Valparaiso, Chile

After my wondrous time in Argentina, I flew out to the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport (SCL) near Santiago, Chile, and hopped in a rental car to drive over 2 hours (152 km) out to the coast to visit Valparaiso and stay for new years eve. Why, you ask? Well it's a beautiful colorful city by the coast and Valparaiso is known for the best fireworks in South America. I had to experience it!

The drive was quite an adventure since we were relying on the rental Garmin or whatever super old handheld gps device they gave us, which was not very accurate. At some point we got lost and ended up on a scenic diversion through the mountains and it was very dark. We were in a huge rush to make it to our lodging before they closed for the night! Thankfully, we made it for check-in just a few minutes before they closed their reception desk.

Pictured above, we stayed in an adorable lodge that matched the city's own colorful vibrance and charm.

Colorful everywhere, reminded me of the Caminito area of Buenos Aires, which I wrote about in a previous post.

We even had a rooftop view of the surrounding city, accessed through the ladder seen here.

The city is similarly colorful and vibrant. Pictured above are some of the colors seen during our stroll. Notice the cobblestone pavement!

The cutest storefronts and murals depicted on them.

More murals.

This kind of reminds me of the world famous Escadaria Selarón in Rio de Janeiro.

Writing about my trips during the pandemic sure brings back a sense of nostalgia for the pre-covid days.

After strolling around the city, I had an intense craving for sushi and found a little spot that surprisingly filled up to max capacity as soon as its doors opened.

In the evening, we made our way to the coast for the world famous fireworks show. It was quite a spectacle. We managed to squeeze ourselves somewhat close to the front, though the energy of the people lining all along the coast is quite indescribable. None of the photos turned out very crisp due to the low lighting, but the video helps convey the electricity and the panorama fireworks lighting up the bay and the night sky for as far as the eye can see.