Country #77: Valparaiso: Hilly Hippie Haven

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A recent listing on Travelzoo's top 20 caught my eye for a number of reasons. The days of the advertised deal corresponded nicely with my vacation. It was cheap. The itinerary would take me to three countries I had yet to visit. There would be penguins involved. It was really, really cheap. There would be chance to see glaciers. It required minimal planning and I was running out of time to make a decision. But principally, it was the penguins and the cheapness which won me over! Of course, there is always a trade-off. In contrast to all these appealing pluses was the fact that this was a cruise. A 14-day South American cruise, to be exact. I have never regarded myself as a cruise person, preferring independent travel to being stuck on a floating hotel with bad lounge acts and bland food. However, $399 (before taxes) for 14 days accommodations, meals and transportation through some amazing (and very hard to reach) landscape tipped the balance way too much for me to pass it up. Not to mention, the penguins...
The cruise began in Valparaiso, Chile on Nov. 23rd, so the day prior, I flew into Santiago and took a two-hour bus ride to this funky seaside town. During the day, there were hints of its bohemian leanings. There was well thought-out street art spread throughout the various neighborhoods. There were cute boutiques and brightly painted buildings. There was the occasional hippy. Only problem was that everything was closed and walking up and down the city, which is built on a series of hills so steep that there are 6 funiculars (or as they refer to them, elevators) running all day long, in an unrelenting heat was exhausting. So it came as a welcome relief when night fell and Cerro Alegre, the artsy center of it all, threw open the doors to its wine bars, cafes and most joyously, its vegetarian restaurant, Epif. I feasted like someone prepared to eat nothing but steamed vegetables and maybe grilled cheese sandwiches for the next two weeks, as I toasted to the adventure that was to follow.
Next day, happy and slightly hung over, I boarded the Norwegian Sun...
Over the course of coming weeks, I will be posting lots of photos and talking about the cruise, as as well as the ports of call, but I feel it is only fair to warn anyone reading this that there is going to be penguin overload. Anyone with an aversion to the little tuxedo'ed fellows may want to stay away. If you did not enjoy Happy Feet, you are going to hate this site. I mean it. Consider yourself warned.

Comments

  1. RamblingRolandDecember 17, 2008 at 10:51 AM

    What, no hippy pictures? That was indeed great value for the $$. Looking forward to the continuing stories.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bertiDecember 17, 2008 at 11:01 AM

    Less than $29 a day...I couldn't pass that up. I like to think that the children are budding hippies, mini-hippies, if you will. They start with the sidewalk chalk painting and eventually graduate to painting full-on grafitti murals and selling handmade jewelry on street corners.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 17, 2008 at 11:36 AM

    Good pictures, looking forward to more, how are your spending your christmas(pagan holiday). We put up a pagan tree, trying to keep it real.

    Satanica

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 23, 2008 at 1:06 PM

    Wow... I really need to stop planning my vacations so far in advance and wait for the good deals to fall into my lap. I've been saying that for a while now, as a recipient of Travelzoo updates, also. But this just improved my resolve. What a tremendous deal you got on the cruise! And your pictures are top-notch, Berti. The composition alone on several of them caught my eye.

    Sandi in Jefferson City, MO

    ReplyDelete

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