Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile -- Feb.1-2
Valparaiso, sea side city of two halves-- resort area of Vina del Mar and El Plan. With a floral clock as a landmark, Valparaiso is shaped like an amphitheater around the beaches, being surrounded by 42 hills. It's pretty amazing to see the Victorian residences line up the hillsides, with no damage during earthquakes. It was once a major port until the Panama Canal rendered it unnecessary. Valparaiso's steeply sloped barrios are linked by ascensores, or funiculars/inclines. Once the city had 32 inclines. Of those 16 remain, with only 3 being functional. The beautiful Naval Headquarters Building was once the Presidential Palace. We viewed the city from the tops of the hills to down at sea side. Saw the 1930's Casino and toured the small but impressive Fonck Museum, with many artifacts, intact with brightly painted ancient pottery, and an impressive exhibit and Moai from Easter Island/Rapa Nui, the most isolated place on earth.
Santiago, Chile's capital, set at the foot of snowcapped Andean peaks, has 8 million people and is one of the largest cities in the Americas. Santiago boasts its impressive art deco and neoclassical buildings, presidential palace, Plaza de Armas, Metropolitan Cathedral and is ashamed of the ubiquitous graffiti.
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