Valparaiso is a coastal town about 90 minutes northwest of Santiago. It is the main port for Santiago and is the industrial space that contrast the next door beachtown, Vina del Mar. It’s a small town, but known as a tourist town for the beautiful rainbows of houses that cover the hillside above the coast. We rented a car to be able to stop at one winery on our way there and one on our way back. We walked around Valparaiso Saturday afternoon and evening, then took a tour Sunday morning before heading out.
On our way, we stopped at a winery Veramonte. This winery had a lovely large space with a section for tasting, a cafe/shop and a restaurant. We had a couple tastings, and then lunch at the winery before continuing on our way to Valparaiso.
Once in Valparaiso, the activities consist of walking up and down the alleyways and stairwells, and riding the funiculars through the town. The walks were beautiful and interesting and thought provoking – there is so much history and culture around the dictatorship and public protests , which is why the tour was really excellent because I was able to learn so much about that.
During the California Gold Rush, Valparaiso was the main in between stop from the east coast or Europe, being financed by wealthy investors. Once the Panama Canal was constructed, all of that financial investment and consumer demand in Valparaiso instantly stopped. The economy has never been able to recover and what used to be the prime ocean side real estate is now full of dilapidated ornate mansions. Moving inland and up the hillside are the condensed houses of the working class.
Throughout the hills of Valparaiso formed an artist community that have covered the city in art and color. While much of the city is still filled with poverty, the graffiti has made way to beautiful artworks and every little street or alleyway you turn down is unique.
We stayed at a hotel near the coast, a little out of the way outside of the touristy area where it’s run down, but they had parking – the alleyways up and down the hillside are incredibly narrow and crowded and steep and I’m so glad we did not have to drive in that area. As we left our hotel to head back to Santiago, we realized that we had a flat tire! Thank goodness I had two very competent tire replacers! It took less than half an hour and before we knew it, we were back on our way, onto the next winery – Vina Indomita.
Vina Indomito had about 16 wines available on their tasting, and you paid for each one you want to try, about $1-2. We selected 8 of them; imagine my surprise when they gave us a glass for each “tasting”. We weren’t able to finish the tasting, especially without the drivers helping us drink, but it was a nice spot to finish off the weekend before we sat in traffic for the rest of the way back to Santiago.