This proved a great day out. We found our way onto the metro easily and then the public bus took about an hour and twenty minutes to reach the town. It is made up of a lower and upper town. The lower borders the sea and port, which for hundreds of years was the most important port in Chile. Now it takes cruise liners and houses Chilean navy frigates.
The houses in the upper town, which is built up the slopes of the hills, are all very brightly coloured in numerous vibrant shades. After a twenty minute walk we arrived at the central square for the lower town. It has four bronze statues of women on each corner and two bronze lions at the entrance. In the middle is the obligatory fountain.
The town still retains strong links with the navy. The main headquarters is an impressive grey and white building in the centre of town. There are numerous Chilean navy personnel in dress uniform walking the streets and numerous memorials to naval battles.
We made our way via an 1860 vunicular to the upper town. This is one of many that dot the town. Some are now broken, but several are used by locals and tourists alike to get up and down from the upper town.
The houses are beautiful and the views tremendous. There are numerous cats sunning themselves in doorways and windows - all very friendly and photogenic! We stopped for a light lunch in a local cafe and after a great break continued our tour by retracing our steps and then taking another venicular for more tremendous views of the harbour and both towns.
Afterwards we walked back to the sea front and then walked along the esplanade back to the local bus terminal to catch our bus for the return trip to Santiago, picking up the metro again for the final leg back. We just had time for a quick vino and shower before we left for a steak dinner in town. Then it was back to complete this blog, before a few hours sleep before our 4am wake up call to get us started on day 3!
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