VALPARAÍSO, 
qué disparate
eres, 
qué loco, 
puerto loco, 
qué cabeza
con cerros, 
desgreñada, 
no acabas
de peinarte, 
nunca
tuviste
tiempo de vestirte, 
siempre
te sorprendió 
la vida...

--Pablo Neruda (Famed Chilean poet / statesman and former resident of Valparaiso)
 

VALPARAÍSO,
what an absurdity
you are,
how crazy:
a crazy port.
What a head
of disheveled
hills,
that you never finish
combing.
Never
did you have
time to dress yourself,
and always
you were surprised
by life...

--Translation by Hermitina 

The streets of Valparaiso! Nicole and I have been transfixed. Few places we have visited provide so much entertainment just walking around. Rainbow alleyways, roaming dogs, steep winding roads, and spiderwebs of power lines overhead. Color pops everywhere we look.  

An hour's drive northwest of the capital of Santiago, Valparaiso is a port city on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Until the building of the Panama Canal, it was one of the main stopovers for ships carrying goods around the lower tip of South America, the Magellan Straights. Recently, Valparaiso has reinvented itself as a cultural hub, teeming with street life. 

Nicole and I have been staying at an excellently situated Airbnb in the Alegre Hill neighborhood, which borders the famed Concepción Hill neighborhood and is within easy walking distance. We've spent hours strolling the streets, taking pictures of the scenes and art. 

Each of the photographs below I took during these daily walks. Nicole added some photos to the mix as well. The following pictures are probably the best way for us to share a taste of the place we are staying. Enjoy! :)   

Like this post? Want to read more about Travis and Nicole's travel adventures? Check out The Poblenou Neighborhood In Barcelona -- A Fantastic Base For Our Few Days Spent Outside Of France.

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