Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, San Antonio, Chile... Part 1 of 2

I was out on the forward decks at sunrise but with the serious overcast weather, the sunrise is never evident…  The ship docked in San Antonio, Chile and the weather was brisk and overcast; after all it is spring in the southern hemisphere. Luck was with us as we were able on very short notice engage Juan Carlos, the same guide we used in 2020. Due to the ocean swells we had a slow start to the day as we were nearly an hour late docking and meeting Juan. With a shortened tour day, we really covered a lot of territory. Juan took a different route taking us through the scenic Casablanca Valley wine district along the Coastal Range Mountains. Our first stop was Viña del Mar, a seaside resort city not far from Valparaiso. Viña del Mar is one of Chile's most fashionable ocean resort getaways towns. The town was founded in 1874 as a weekend retreat for the wealthy elite from Santiago. This city is a mix of Victorian mansions, castles, modern style buildings, green parks and beaches...we stopped at Rapanui Square to see the Rodan sculpture and the Moai statue brought from Easter Island. Then we walked along the Malecon…the waves were really crashing high against the break water. Making our way to Valparaiso, we had Juan Carlos stop at the Caleta Portales Fish Market...it was really busy as today was a national holiday in Chile…We walked through the fish market to see all the great catches such as; Scallops, Hake, Albacore Tuna and Razor clams…The highlight of this stop was the wildlife…With an abundance of pelicans and a number of sea lions lined up waiting for lunch…. What a great stop! Our next stop took us to Valparaiso, known for its steep funiculars, colorful clifftop homes and lovely vistas. Valparaiso’s downtown area is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its charming colonial architecture, great markets and restaurants. Our first stop was Sotomayor Square for a quick photo of the War Monument. This square is the home to Chile's legislative Congress and the headquarters of the Chilean Navy. The highlight of Valparaiso was seeing the captivating street art... after our drive up the steep windy streets of Valparaiso...Juan Carlos parked the car and we started our walkabout through the Concepcion Hill, Alegre Hill and Templeton Street area taking in all the wall art we could. It doesn’t matter were you turn there is another mural gracing the walls of a building. It is hard to believe a city like this exists. It’s characterized by tall and narrow streets with tall and narrow houses and funiculars, and in some ways reminds you of San Francisco. The city has more murals than I have ever seen in my life. We couldn’t find an exact count but safe to say it’s in the thousands of individual paintings ranging from simple drawings to gigantic elaborate murals.  This wall art has defined the city and brought it back to life. The graffiti scene in Valparaíso started as a form of protest in the 1970’s against the dictator Augusto Pinochet. During that time, self-expression, including art and painting, was repressed. After the dictatorship ended, government officials decided to legalize street art and it blossomed in the city. We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets, looking over the crevasses and fences, doorways and street stairways, with this unimaginable display of artwork. Before returning to the ship, Juan drove us up to the upper town residential area built on mountainous hills for a view of the city and sea below. We had a wonderful day and want to thank our guide Juan Carlos Gonzalez for showing us his country.