The Murals of Valparaiso
Valparaiso is magical. There is a narrow strip of level land, 'El Plan', adjacent to the ocean. Seething with humanity it leaves you gasping for air. Tourists, touts, beggars, pick-pockets, thieves, buskers, cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles all jostle for space. Magnificent colonial buildings and grotesque modern sky-scrapers stand edge to edge, equally desecrated by graffiti and neglect.
Surviving earthquakes and theft in Valparaiso
If it feels like a while since I last up-dated my blog that's because it is. In Valparaiso I came down with the same cold David had had in Salta. It was inevitable really. This must be the first holiday in twenty years I haven't carted cold and flu tablets around the world with me. It has been a long time since we got sick on holidays and I figured what was the point. I won't leave them at home again for a while.
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Chiloé - Land of Witches, Mermaids and Ghosts.
The volcano Osorno rises above the clouds; snow-capped, serene, quiet for now. It is March and we are on our way to Chiloé, an archipelago off the west coast of Chile in Northern Patagonia. Tomorrow we drive to Puerto Montt and take the ferry to La Isla Grande de Chiloé, but today we are treating ourselves to a touch of modern Chilean luxury before plunging into the labyrinth of myths and magic that is Chiloé.
The Zero Hotel, Valparaiso, Chile
The Crowne Plaza at Santiago, Chile
Hotel Review: -
The Crowne Plaza, Santiago