As I (Charlene) write this, it is about 8:30 in the evening. I am sitting at the dining room table and looking out the balcony windows.
In the distance, to the east, I can see the foothills of the Andes. Beyond the foothills, I can see the outline of some of the higher mountains. We have only been here a week, and many days have been cloudy, so I can only assume that when the weather is clear and sunny, the mountains will stand out more clearly. I can see the city lights of Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, Renaca, and beyond that, Con Con just starting to come on. When it is dark, it is a beautiful sight.
Immediately in front of our balcony is Cerro Placeres. As you may remember from past blogs, the city of Valparaiso is built on a series of hills (cerros). Each hill is home to a unique and distinct neighborhood, some more prosperous than others. Placeres is "our" hill, and over the course of our time here, we hope to get to know it better. (Cerro Placeres literally translates to mean "Hill of Pleasures")
It is difficult to describe the difference between our new neighborhood and our former one in Vina del Mar. Even though they are less than a 20-minute bus ride apart, and through our binoculars, we can see our old apartment building, let's just say they are two very distinct and separate worlds. Vina del Mar is a city that caters to tourists. Restaurants line the streets, horse-drawn carriages carry tourists around to see the sights, and one doesn't have to look too hard to see wealthy, well-dressed people. Valparaiso, on the other hand, is a city where people live and work. We knew that things would be very different here, and we have to say we were a little nervous about the move. We had many people warn us to be careful, not to go out at night. One woman even grabbed my hand and said not to wear my wedding rings when I go out! Well, we knew that we loved our apartment, and we weren't going to let the neighborhood intimidate us. I am happy to say that from the day we moved in here, it felt like home.
Our apartment looks east over Cerro Placeres towards Vina del Mar and Renaca.
(More on the view later)
There were no curtains in the bedroom . . . so we made some!
Notice the orange pvc pipe for the frame. We then picked up enough material to hang for curtains and keep out the rising sun! Temporary, cheap, and effective! Bueno!!
And now, push "play" for your personal tour!
Our landlady is a lovely woman named Gladys (who speaks perfect English by the way). She and her sister own this apartment. She lovingly referred to the neighborhood as "Old Macdonald's Farm"! Why is that, you ask?? Well.......each morning, and throughout the day, we are serenaded by two roosters who live just down the street. It is not unusual to see chickens pecking away in the yards of even the more prosperous homes. Dogs are everywhere (I am pleased to say, though, that these dogs appear healthy and well-fed). Going for a walk, dog waste is a huge issue, and we are always careful to watch where we walk. There are cats around as well. So, that's a few of the animals that one might expect....well, maybe not the roosters and chickens....but there's more! Yesterday, Norm looked over the balcony to the street below (which is a paved city street and a bus route) to see a horse and rider with a donkey being pulled along behind. Then later in the day, I saw a horse and bareback rider galloping down the hill! So..... those are some of our barnyard friends!
The other night I was sitting in the apartment and heard some music outside. I looked over the balcony to see a group of three men parading down the street. One was playing a snare drum, one had symbols, and the other man was playing a pan flute. The music was interesting....not really a tune, but a mixture of sounds that were pleasant. They were going up and down streets in the neighborhood collecting money. As I looked out, I could see others leaning over their balconies throwing money down to them. It was all very strange, but somehow seemed to fit the atmosphere of the neighborhood.
The neighborhood is mix of contrasts. On the surface, it would appear not to be very prosperous. The boulevards are hard-packed earth where not much is growing other than a few struggling cacti or aloe vera plants. Plastic bags, candy wrappers and pop bottles lay discarded on the boulevards.....and of course, the ever-present dog waste lies everywhere. Many homes are behind wrought-iron gates that open out to the street. While walking around the area, we sometimes peek through these gates, and what we see is often surprising. There are some very lovely homes hidden back there. Some have beautiful yards and flower gardens and appear to be middle class homes. From our balcony we can see the contrasts.....we marvel that people actually live in some of these homes, but then, others are very nice. Our apartment building stands out in the neighborhood.
This is our building. That's me on the balcony! (13th floor)
The Costa Paraiso is only 3 years old and is obviously upper middle-class in an area of working class people. Even the nice homes have rooves of corrugated metal which adds to the visual "atmosphere" of the neighborhood. Many properties are long and narrow. Usually at least two homes are on a lot. One house is towards the front, and the other has a very long driveway leading to the second home behind.
We may have mentioned previously that there is no central heating here. We have spent many a cold morning drinking tea and trying to warm up! After a few cold weeks in our last apartment, we figured out that we could buy a 50-lb. tank of propane gas ($25 Cdn.) to use in the portable heater that was there. Everyone seems to have them. Once your tank runs out, you call the gas company, and they come with a new tank and take away the empty one. Anyway, in Valparaiso, instead of us calling the gas company, it seems they come to you. The "gas" truck goes through the neighborhood every day. What makes it really unique is that in order to let people know they are in the area, one of the guys sits in the back of the truck and bangs out a tune on the gas tanks. Depending on who is sitting in the back, it can either be just rhythmic banging, or it can be a nice musical sound. I don't know why, but it makes me think of being at the lake in the summer when the "honey wagon" rolls through the neighborhood. The differences are perhaps quite distinct in that the honey wagon stinks, and the "gas" wagon makes music....but anyway......somehow in my mind there is a similarity!
The city of Valparaiso has been declared a UNESCO heritage site. I must do some research into what that means, exactly, because it would seem that no one is really doing anything to save this unique city from ruin and decay. As mentioned, the city is built on a series of hills, some of which are very steep. From our balcony, we can see one of these hills and get a sense of what it might be like to live there. Many of the homes in the hills are built on stilts, and I stand to be corrected, but I believe these are called "palafitos". Some parts of the hill have paved roads, but others have only stairs and dirt paths that lead up to the homes. We ponder what it might be like to put in a full day of work and then take a bus as far as possible only to face numerous flights of stairs before reaching home. What is home like when they finally reach it?? We don't know, and we can only speculate. We have wondered about fires up in the hills. We have asked our friend, Ines, about this as she lives in another part of Valparaiso. She said in the summer there can be many fires and homes are lost and people die because there is no way to get fire trucks to help them.
However, possibly worse than living up in the hills would be living down in the ravines between the hills. This is where the most obvious poverty seems to be. Just before we arrived in Vina del Mar, we heard about a huge rain storm that destroyed many homes in Valparaiso and lives were lost. These homes were in the lowest parts of the city. It doesn't take much imagination to realize what happens on a hill when it rains.....the water runs down! During our many walks through Valparaiso, we have noticed the storm sewers plugged up with garbage, and in some cases, plugged with dirt to the point that grass is growing! We are left wondering who is running things around here and asking why, it would appear, nothing is being done.
The following series of shots are scenes from our balcony.
It is often foggy in the morning. Today, Vina was being swallowed up!
On the right hand side you can see a grove of Palm trees. This is the neighborhood plaza and from a distance, it looks lovely.
The following pictures will show that it suffers from urban decay.
On Thursday and Sunday, a market (feria) is held in the plaza. The produce is excellent, and the prices are great. On our first visit we bought bananas, carrots, oranges, strawberries, kiwi, onions and potatoes. Total cost . . . $6.00!
Alethea, our friend from California, makes a guest appearance in this shot!
If you refer back to the very first picture of this edition, you will see a church steeple in the background. This is it. It's lovely . . . but it's closed, and I suspect that its days are numbered.
In the background of this shot, you can see the "progress" in the neighborhood. We're not sure if the church will make way for the apartment building or whether it will somehow be cleverly integrated into the new complex.
About a fifteen minute walk to the bottom of Cerro Placeres is a fresh fish market called Caleta Portales. The fishermen put their boats in here each morning, return home and clean their catch for sale. We visited last week but were too late to buy any fish for supper. Because there is so much fish stuff around, it's a great gathering place for pelicans and gulls looking for a free lunch.
We may have missed buying supper, but we managed to meet a few new friends!
Are these guys prehistoric!!??
The pelicans were cool . . . but this guy was our favorite!
We have since returned to the market . . . bought fresh Reineta for supper, and shot some cool pics and video. We'll save that for the next edition.
Until then . . . keep those emails coming! We love hearing from you, especially those who haven't written in the past. normandcharlene@gmail.com
Hasta luego,
Charlene and Norm
No comments:
Post a Comment