VALPARAISO, CHILE..."The jewel of the pacific"

    

   ”Valparaíso es un montón, un racimo de casas locas.” (Valparaíso is a 

heap, a bunch of crazy houses.)

- Pablo Neruda

 Valparaiso ranks as one of Chile's most valuable seaports and is a cultural cornucopia of artists, musicians and performers. It's a genuine feast for the eyes. Its distinctive history combined with its unique architecture has allowed it to be deemed as a UNESCO World Heritage Cite. Precioso!!! We were lucky enough to visit this stunning city during the Festival de las Artes, which is a festival dedicated to the arts, culture, and global sustainability.  The city was transformed right before our eyes!! We simply could not have chosen a better time to be in this enchanting place. The city entices you with its charm, dazzles you with its magic, and relaxes you with its sweet song. I simply can not say enough about Valparaiso  I love love loved it!!!!

Interactive Art focusing on the importance of recycling

    Only a short bus ride from Viña del Mar, we arrived in Valparaiso relaxed and ready to explore. Our hostel was perfect! A much needed reprieve from the utter chaos of the beaches. Hostel Jacaranda is run by a very lovely couple and we felt immediately at home upon entering. We stayed in a dorm that was supposed to be mixed but lucked out because it ended up being all girls. Yay for us!!

Valpo by boat...amazing!!!

Enter Jasmin...
You know when you meet someone and there is that instant connection, things just click? Impossible to describe? That's how both Aesha and I felt about meeting Jasmin "Jazz hands" from Germany. Jasmin arrived in Valparaiso the same day as us and she was travelling alone, until she met us. Once we met her we decided that we were going to adopt her and she did not leave our side until the day she left to go back home to Germany. We miss you Jazz hands! What an amazing five days the three of us had together!

Aesha, myself and Jasmin on "Daddy"

 Time to explore... The most outstanding phenomenon of this city is the plethora of graffiti art. It's everywhere. Almost every inch is boldly painted with wildly eccentric graffiti. It's magnificent. Excitement ran through our blood as we turned each corner, anticipating the next masterpiece. The winding streets are dotted with local art studios, cafes, handicraft markets, and more unique little trinket shops than I have ever seen. This city is full of amazing artists, craftspeople and musicians alike.

 Funicular lift to the panoramic viewpoint

Valparaiso boasts fifteen antiquated funicular lifts. They are archaic and actually date back to the 1800's, but they are also a great way to avoid exercise, and let's face it...who really likes to exercise??  We would much rather sit and sip vino as we discuss our daily shopping conquests.

Vino time at our favorite hotspot. The view is perfecto!!!!!

The vino...
All three of us love wine, so we decided that everyday around sunset we should get a bottle of Sauvingnon Blanc, sip it slowly as we digest our afternoon, and allow our palates to be teased by the flavor of crisp apples, pears and grapefruit. Shopping with a wine buzz..look out!!

Denise Quijada and a very happy Samantha!!!

The shopping...

And a very happy Aesha!

If I had a million dollars... OK, I don't, but I sure did shop my face off here. Every time I travel abroad I purchase a special piece of artwork. My personal collection of art is expansive and I am more than proud to say that my newest piece came from an incredible female artist from Valparaiso. Her name is Denise Quijada and I fell in love with her work immediately. I knew that I must have this painting as soon as I walked into her studio. Aesha became immediately attached to another one of her pieces. A deal was struck and all of us were ecstatic ! Now Aesha and I each own a one of a kind piece of artwork from the same artist. It reflects the beauty of our trip and will forever remain in our hearts and minds that we share this special connection and remind us of our spectacular trip to Valparaiso together.

You got it Jasmin!!!!

The Hooping...
What would a day in the park be without Aesha teaching someone how to hoop? Ocne again, we drew a curious entourage of onlookers as Aesha taught Jasmin how to: stand straight, use her muscles, and hoop her little but off. All of this was done in the coolest park on earth. It doesn't have a name but it is completely constructed of mosaic hearts. Mosaic art is one of my favorite forms of art, and hearts...well anyone who knows me knows how much I love hearts!!!!! So much that I'm contemplating getting two mosaic heart tattoos on my wrists. Feel free to discuss this in the comment section at the end of this blog. I would love some feedback.

The girls...right before we found a myserious package that smelled like a skunk. Weird.

Six piece rocking band!!!!!

The Festival de las Artes-
The city was alive and buzzing with excitement. The first night we headed to the plaza to watch the Cuban musician and Latin Grammy nominee Aldo Lopez Gavilan perform. We met a very sweet Chilean couple who took us to a local hot spot where we continued to watch and listen to outstanding live music until the wee hours of the morning. The music was eclectic, original and completely enchanted me. I did not want to leave!
I was completely enamored with this band. So much so that I purchased their CD. Awesome times!!! Check out this video. http://youtu.be/I6xo6TblpjU

Girls night out!

One of the remarkable things about this festival is that it is completely free. At anytime throughout the day you can witness live performances by musicians, poets, and artists... and at night, we headed to the theater.We selected an outdoor theatrical performance to entertain us the second evening. It was an Cirque de Soleil like interpretive dance piece that blew our minds. The show was a creative interpretation of the epic "Altazar", written by the Chilean poet Vincete Huidbro.  This poem has been deemed "untranslatable" which made this performance extraordinary. Fire dancers, aerial contortionists in silk, lyra, and acrobatics occupied the sky while the narrator, an extremely large birdlike creature transformed the stage into a world of passion, hatred, love and new beginnings. It was completely in Spanish, and I loved every second.

Altazar performance

Aerial performer!!

Basically...we loved Valparaiso. From the graffitti art, local artesan shopping to the music, vino and theater...We will be back, oh yes, we will be back.
I enjoyed the street art so much I feel the need to share some of my farites with you...enjoy!
-The Savvy Nomad

Bad girl Aesha!!!

Yup...thats my artist!!!

Hola!!!

Creepy!!!