for two whole weeks and not have to face the challenge of ordering a meal in another language!  I think it's time for a rest!  Oh, life is tough!

WiFi might be intermittent for the next couple of weeks while we are at sea so I might not be blogging quite so often just so you know and don't wonder what happened to me.  Off we go on Holland America down the coast of Chile, around the Cape, up the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and then into port at Buenos Aires.