Valparaiso (pop 200,000 city proper / 800,000urban area) is a major seaport and naval base for Chile. At the time of our visit, several large fires were being fought around Valparaiso during which 150 people have died and many more lost their homes and belongings. And one of their past presidents had just died so the country was in a 3 day mourning period.
Situated on the Pacific Ocean and affected by the Humbolt current, almost every morning starts out in the 60’s, cloudy and gray, threatening to rain. Around noon the clouds have evaporated, and the sun appears making the average 70’s degree feel much warmer. This picture was taken at 9am and was not taken in black and white.
Valparaiso’s golden age existed from the 1800’s to 1914. This period included wealth and growth from the shipping industry as it was a most important port for ships travelling the Straights of Magellan around the tip of South America. Many immigrants, mostly from European countries moved to Valparaiso to easily build fortunes for their families.
The influx of people caused the creation of several urban areas around Valparaiso as well as a population explosion in Valparaiso that necessitated building houses well up the 5 hill areas (mountains) surrounding the city. Today most of the population lives in the hills and the common conversation is not ‘Where do you live?’ but, ‘What hill do you live on?’
The growth started public transportation with trolley cars and funiculars to reach the Hills as public transportation could not reach the higher elevations. Later on, a bus and single line metro were established as well.
The funiculars were steam powered and built in the late 1800’s as public transportation between the city center and the lower level of hills. They are considered National Monuments and are part of the preservation focus after the city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. 14 are still in use today.
In 1914, the opening of the Panama canal caused a major decline in Valparaiso. Much like major highways bypassing rural towns, the canal took most of their shipping business. People moved to cities such as Santiago as more opportunity existed. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that there was interest in restoring Valparaiso after the port was able to become an important part of Pacific shipping.
During the revival, Valparaiso has taken on a more ‘Bohemian’ culture with artists and performances etc and is deemed Chile’s Cultural Center.
We were docked in Valparaiso for 2 days. The first day I travelled outside of Valparaiso to the Casablanca Valley where Chilean wines are produced. The geography and climate changed as we entered the valley. Flatter fields of vineyard after vineyard, some small and some large. Very reminiscent of the Napa Valley topography if you have visited there. The temperature was warmer, in the mid 70’s.
We stopped at the William Cole winery to tour the vineyards and the wine producing facility. As the seasons are swapped south of the Equator, the grapes are growing now with an expected harvest in early April. The vines are generally European stock – sauvignon blanc, merlot, pinot noir etc
The setting remined me of Italian vineyards. The sky was sunny and clear. The wineries were huge with beautiful grounds, flowers and fountains.
You may be able to see in the vineyard between the first 2 tall bushes on the left, a pole with a propeller on it. This is one of 2 ways they use to protect the grapes in cold weather. A propeller is used to move the air around the vineyard to keep the young grapes warm. Some farmers will use fires beneath the propellers to warm the air. The second method is more familiar to me as water misting is commonly used on citrus in Florida. The premise being they turn on sprinklers to provide a very fine mist on the plants. If cold enough, a thin coat of ice will form and become insultation to prevent a further drop in temperature.
Grapes are determined to be ready for harvest by measure the sugar content of the grapes – referred to as Brix. The grapes in this vineyard are harvested by hand and placed in a large metal cylinder. Running the length of the middle of the cylinder is a balloon. Once full of grapes, the balloon is slowly inflated crushing the grapes to extract the juice and the skins “like soft footsteps”. This is repeated 3 times for full extraction. For white wines only the juice is moved to the fermentation vats. A combination of juice and skins (for color) are moved to the fermentation vats for red wines. The fermentation vats can be adjusted as needed by heating or cooling the liquid depending upon the speed of fermentation and what type of wine is desired. This is the art of wine making.
After the fermentation process is complete, the wines are stored in oak or some other wood barrel for up to 1 year depending upon the wine. Wine ready for bottling is moved to different set of metal storage containers that are connected to the bottling facility.
The bottling area washes the bottles, fills the bottles, corks or adds screw caps. A label is placed on the bottle and cleaned again. Most of the time the bottles are filled but no label is applied. It is only after they know where the wine will be shipped, are labels applied. Shipped to France the label is in French, to Spain in Spanish etc.
This is the underground cellar that went on beyond what I could see.
Of course we were able to taste various wines, view the cellar and purchase various bottles. The bottles of wine are so inexpensively priced that the postage to ship a case of wine to the US costs 3-4 times the price of wine. Sorry Kristin, that means only 1 bottle has your name on it. Unless I purchase a corkscrew along the way!! Note: always pack a corkscrew/bottle opener when traveling to wine areas.
Grapes on the vine - pinot noir
Isn't this artsy-fartsy? It isn't what I was trying to do- but here it is. Sauvignon Blanc
The tasting was in this little garden that came with its own dog. The dog has been through this enough that he barely woke up and never moved from the spot under the tree.
The next day was a tour through Valparaiso city. The center town itself is relatively small maybe 7 streets by 6 streets and then the buildings quickly become housing and businesses going up into the hills.
This particular plaza housed the headquarters of the Chilean Navy.
The Plaza included some other governmental buildings and the statue commemorating the bravery of the fighters of the Pacific War. The monument was selected from several submissions. One of the monuments submitted was by Auguste Rodin (The Thinker) but was not selected as they wanted a more emotional or majestic statue. Here is the winning statue.
Oh – Chile kept the Rodin and placed it outside a governmental building. The building looks a little worn as in the last earthquake it was damaged and declared uninhabitable and they are waiting for the renovation to start. The earthquake was in 2006-hope no one is holding their breath on this one.
In the same plaza is the first shipping import/export business in Valparaiso. Because of the UNESCO designation, building codes require that the façade of historical buildings cannot be changed during renovation. The façade was certainly kept in this rebuild but it acts as a surround for the very modern mirrored building existing today. I’m not sure I like that. What do you think?
Going up into hills you get an impression as to how difficult it is build houses on steep inclines. From the street it might look like the house has one level but there are 2 or more built down the hillside. While not the prettiest section of town, the white house demonstrates the building down and the use of posts for stilts in the process. Anyone notice the aqua van parked in the upper right of the picture? Very strange place for a garage.
Once in the hills the ups and downs become very apparent and wall art is in abundance.
A colorful house.
Looking down the hill at the pedestrian path
Wall art
Along with the paintings you are almost fooled there is a person on the first roof.
A quick stop at the history museum to view 1 of only 2 Moai that have been allowed to leave Easter Island. An appetizer for the next stop in several days!
We are now underway to Easter Island after 3 more days at sea. Truly excited as Easter Island is another personal highlight for me!
Adios!
So beauitful!