Ash and Rachel Arrive

Randy got Ash and Rachel from the airport in Santiago in the early AM and they did a little sightseeing in Santiago.  Arriving to Vina later, we made it just in time for the "free" Tours for Tips tour of Valparaiso.   This organization offers AM and PM tours each day on an ad hoc basis.  The AM is an off the beaten track tour while the PM one is the basic tour.  Both charge no fee but definitely want a good tip at the end.  This group also offers similar tours in Santiago.  We met up with our friendly but probably over talkative guide and several other groups of people from the U.S. and a few other countries.

The Naval War Memorial in the central plaza of Valparaiso where our tour group met

Our guide (on left in the required goofy outfit) meets with the ad hoc group this Monday afternoon.  The weather was great that day.

We set off by first walking to the seafront and then boarded a trolley for a brief ride.  These trolley are quite historic and it was interesting to ride in one.  We then began our walk which included upwards into the hills and through some great architecture.  We took one of the ascensors (elevators) - the Queen Victoria - also very historic, to make getting up easier.  We had taken this particular ascensor before on an earlier visit but it is a good one and a nice new experience for Ash and Rachel.  Our guide did take us through some very special streets and neighborhoods (my favorite is Paseo Atkinson) and he offered some interesting history of the area.  But, he spent too much time talking including on some aspects were not so interesting.

The port area of Valparaiso

At the Naval Headquarters on the main square

The trolley we rode - electrified, of course

After the trolley we headed to the ascensor Queen Victoria which dates from 1902

This ascensor is short but very steep

Our elevator to the hills

One of the amazing street art murals in Valparaiso - reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are

Door to one of the historic churches 

I liked this mural which portrays the artist who has drawn some of the most famous Valparaiso murals

My favorite lane of Valparaiso

One of the faded but beautiful townhomes of Paseo Atkinson

An old gentleman from the upstairs window of one of the townhomes

Our guide sings with a street performer at Paseo Atkinson

A look down Paseo Atkinson - this reminded me a lot of New Orleans but with hills

One of the street murals by the most famous artist of this genre in Valparaiso but I forgot his name :-(

Ash and Rachel soak up the Valparaiso atmosphere

Some of the spaghetti all over Valparaiso - I guess it is hard to retrofit these old structures with modern conveniences

One of the street dogs - these sweeties always look pretty happy and chill 

We stopped by a small doorway to taste a free Chilean sweet - a cookie with manjar (dulce de leche) between the cookie layers and all covered with chocolate - called an alfajore.  Ash also bought an empanada from the elderly man who ran this small shop.

Our guide knocks on the shop door for the free alfajores

Pretty delicious!

Ash was in his happy place

After the walking tour, we went to a creepy old building near the port where Tours for Tips is located.  They offered a small sample of some local alcoholic drink (not Pisco) and the waited for the tips :-).

The door to the creepy old mansion that serves as Tours for Tips headquarters

We retrieved the car from the underground carpark and headed back to Vina.  Dinner that night was at the local Peruvian restaurant place we had gone to with Rosa and Fatih the previous week.  We enjoyed Pisco Sours and some good and inexpensive chow.  As before, the place was friendly and very local (no tourists in evidence).  Ash and Rachel went back for some well deserved sleep (they did very well by staying up all day and into the evening).

I was too busy eating and drinking to take food photos but this place is recommended for reasonably priced delicious food with a local vibe