20231028 Valparaíso

Date: 20231028

Time: 12:30 – 19:25

Distance: 10.5 km

Overnight stay: Mítico departamento dúplex, Valparaíso

Walk

Today we, Sandy, Ada and I, want to walk to Laguna Verde, a 12 kilometer walk. We start by going uphill and keep to the main roads.

At some point I walk behind a guardrail and a guy runs to me from the street, grabs my necklace, rips it of my neck and runs to a car that is waiting for him. That I got robbed is bad, but the necklace was from my grandmother and is irreplaceable. FUCK!!!

We continue our walk because there is nothing else to do. When we are two streets further a man from a minimarket shouts to us to get our attention. He tells us that it is not safe to go further up. If we continue we will probably be robbed of all our possessions.

Change of plans, we walk downhill a go to Cerro Alegre, one of the most touristic zones of Valparaiso, a neighborhood with lots of color, where we have a beer. From there we walk to the Piano steps and Cerro Conception where we have a very nice view on the lower part of the city and the harbor. In fact when we look down, we are directly above the Valparaíso Beer House.

In the distance I see a graveyard and we find our way there. There are 3 graveyards here, Cementerio N° 1 de Valparaíso, Cementerio N° 2 de Valparaíso and in the middle Cementerio de Disidentes. The last one is open and we walk along the old graves. Most of the graves and the graveyard in general could use some maintenance.

The other graveyards are closed so we decide to find our way downhill to have something to drink at the Valparaíso Beer House. We find some very narrow stairs down and we descend to ocean level. The stairs are probably not meant for tourists like us but the gate at the bottom can be opened, so we don’t need to go back up.

After our pause we go to the harbor and from there we walk along the coast, or rather the harbor, to Playa San Mateo where we find nice views over the ocean and the coast line. We go back the same way we came and finish the day in a Chinese restaurant where we have a good meal.

Weather

Today was colder than yesterday, mainly because it was cloudy all day. It was dry and only at the beginning and the end of the day we needed our jackets.

Songtext of the day

They took my grandmother’s necklace today, which pisses me off to no end. But it is what it is, so here is Dreadlock Holiday by 10CC. Read the text and you will understand why.

I was walkin’ down the street
Concentratin’ on truckin’ right
I heard a dark voice beside of me
And I looked round in a state of fright
I saw four faces one mad
A brother from the gutter
They looked me up and down a bit
And turned to each other

I say
I don’t like cricket oh no
I love it
I don’t like cricket oh no
I love it
Don’t you walk thru my words
You got to show some respect
Don’t you walk thru my words
‘Cause you ain’t heard me out yet

Well he looked down at my silver chain
He said I’ll give you one dollar
I said you’ve got to be jokin’ man
It was a present from me Mother
He said I like it I want it
I’ll take it off your hands
And you’ll be sorry you crossed me
You’d better understand that you’re alone
A long way from home

And I say
I don’t like reggae no no
I love it
I don’t like reggae oh no
I love it
Don’t you cramp me style
Don’t you queer on me pitch
Don’t you walk thru my words
‘Cause you ain’t heard me out yet

I hurried back to the swimming pool
Sinkin’ pina coladas
I heard a dark voice beside me say
Would you like something harder
She said I’ve got it you want it
My harvest is the best
And if you try it you’ll like it
And wallow in a Dreadlock Holiday

And I say
Don’t like Jamaica oh no
I love her
Don’t like Jamaica oh no
I love her oh yea
Don’t you walk thru her words
You got to show some respect
Don’t you walk thru her words
‘Cause you ain’t heard her out yet

I don’t like cricket
I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)
I don’t like reggae
I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)
Don’t like Jamaica
I love her (Dreadlock Holiday)

I hurried back to the swimming pool

Fotos