Vina del Mar and Valparaiso

We normally don't take "big bus" type tours, but we didn't have a car and the two cities we wanted to visit were two hours away. We went to Valparaiso first, and learned about several famous buildings there, which were mostly dedicated to navy or government administration. Valparaiso is a major port for Chile, and it is also built into a steep hillside. The city is a mish-mash of nice and run down houses that sprawl up the mountainside. Copper and lapis lazuli are two of the more important materials that are mined in Chile, so there is a copper monument in the town square. We then rode the second most rickety cable car known to man up the steep hillside to a viewing platform. Apparently the most rickety cable car was many years older, but was not big enough to hold our group of 14.
Here are some pictures from the day:

Because Valparasio was built on 45 different hills, we were able to get several great views of the cities.

In the back you can see another example of the Spanish influence on Chilean architecture. This church would be at home in Europe.

This building was the headquarters for Chile's Naval commanders during the 19th century.

This cat was very happy to sit in the sun on one of the tables of its owner's shop. It also did not want to be bothered. A little girl went up and tried to pet the cat, and got bit for her trouble.

We seem to be drawn to cable cars on this trip. This one was over 80 years old, and very rickety. Anna was not impressed.

These are the tracks that the cable car came down. Looks like they could use some maintenence. But, we made it down without incident.

After lunch, we visited Vina del Mar, which blends into Valparaiso. There is a nice white sand beach there, but the waves were massive so no one went swimming. There were some very beautiful scenic overlooks of the ocean and the Andes Mountains on the drive home. All in all it was a nice day trip.

Vina del Mar was a little more picturesque than Valparasio. This was a working clock whose face was made out of flowers.

A view of the harbor separating the cities.

The beach in Vina del Mar.

View of the mountains on the way back to Santiago.

-Scott & Anna