Funicular – Maldo Travels https://www.maldotravels.com Travel - Learn - Share Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:41:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.maldotravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Favicon-Black.png Funicular – Maldo Travels https://www.maldotravels.com 32 32 Valparaiso – Colorful Coastal City https://www.maldotravels.com/south-america/valparaiso-colorful-coastal-city/ https://www.maldotravels.com/south-america/valparaiso-colorful-coastal-city/#respond Mon, 01 Oct 2018 22:17:33 +0000 http://54.211.235.180/?p=5224

We began our journey to Valparaíso in Santiago and first went to Estacion Central (Central Station) to look for bus tickets to Valparaíso. We got there at 11 AM and there was a bus leaving in 15 minutes, so we quickly bought tickets (3,000 CLP1 each) and rushed to the platform to board the bus. Once we got on, we realized it was possible to buy a ticket directly from the bus driver. It’s a fairly short bus ride and we arrived in Valparaíso bus terminal at around 1.30 PM. Our hostel was around Cerro Alegre which was a 30-minute walk. Rather than hike up the hill, we opted for an Uber2 which cost 1,996 CLP and took 10 minutes.

The City and Viña del Mar

After quickly checking in and dropping off our bags, we set out to explore, starting at the lift Reina Victoria which is a funicular that takes you up to a viewpoint. The ticket costs 100 CLP each and it’s a short 1-minute ride up. From the top, you get a good panoramic view of Valparaíso. Next, we walked towards Plaza Sotomayor passing through Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion. We came across some great viewpoints on the way and also several painted murals. There were also lots of cafes and restaurants in these areas. When we got to Plaza Sotomayor, there was a pop-up arts and crafts market so we bought some souvenirs there. It was around 4 PM now so we had to choose between checking out a local beach or trying to get to Viña del Mar. We opted for the latter and asked the locals how to get to Viña del Mar from there. A kind lady walked us to the bus stop and waited for the bus we needed which simplified everything for us. The bus stop was at the corner of the main street Cochrane and the ticket cost 500 CLP each.

It was a quick 20-minute ride on the bus and we got off at the Flower Clock of Viña del Mar. There were a couple of tourists here queuing up to take pictures with the famous flower clock. From the flower clock, we then walked up a small hill and the view from up there had a great panoramic view of the seaside. We then continued walking to get to the shore and passed by Castle Wulff and the casino. Continuing further we arrived at the beach to relax for a while. We tried dipping our feet in the water and found it to be freezing. So we decided to continue walking along the beach stopping every so often. We then checked out Mall Marina just before sunset. At around 8 PM we took a bus back to Valparaíso which also cost 500 CLP. Having only snacked throughout the day, we were pretty hungry by the end of the day and found an open restaurant. We ordered a Chilean dish called La Chorillana which is a mountain of chips and meats, perfect to share between two people. Once we finished eating, we headed back to the hostel to get some rest before heading to Mendoza in Argentina the following day.

]]> https://www.maldotravels.com/south-america/valparaiso-colorful-coastal-city/feed/ 0 Santiago – A Modern Latin American Capital https://www.maldotravels.com/south-america/santiago-a-modern-latin-american-capital/ https://www.maldotravels.com/south-america/santiago-a-modern-latin-american-capital/#respond Sun, 30 Sep 2018 21:09:49 +0000 http://54.211.235.180/?p=5116

Coming from San Pedro de Atacama, it’s possible to do the trip by bus. However, after looking into it, the journey time was around 24 to 30 hours which is a bit too much for me. So we opted to take a flight from the nearby city of Calama. We booked the flight in advance, but we still had to get a bus transfer from San Pedro de Atacama to Calama. We tried getting a ticket on the day we arrived, but all buses were full in the agency we asked. They said another agency would open its offices the next day, so we came back then, and luckily they had seats available to leave in the morning which cost 3,000 CLP1 each. The bus journey only takes 1-hour 30-minutes and dropped us off at the Turbus terminal. We still had a couple of hours before our 6.30 PM flight, so we headed to the Mall Plaza Calama which was a 15-minute walk away. We spent some time here before taking a taxi to the Airport. It was a 15-minute drive and cost 5,000 CLP. It’s then a 2-hour flight from Calama to Santiago. Our hotel was near Estacion Central (Central Station) and since it was quite late, we took an Uber2. It took about 20 minutes and cost 12,689 CLP.

The City

Since we got there on a Saturday night, we decided to check out the city’s nightlife. The Uber driver who took us to our hotel told us the party zone was in Pio Nono street, in Barrio Bellavista. There’s a couple of bars and clubs in the area, but what’s interesting here is what I can only think to describe as outdoor canteens. It’s a large open space, some under a large tent, and there are rows of tables and chairs. You come in, sit down, and a waiter will come around to take your order of drinks. It’s also quite cheap compared to the clubs. It looks like most people come here for drinks before heading to clubs. Overall, it was a great night out and the clubs stay open until around 6 AM.

The following morning, we decided to check out the city via public transport since our hotel was close to a metro station. To use the metro, you need to purchase a Bip card which costs 1550 CLP. You then need to top up the card. An off-peak journey costs 640 CLP and since you can use 1 card between 2 people, we topped up 5400 CLP to get us through the day. On this Sunday, there happened to be a parade in the city center, so the subway wasn’t stopping there. Therefore, we had to take a bus which was stopping near there. The same Bip card works on the bus as well. We first made our way to the Plaza de Armas which is the city’s main central square that has a Cathedral and the Museo Histórico Nacional (National History Museum) as well as some colonial buildings in the area. We walked around for a bit and then headed to a viewpoint at Cerro Santa Lucia.

There’s an arts and crafts market opposite this viewpoint where you can get cheap souvenirs as well. Other than the main viewpoint in Cerro Santa Lucia, which is a hilltop castle called Castillo Hidalgo, it’s a nice place to go for a walk and also visit a couple of gardens. Once we’d finish walking around, we headed to the Mercado Central. This is a market known for bringing in fresh seafood. There are several restaurants there and it’s popular among the locals. After the market, we went to another viewpoint at Cerro San Cristobal. To get to the top, we decided to take the funicular which started from the end of Pio Nono street in Barrio Bellavista. There are several different ticket options and we went for the Funicular plus Cable Car which cost 4220 CLP each.

 

This viewpoint is a lot higher than the one at Cerro Santa Lucia, so you get a much better view of the city. Once at the top, you can walk up a little further to the statue of the Virgin Mary. From here, you can see the snow-topped Andes Mountain Range in the distance, or maybe I didn’t notice it earlier. It’s a great site unlike any other I had seen before. From the top, we then took the cable cars which takes you around the park. The park is huge and looks like it would have been fun to explore, but since we didn’t have much time, the cable car was a good way to get a good view of the park. The park was closing at around 7 PM, so we had to get off at a different park exit. From here we made our way to a metro station and headed back to the hotel. Overall, Santiago is a beautiful city and I wish I had another day to spend there, but we were scheduled to go to Valparaiso the next day.

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