February 17, 2025

Today’s port was San Antonio, about an hour or so from Santiago, the capital of Chile. Until about five years ago, cruise shops docked in Valparaíso, a city with much more to offer tourists than San Antonio – such as walking right off the ship into town. Labor disputes resulted in the move to San Antonio, an industrial port that requires a shuttle bus just to leave the port area.

Chongae and I decided to visit Viña del Mar, the upscale cousin to Valparaíso with a long stretch of beach lined with apartments and condos. Beautiful murals are everywhere, mixed in with graffiti. I’ll just mix a representative few in here.

Valparaíso is about as hilly as it can get, with many similarities to San Francisco. Both suffered devastating earthquakes in 1906. And Valparaíso’s port, in particular, suffered from the loss of business after the Panama Canal opened. That closing lead to the tradition of the many colors used in today’s murals. The people of Valparaiso were so poor that the only paint they could salvage was the bright colors abandoned by the shipping companies in painting their cargo ships. The cargo ships were painted with bright colors to be more easily seen in dense fogs. Many of the early houses were painted in bright blue, yellow, red, purple and even pink!

Walking along the old financial district you come to ascensores, or funicular. These dot the downtown area, carrying locals up the hills to their residences. Elsewhere, long flights of steps suffice. Even the steps are painted.

Murals of all sizes cover every surface, from kiosk sides, from inside walls to doors.

And to all my readers from Texas you can’t help but see how similar the Chilean flag is to the state flag of Texas. Apparently, it is a common mistake to confuse the two.

One legislator recently introduced a bill calling on Texans to stop using the wrong emoji.

Thanks for traveling with us.