Valparaiso, the mythical harbour of the Chilean coast. It used to be the first big harbour after the passage of Cap Horn, it hence has been a sailor's city with all the stories and traffic that it involves. After the opening of the Panama channel in 1914 the commercial importance of the harbour decreased. Valparaiso nevertheless still houses a commercial activity but it is the presence of army ships that first draw the attention when having a glance at the bay.
The harbour
In Valpo Geo had a contact, Pauli a 45 years old women working as an artisan on the touristy cerro Alegre. So as we got there we climbed the cerro (hill) using one the numerous antique lifts. As we approached her stand she recognized Geo and ran to jump in his arms gritting, shouting, laughing. It was quite a funny scene and Fred and I didn't really knew what to do and where to stand. Once Pauli's calmed down a little (still speaking super fast in a perfect Chilean style Spanish that even Geo struggled to understand) she told us she had a plan for us to stay.
Pauli introduced us to some French guys living and working in Valparaiso, on the cerro Bellavista, manufacturing macarons. Mika and Thomas welcomed us in their home and macaron shop and told us that e could stay there for as long as we wanted and for very little money. A perfect place with a wonderfull panormaic view of the city.
The Macarons!!
So with our base sorted out we started the discovery of the city. Valparaiso is full of colours. Coloured houses, street art and wherever you are in the winding streets you are never far of a point of view over the city and the bay.
The city was nothing like any other city we had seen in South America during the trip. If you have the occasion I warmly recommend you to go there. It has a vibrant atmosphere, a sort of relaxed bohemian feel and even if some neighbourhoods are very touristy it is still possible to meet the true soul of Valparaiso wandering and getting lost in its many back alleys and stair's mazes. If I had to compare it with one European city it would be without a doubt Lisbon that would win the status of Valparaiso's sister.
At night when the sun let you walk without sweating buckets or loose your skin (Fred knows what I am talking about) we sat in the parks watching the sunset with a few beers. Pauli as crazy as ever was singing covers of Edith Piaf in Spanish. Beautiful moments.
We also took the opportunity of staying right next to La Sebastiana to visit Pablo Neruda's house in Valpo.
Next stop Santiago! We made a tremendous jump forward in our way down south from Calama straight to Santiago in a good 23hours bus.
As we arrived we directly met up with Julio a good friend that Geo had when he satyed for a year studying in Chile. Julio took us around for a quick tour of the city. We visited the central market and the old train station, beutiful buildings made by Eiffel's students. Passed by the famous fruit market of La Vega and ended our walk in the lively neighbourhood of Bellavista for a well deserved beer. The first thing that stroke me in Santiago is how European it was. After these many months travelling through South America and the last months in Bolivia and Peru it really seemed like being back to civilisation. Museums, art centers, metro, big avenues, clean streets and hipster bars it could have been a version of Paris or any big European capital with 30 degrees celsius in the middle of January.
For the first week we stayed at Julio's flat, a chance. He showed us his really cool project of a back-pack, clothes and footwear brand.
Santiago city centre
For a few days we went paragliding at the flying site of Vizcachas. A small take off at the South of the city offering great thermic conditions and a good potential for XC flying. It is pretty amazing to have such flying potential available right next to a capital city!
Vizcachas Take Off
Sailplane passing low over the take off
The take off is managed by a paragliding company and they charge you a small fee to use the spot. It is possible to climb by foot. A nice 20 to 40 min walk. In Santiago the main mountain range is exposed to the west so it is better flown in the afternoon. A classic time for take off is between 2 and 4 p.m. for cross country flying, but expect strong conditions the earlier you go there!
I had a few good flights there fighting in the very stable air with only big bubbles passing through. The flying wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was really strong, but the technicity was interesting and the views over the city and the huge peaks rewarding. TRACK1TRACK2.
Considering the conditions I didn't take many pictures, but here are the ones from the two flights.
Flight 1:
Residential leaf
Getting to the north of Santiago
Flight 2:
Cerro de Ramón
Santiago City!!!
Northern neighbourhoods of Santiago
Landing in the golf
The reward
I never managed to pass the 30km key point in the cross towards the north, but I think that with experience and some regular flying in the area it is possible to achieve some beautiful flights.
On the 14th my good friend Fred arrived from France to spend with us a couple of weeks. January has been the time for visitors to distract us in our trip. Great to see known faces on this continent!
FRED is HERE!!
La casa Moai
Pebre y Melon con Vino
Carrete!
We had a good few days partying in Santiago trying the local cocktails:
- THE Terremoto a devil's invention that consist of cheap white wine with a massive scoop of pineapple ice cream and some fernet (a bitter herbal liquor)
- Melon con vino, a yellow Melon filled with white wine and sugar
We had the chance to assist to some great gigs as well. A festival featuring Chico Trujillo. It seemed that the party spirit and the warmth that we had lost in the high Andes was back!
After nearly a week of flying in Iquique we decided to go for a little road trip in the Atacama Desert taking advantage of the car rented by Seb and Sofia.
First we stopped in Pica an oasis in the middle of the desert with some refreshing pools.
Then we headed towards the moon and death valleys. Impressive features in the middle of the desert. At it was late at night, we decided to camp in the desert. What a beautiful sky !
Spot the dust devil
In the morning we went for a visit to the death and moon valley. Very impressive rock formations.
Carrying on on our fast road trip we passed through San Pedro de Atacama, a small village that became the convergence point for tourists in the area. Even if the atmosphere was nice in the village we didn't stay long and continued quickly towards our goal, the Miscanti park.
The Miscanti park main attraction are two beautiful lagunas surounded by volcanoes. A beautiful setting that reminded me of the Uyuni tour landscapes. Being at 4200m of elevation, the effect of altitude quickly sprung out and we were all (except Sofia) kind of drunk which was quite funny to see. The amazing thing as well is that we were alone in this beautiful place a luxury that I lacked in Uyuni.
On the way back we went for a visit at the Atacama Salt Flats.And saw many flamingos. It was the first flamingos for Sofia and Seb!
We finished this long and mind blowing day of visit at a perfect wild camp site in a small canyon featuring a river (a dream place for rock climbers). Finally sitting with a bottle of wine and some great pasta-soup for a good chat :) .
