Casa de Lukas

In a lovely villa dedicated to one of Chile's most famous caricaturists, 'Lukas', here are two of his drawings that made me smile. The 1st caption reads : "Comrades?"

and the 2nd : "Female Power" (the shoe-shiner is painting her toenails).

Valparaiso Street

The residential areas comprise a fantastic, multicoloured agglomeration of fine mansions, tattered houses, shacks and slums all scrambled in oriental confusion along narrow back streets. There's a bohemian, slightly anarchic atmosphere here and many legends of ghosts and spirits.

Funicular Railways

Above the business centre along the edge of the water rises a series of hills ('cerros') that offer superb views over the bay. The lower and upper cities are connected by steep, winding roads, flights of steps and 15 of these funicular railways ('ascensores') dating from 1883-1914. Reaching the top you find a warren of streets, brightly painted houses and fabulous old bars.

Valparaiso

Valparaíso, situated on the coast one and a half hours away from Santiago by bus, has been described as "a Venice waiting to be discovered". The city prospered in the 19th century when it was used by commercial agents from Europe and the US as their trading base in the southern Pacific and became a major international banking centre as well as the key port for US shipping between the East Coast and California (especially during the gold rush). It underwent a decline due to the development of steam ships, the opening of the US trans-continental raliway and then the Panama Canal in 1914 and finally the shift of banks to Santiago. The city is now being revived and work is underway to renovate the historical centre and museums and to build new galleries - it is officially the Cultural Capital of Chile, an important naval base and also the seat of the Chilean parliament. Being so close, I decided to come here for a couple of days.