Las Calles de Valparaio

Slam, my shoulder pressed against the glass window, as the micro bus made a sharp, turn. I stared out the window at the port was reveled, with a curtain of pink clouds above the sparkling city. Yellow lights were scattered throughout the rolling hills and illuminated the city, as it got darker as each minute passed. The bus pasted the classic Valparaiso sign, with the colorful letters jumbled together, spelling out Valparaiso. A smile came across my face; I knew the adventure had begun. After, a few stops, I thought a recognized where we were, so I jumped out at a stop light, and ran across the street.

A blast of cooking meat smell entered my nostrils. A lady with a homemade, portable grill, consisting of a shopping chart and a hollowed out metal can was selling meat on a stick. I kept walking. With a sudden gust of wind, trash from all over swirled around my feet and around the corner of a building. If I didn’t know better, about how bad littering is, I would say it was almost comical to see, the trash bags try to mimic tumble weed. Along with the wind and trash the smell the sewer swirled around me.

I moved past the central fountain where there were a few people passed out on cardboard beds. Walking up the steep street. With a side walk so narrow, that when there were too many people, I jumped down the two foot drop on the bumpy road, to let them pass, and then quickly got back on the side walk because of the occasional car rushing past. I stopped to admire a large mural of deformed over sized graffiti people. I love how there is art everywhere. I think all cities should have this much art. I picked up my friend, from her Hostel we began to walk aimlessly around. I pointed at a set of extremely steep stairs going to a small apartment, and joked about us going up there. We heard music, and decided to follow it. We entered a small plaza type area and there were about twenty people dressed in some kind of traditional costumes, doing a synchronized dance. Their purple and yellow capes bounced up and down as they jumped and chanted words in a different language. Soon a lady walked around with a hat held out in her hand asking for money. We continued on.

Saw bread, potatoes, and strawberries being sold. It was our first time seeing strawberries since in Chile. Then we walked through a large white tent with the traditional touristy South American things being sold: llama shirts, sweaters, colorful key chains, shot glasses, and post cards. We heard more music, a different kind of music, and followed that. On a street corner there was an improvised street jam session. A few Chileans playing drums, one playing the guitar, another playing the tambourine. In the center of them there was an extremely tall white guy in a white rob, with curly hair that bounced has he danced in a circle. With his eyes closed and arms wide open he thrived off the music. I wonder what his story was. Also a barefoot Chilean girl, danced next to him, not quite as eccentrically. Their funky combination of people and music, felt good to here, it felt like Valparaiso to me. Reminded me of the night after the Mil Tambores festival in Playa San Mateo. That night after the festival, even though it was a Sunday night, I went back and joined a smaller group of Chilean hippies around “fire,” (burning cardboard beer boxes). But the let me play their drums and guitar, under the stars. Next to the ocean waves crashing against the shore. The fire lighting up happy drunks on the beach with drums.

Another time, I was walking down looking Turnamesa climbing gym. I had vague Chilean directions. I saw a sign for climbing but it seemed wrong since there were only seemly abandoned old and falling apart buildings. But I pushed past the unchained gate and walked into the back ally, it looked sketchy, but as I rounded the corner, I saw climbing holds, through window. And sure enough, inside this crazy old building there was a indoor climbing gym. With music blasting and people hangout, climbing posters, even a pin pong table, and people talking about climbing.

The next day, I had heard about this environmental corporation, In Valparaiso, so I decided to go see what they did. I found the small group of “Earthy” Chileans in a central plaza area. I helped them set up a stand with things, to educate people on green living, along with a assortment of plants to sell. There were all these cool homemade, recycled plastic containers filled with plants, being shown off in little stands all around the plaza. And curious little Chilean kids asking about them and taking plants that we free and getting excited to plant them in their homes. Even the band of skater girls were interested in the plants. They all sported, their, side ways, flat brim hats, tied up tang tops, and tight jeans, even though they looked only about 10 years old.

This eccentric city is a jumble of eclectic sounds, smells, people, architecture, and culture.