South America

South American Travel

Santiago, Chile: Getting Lost in a Sprawling Graveyard

Posted by on Apr 2, 2013 in Chile, South America, Travel Blog and Destinations | 0 comments

Santiago, Chile: Getting Lost in a Sprawling Graveyard

I was ready. I was so very ready to love Santiago. Instead, I found myself comparing it to Lima, and Santiago’s smog and traffic could not compare to the rush of life and history of the Peruvian capitol. I did find a saving grace; the largest (and tallest) graveyard I have ever set foot in. I think there is something intriguing about everywhere in the world. Every city, town, village, forest, desert.. Sometimes it just takes a little longer to find it. We landed in Santiago, and as I do, I routined into a quick airport washroom change into summer clothes and a generous layer of SPF 50....

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Valparaíso, Chile: The Poet Nerruda’s Home – La Sebastiana

Posted by on Mar 3, 2013 in Chile, South America, Travel Blog and Destinations | 0 comments

Valparaíso, Chile: The Poet Nerruda’s Home – La Sebastiana

At the edge of the little map issued to tourists of Valparaiso and near the top of the hills is the quirky, narrow, tall and perfect home of the poet, Pablo Neruda named “La Sebastiana.” Forty years after his death, his home is the humble and magnificent palace of an artist who is forever curious, and young at heart. It is my dream home, from another life. Each corner offered more and more treasures, each (as the audio tour attests) with it’s own story. The items come together to bring the poet to life, animating the black and white portraits with good humor and light. A...

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Valparaíso, Chile: Alleyways, Animals, and 100-year-old Funiculars on an Ocean Hillside.

Posted by on Jan 28, 2013 in Chile, South America, Travel Blog and Destinations | 0 comments

Valparaíso, Chile: Alleyways, Animals, and 100-year-old Funiculars on an Ocean Hillside.

The first city in Chile I fell for was Valparaiso. Just a two hour bus trip away from Santiago you can trade a desert of buildings and a sandstorm city bustle for a vertical jungle of art and culture. The city is built on a very steep hill, so very unlike Santiago, the women are mostly in flats.       The landscape here is intricate; the towers of neighbourhoods are painted in cherry, lavender, sunshine yellow, and lines of tangled black wires. Even the view from far above the colour can tease you as you find a set of impossibly steep steps to reach a new discovery.  I found...

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