Tag: valparaiso

Day 60. Valparaiso El Fin.

A month in Valparaiso, Chile.

I spent a month in Valparaiso, Chile.  I did a work exchange at a hostel.  I worked in exchange for a bed and some food.  It was actually a lot easier than I thought, despite everything being in Spanish.  It is said that Chilean Spanish is difficult to understand because they talk to fast and they have different slang.  I got along fine though. Before Chile I spent the prior month backpacking through Peru.  It was too fast for me, a week here and a week there.  I found this gig through, Workaway, check it out. I have another gig in August in Scotland.  It was great to relax and not have to worry about traveling.

 

Cerro Bellavista

Valparaiso is the cultural capital of Chile. There are 42 hills, cerros, in the city. There are many incredible murals all over the city.  It has one of the three homes of famous Chilean Poet, Pablo Neruda. It used to be one of the premier ports in the 1800s.  With the creation of the Panama Canal.  Its stopped receiving as many visitors.  I saw a video that showed the city and immediately I wanted to visit the city.

I don’t know who this artist is but I dig the character style and colors.

Red Bull Valparaiso Abajo

 

Me, Hernan, and Lucas

Who I met.  The first people I met were my co-workers, Hernan.  He was the manager of the hostel.  He was very friendly and welcoming.  I learned a lot about Chilean culture from him.  Lucas, a young Brazilian kid, who is from Sao Paulo.  He is traveling all over South America.  He will be in Chile until July.  Pierre, a French traveler, who is from Marseilles.  He has a travel visa for a year.  He left to travel south after a week I arrived.

Pierre made crepes as his last meal with us.

What I got from the experience. Traveling slow is a much more enjoyable experience.  I was able to spend more time to meet people and learn about their culture and country. One of the traditions at the hostel was to have lunch together with all the workers.  It will be something that I’m going to miss.  I believe breaking bread with strangers is one of the best ways to get to know people. The last lunch I had with Hernan and Lucas, I made Filipino chicken adobo.  I believe knowing how to cook is an essential adult skill.  I’m thankful for living on my own, it helped with my knowledge around the kitchen.

My last lunch with the guys. Food brings people together.

I had a lot of down time to train Jiu Jitsu, read, cook, walk around the city, enjoy a  wine tour and take in the Chilean culture.  I will miss the weather, empanadas, murals, food, wine, and speaking spanish but not the terremotos.  I will go to South Korea for a week.

The view from La Sebastiana.

 

Travel slow.

Day 41. Valparaiso

One of my favorite parts of my stay.  Eating together with my Hostel. 


I finished Christian Graugart’s book this week while working reception at my hostel. One take away from the book is that it’s easy for me to be self conscious of my skills and compare myself to other purple belts around the world. By the end of my trip I will roll with over hundred different strangers from countries all over the world. It’s ridiculous to compare each other. We walk our own Camino, our on path.

Cerro Concepcion.  Looking down.


I have to enjoy to process, the journey.  With the example of the Camino.  The most enjoyable part was the day of walking.  The getting up early and packing your bag.  The walk by yourself or with people.  The evening meals with other pilgrims. Those are my favorite memories.  When I got to Santiago, the final destination. I got this meh feeling.  That’s it. I was just sad that it was over.

“If you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you get back,”- Yvon Chounard.

I spend most mornings going for a walk and exploring the city. I sit at a cafe and I write in my journal.  It’s very meditative.  I enjoy this slow pace of travel.  I’m reading a lot more. I have time to really immerse myself here.

 I trained last Friday at Gracie Jiu Jitsu on Pedro Montt.  Which is the picture above. Samir was the Black Belt. He is very welcoming.  First time back since my URI(Upper Respiratory Infection). I rolled mainly with Nico, a purple belt who is competing in a tournament the next day in Santiago. He submitted me many times, with many different submissions.

Currently reading: The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

I will try to blog every week.