Valparaiso, Chile

I spent the next four days in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso and absolutely loved it. With no snow, thefts, accidents or money issues, I could just relax and enjoy this small but bustling city with its amazing street art, hills (called cerros) and haphazard buildings.

The view from a cerro

On my first day I took a walking tour of the city that took us around some of the most interesting sites and cerros, whilst giving us a useful insight into 'Porteno' history and culture (the word for born and bred locals). I also had lunch at a 'secret' restaurant recommended by my hostel, knocking on the unmarked red door and receiving a great 3 course vegan meal.

The next day I treated myself to a full day's Chilean cooking class. After getting our fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish at the local market we set about creating our four course menu.

Chilean-style cerviche

We started with cerviche and empanadas, followed by a type of beef and corn pie and custard apples in orange sauce all paired with Chilean wines and fresh pisco sours. Yum!



After several hours of eating and drinking we finished the evening off at an acoustic music session in one of the cerros, with amazing views over the city.

On my final day I booked onto a street art tour of the city. It turned out to be private tour, exploring the work of some of Chile's most talented grafitti artists and learning the meaning of phrases such as 'tags', 'throw-ups' and 'wild-style'. But the best part was probably getting to meet two artists in their home, filled with spray paints of every imaginable colour.

The colourful streets of Valparaiso

After lunch again at the secret restaurant, I spent the afternoon visiting the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's house and riding the crazy outdoor elevators that connect the cerros to the city at sea-level before packing up to leave the next day.