With a tight turnaround of less than 14 hours between returning from Rapaa Nui to Santiago and getting on our ship- MS Oosterdaam, we thought it only appropriate to squeeze in a walking tour of the street art in Valparaiso… before anyone questions our madness, Valparaiso is where we picking the boat up from.
Prior to the Panama Canal, Valparaiso was a major stopping port for ships coming through the Strait of Magellan and passing between the Pacific and the Atlantic. However these days, it’s not seen as so strategic and many of the rich and gentrified have left and it is looking a little (a lot) rundown. The Chilean navy are still based here- but like the town- the ships in the port look rundown too.
These days, Valparaiso has remodelled itself. It’s now the centre for educational excellence in Chile and become the centre of bohemian life in Chile full of festival, music and art. Right up our street.
If we had had more time, I think we would have liked to have stayed here a little longer. We have had to settle with a street art tour.