I arrived in Valparaiso this afternoon. It is a really cool city. It is a port city--there is a flat area that runs a few blocks´width parallel to the water, then the rest of the city is made of hills. 42 hills. It is quite amazing, they are very steep and covered chock-a-block with brightly painted houses, restaurants, shops, etc. Although it is unlike any place I have ever been, it does remind me slightly of Lisbon. It is a little run down, a little rough around the edges but really, really neat. There is graffiti everywhere but it includes really great murals, cartoons, paintings, etc. I only explored one or two of the hills but will try to see a lot more tomorrow. Along with all of the dogs, this town seems to have quite a few cats as well.
The lining/insoles of my raggedy shoes (you know, that I will throw out while traveling) has wrinkled up and given me a blister so I was thinking I should try to find some insoles. Right when I got here I started walking to the historic part of town and there were many street vendors. One had a blanked spread out with what looked like were very thin, leather insoles for shoes. Perfect, I thought, I slipped some in, gave the girl about a buck, and they are comfortable. They have a stamp on them (in Spanish) saying ¨real leather" which I guess they are but there is also a picture of a horse. I don´t know if this means they are horse leather...which I kind of feel bad about but I guess I like cows too and that hasn´t stopped me. In anycase my horse leather insoles are exactly what I needed.
As I get farther south, it continues to get a bit greener. On the outskirts of Valparaiso were real live trees, flowers, crops, etc. It is nice to see some green again. There were also goats in a field and horses, oh, and horse pulling a plow for a farmer. The mountains still look like the ones on M*A*S*H though.
I am exhausted and will shower and turn-in. I will change rooms for tomorrow but tonight´s available room is on a corner of busy streets. I hope my earplugs do the trick.
Congratulations on scoring some horse leather insoles and arriving in Valparaiso. With the previous posts references to the sands, mirages, flamingos and desert I was beginning to fear you had inadvertently gone to Las Vegas. I feel like I am the only one posting - was there some No Comment Pact agreed to that I wasn't privy to? If so, please tell me, since it is an ordeal trying to decipher the bendy blended letters code you have to type in before posting - even with Pat Bifocal Glasses. Looking forward to more pictures of stunning views. xo
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