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View from the funicular rail coach
Navy statue in Valparaiso
Hotel Brighton
a funicular seen from my cruise-ship
I have a friend who will be in Valparaiso for this coming New Year's. He read about cruises from Muelle Prat to watch the fireworks display. I read that tickets should be bought one to two weeks in advance. However, he will not arrive in Chile until 12/24 and in Valparaiso until 12/29. Is there any way for him to secure tickets for this cruise any other way in advance?
Thanks.
Does he have the name of a company? Most of the boats which go out to see the fireworks from the bay are the same small craft which take you on tours around the bay. They close the port - I can't remember the exact time, but it is around 10 pm - and you have to be on the boat and out of the port by then. This makes for a long wait and it can be cold on the open boat. You then wait to be able to return after the fireworks. Just so you know. If he has managed to find a larger vessel with some shelter aboard, then it would be worth doing. It is a great view. I have done it on a tug a couple of times but it was a private invitation and there was food, champagne and a bathroom! Check exactly what sort of craft it is on.
Valparaíso is a place to walk. Walk for the bay, the port, and all the hills with its stairs and narrow streets.
Old houses, and old life too.
You absolutly must walk and walk and go to Pablo Neruda's house and have a coffe close to Plaza Victoria or walk in Plaza Argentina into the flea market. Always it is the street and its people.
I could stay days and days only seeing every detail.
Despite the influence of European colonialism,much of native South American cuisine remains a mystery to many of today's gastronomes.South American cuisine is about not only the great Argentine meats,or the potatoes and maize that are widespread in the rest of the continent.It is also about the rich African influence in Brazilian and Colombian cookery,and Peru and Chile's delectable shellfish,amongst others.
Chile has its own distinct cuisine,thanks to its abundant cold coastal waters that produce fish and shellfish of remarkable quality.Other Chilean specialities are parriladas,grilled steak,lomo a lo pobre,an enormous steak topped with fried eggs,and pastel de choclo,maize pie with meat,vegetables and egg stuffing..
There is a great "mercado" , a markethall also called "El Cardonal" that you will pass by, when walking along of Av. Brasil. It is a pity, that I was there on a sunday afternoon and everything was closed, but I read in my guidebook, that during the week you will find a lot of fruits, meat and flowers there on the ground floor and many great restaurants and small foodstands on the 1st floor.
I haven't visited La Campana using public transport before but I checked the CONAF website and it seems to be possible using a local "micro" bus. The website link is: http://www.conaf.cl/parques/ficha-parque_nacional_la_campana-38.html
Basically there are two entrances, The sectors known as Granizo and Cajon Grande are reached from the district called Olmue. It says that the micros stop 1km from the control booth. The micro can be taken from Valparaiso and stops at the Granizo bus terminal.
The other sector known as Ocoa is reached from the district called Ocoa also. Transport can be taken from La Calera or Hijuelas and stops at Rabuco-Ocoa which is 6kms from the control booth.
On another website it is suggesting that if you want to take public transport from Valparaiso or Viña to the Granizo sector then th easiest way is to take a train to Limache and take a micro from just outside the train station to the entrance of the park. Apparently the micros come by every 30 minutes approx. and you should get off at the last stop and then walk a short distance to teh entrance. I translated that from: http://www.gotrekking.com/es/wiki/Trekking_Parque_Nacional_La_Campana
at the foot of plaza sotomayer, one of valparaiso's main squares, you will find the large, working port area, of muelle prat. from various viewpoints in the city,you can see many ships coming in and out, getting loaded and unloaded etc. the busy hectic pace of a port fascinates me, i guess also because i too live in a port city! for me, valparaiso felt kind of similar to my home of fremantle. well, they are totally different, but that same old port feel was there.
the port is obviously the major point of entry for shipping to the chilean nation, which it has been since the mid 1500's. valparaiso was vital to the shipping routes, particularly before the panama canal opened. ships from europe that rounded the cape of good hope or the magellan strait had to stop here to resupply. a walk around the port area and the buildings nearby definitely gives you a sense of history. you can almost imagine an old sea dog stumbling out of a local seaman's bar back in the 1700's!
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