Saturday 23 February
Today was our day to explore Valparaiso.
This ramshackle city full of brightly coloured houses and street art tumbles down the hillsides to the old colonial centre and the port.
Most buildings are in a very poor state and covered in graffiti. The graffiti is like an uncontrollable weed that has smothered the city past a point of no return.
This aside it does have a certain charm and an edgy vibe. Walking involves hills and stairs; you're either on the way up or on the way down.
We had lunch at Deliciosa Express, a hole in the wall empanada shop with 99 varieties of empanadas.
We stopped for piscos at historic Bar Cinzano which has been around since 1896.
Valparaiso is rather dodgy at night so we opted to return to Tiera de Fuego on the beachfront in Vina Del Mar. There are a few roof top terraces along the shore but no other restaurants or bars right on the beach like this, so why not 2 days in a row?
Sunday 24 February
We've been on the go for over 5 weeks now. We usually like to take a rest day once a week when we are travelling for a long time. Today was that day, the first in 5 weeks, chilling in our brightly coloured container room at Winebox with good views, good coffee, good wine and time to read and catch up on admin.
In the evening we ubered over to Cinzano Bar again for rounds of piscos and Chorrillanos, a typical Valparaiso bar food of chips, pulled beef, onions and fried eggs.
An old crooner up on stage and a few really drunk patrons as entertainment to round off a truly authentic evening out. No tourists in sight!
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