Chile/Argentina - Valparaiso

 Valparaiso is just a couple of hours from Santiago - an excellent place for a day trip.  The historic quarter of Valparaiso is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Valparaiso used to be a very important port, before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, and as such, it had British, German and Italian settlements among others, giving it an urban fabric and cultural diversity that made it unique among Latin American cities.  

Our tour took us to the old Port and the fish market, then up the steep hills to the many streets and alleyways with their brightly coloured murals and decorations that is one of the city's distinguishing features.  It was hard to walk, look at murals and take photos at the same time because the streets were steep, the steps and pavement cobbled and uneven.  Almost felt lucky I survived without a fall.  

We were taken through the different quarters, the British, German, Italian, Portuguese quarters each with their distinctive features.  But don't ask me which is which now that I am home.  Just enjoy the colourful murals as they are, in no particular order.

Colourful houses filled the hillside 

The old pier at the port

Long stretch of sandy beach - perfect for the hot day if you're in a swimsuit, but otherwise heat was scorching

The fish market

Streets were very steep - hard to walk up but even harder to walk down!

Not an easy walk because of the uneven cobbled pavement and also the many distractions offered by the colourful murals.  One really has to concentrate and focus on one thing at a time.

Impossible not to be distracted by steps like these - pretty amazing!

Pablo Neruda house

Pablo Neruda mural outside the College

Love this one with a tea cup embedded into the mural 

Hokusai in Valparaiso?

This is supposed to be related to Easter Island myth

This rather reminded me of St. John's, Newfoundland

Transportation themes - interesting perspectives 

A delicious lunch break with the Chilean specialty dish Conger eel stew

I can see this being a fabulous backdrop for performances

Obvious Chilean love of pets

These are shelters built for "Community dogs"

Whole houses covered

Brilliant!

Vibrant area with shops and eateries

Love these - I think they are in the Yugoslav area

Looking down at the harbour 

Going down to the old Port on the vintage funicular

Social commentary here - Statue of Justice with broken scales

Japan in the Spring - Busan (Korea)

It's strange to put this under Japan in the Spring when Busan is actually in Korea..  I kept the heading just to keep everything together.  There seems to be some legality that requires a cruise ship to visit at least one international port during a cruise, in this case, it's Busan.  We joined the ship's shore excursion as it was an early port departure and we didn't want to miss the boat.

Busan looked like a busy international port with loads of cranes, bridges and containers visible on the waterfront.  Our first stop was the temple by the sea - the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.  It is in a beautiful seaside setting north of Busan.  Our Korean guide spent a lot of time talking about Korean social issues but didn't talk much about this Buddhist temple.  Some of the rooms are quite spectacular as is the seaside it faces.

The Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The lineup of animals representing the zodiac along the entrance

One of several dazzling chambers

Golden buddha 

Many steps lead to the upper levels 

The essential bamboo grove

The seaside in front of the temple

Our next stop is the Nurimaru APEC House on Dongbaekseom Island, an island of camellia trees.  The round building was the site of the 2005 APEC summit and continues to be used as a memorial hall and conference centre.  It was a nice walk by the sea with a great view of the nearby islands and the Busan skyline in the distance. 

The Nurimaru APEC House

The conference room

This waterfront trail leads to the mermaid statue on the rocks, reminiscent of that other famous mermai in Europe

Eurasian Magpie (another lifer for me!) and camellia flowers on the island

The bus took us back to the city where we were taken to the gigantic fish market - a real eye-opener.  We were rained out for the subsequent tour of the shopping street but it was interesting to see some of the shopping alleys - very Asian in character. 

An incredible variety of shellfish!  These are smaller stalls outside the actual fish market

Inside the actual fish market

The impressive building housing the fish market

Roadside stalls just outside the fish market

The shopping streets - this could be anywhere in Asia!

There is even a star walk

Containers galore

Bridges and cranes dot the waterfront skyline near the port

These look like oyster farms in the harbour

The fireboat gave us a cool farewell display

Port of Busan panorama

This short stop in Busan gave me a first glimpse of Korea - the brief insight into Korean society provided by our chatty guide (identifying social and academic pressures) helped me understand a little better where movies like Parasite and Minari originated from.  

Next post: Hiroshima