About a 2 hour drive west of Santiago, through a very long tunnel and over a low coastal mountain range you descend into the city of Valpariso. This bustling port city is built on steep hills which desend to the harbor. This harbor is filled with working vessels from many nations.
Valpariso is a national heritage site because of its many historic buildings. Most of them date to the 1800's and are jammed into close proximity to all the others. They also have electric busses which attach to overhead lines so even the air space is crowded.
They are preserving the outer shells of their historic buildings so they keep the facade and build a modern building on the inside. This one is gutted and awaits a new interior.
This blue building is the original government building and plaza.
Elder Davis and Elder Dixon enjoying the plaza and hoping not to get hit by a bus or taxi.
In order to get up the hills you take the vernicular which is really a shack on tracks that is hauled up on cables. It costs about 200 pescos for a very brief ride to the top. The city has many verniculars to transport you up. They are worth it .....the climb is exhausting.
The view from the top is worth the walk or the pescos.Our amigos Cathy Dixon and Steve Boyden.
This historic home was situated at the top of one of the verniculars. It belonged to the Lyon family and is very ornate.
This old mansion was in a tumbled down state. In fact, much of the town is covered in pealing paint, rusty iron fencing, broken tiles and concrete.
There must be a colony of artist in Valpariso as most old surfaces are embellished in some outlandish and charming manner.
This is an example of building the house to fit the lot. I wonder if any room is wide enough for a double bed? Notice the hairpin turns for that road. At least it is paved; some were just ruts with bushes growning in the middle.
More neighborhood art. Wonder if we couldn't do something with those plain fences around our subdivision?
In spite of the fall date, it feels a lot like summer heat. We managed to climb to the top of this hill on the narrow side walks.
This is a good example of rutted roads with bushes in the center. I suspect that they do not have a neighborhood association approving all the house paint colors. And that is what makes Valpariso so charming!! Click on the picture to enlarge it and notice that every step is painted a different color.
Time now for a rest over a delightful lunch with good friends and a beautiful view.
This blue thing floating in the harbor is actually a floating dry dock used for ship repairs.
Out side of t0wn, on a very winding and windy road is a look out with a light house. Please notice what looks like apartment buildings on the right hand side of the picture on the very edge. I'll tell you about those pretty soon.
In this picture you are looking south down the coast of Chile toward the South Pole.
Here we have Eileen Gonzales rejoicing that she is out of the office and out of Santiago and enjoying the ocean breezes.
Now about the apartment buildings.......they are actually crypts for the dead. I understand that you put your loved one in a large one for a couple of years and then when they have dried out and gotten smaller they move the remains to a smaller crypt. I wonder what they call a remains remover? Maybe a body snatcher?
And now for the most precious thing is Chile........my husband, Elder Davis.
This historic home was situated at the top of one of the verniculars. It belonged to the Lyon family and is very ornate.
This old mansion was in a tumbled down state. In fact, much of the town is covered in pealing paint, rusty iron fencing, broken tiles and concrete.
There must be a colony of artist in Valpariso as most old surfaces are embellished in some outlandish and charming manner.
This is an example of building the house to fit the lot. I wonder if any room is wide enough for a double bed? Notice the hairpin turns for that road. At least it is paved; some were just ruts with bushes growning in the middle.
More neighborhood art. Wonder if we couldn't do something with those plain fences around our subdivision?
In spite of the fall date, it feels a lot like summer heat. We managed to climb to the top of this hill on the narrow side walks.
This is a good example of rutted roads with bushes in the center. I suspect that they do not have a neighborhood association approving all the house paint colors. And that is what makes Valpariso so charming!! Click on the picture to enlarge it and notice that every step is painted a different color.
Time now for a rest over a delightful lunch with good friends and a beautiful view.
This blue thing floating in the harbor is actually a floating dry dock used for ship repairs.
Out side of t0wn, on a very winding and windy road is a look out with a light house. Please notice what looks like apartment buildings on the right hand side of the picture on the very edge. I'll tell you about those pretty soon.
In this picture you are looking south down the coast of Chile toward the South Pole.
Here we have Eileen Gonzales rejoicing that she is out of the office and out of Santiago and enjoying the ocean breezes.
Now about the apartment buildings.......they are actually crypts for the dead. I understand that you put your loved one in a large one for a couple of years and then when they have dried out and gotten smaller they move the remains to a smaller crypt. I wonder what they call a remains remover? Maybe a body snatcher?
And now for the most precious thing is Chile........my husband, Elder Davis.
2 comments:
Thanks for the update. I love getting a peak at a few out-of-the-office sights.
Love the sights. Some of them strange, but what an education you are getting. I am glad you can get out once in awhile and do something a bit different as we know you are very busy in the work.
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