Valparaiso: Poet's Pacific perch

Chile's most famous poet, Pablo Neruda, had a home there. And before the Panama Canal made rounding Cape Horn a challenge for adventurers rather than a routine for trading vessels, it was the busiest seaport in the Southern Hemisphere.

These days Valparaiso, less than two hours from Santiago, is conspicuously the home port of the Chilean Navy. But face inland and upwards and its romantic past can be read in the colourful houses sprinkled down the slopes above the city.

Neruda, who won the Nobel Prize in 1971 and succumbed to cancer less than a fortnight after his good friend Salvador Allende was brutally deposed as President, described Valparaiso and the resort town of Vina del Mar a few minutes north as "the queen of the world's coasts".

New Zealanders, who know a good beach when they see one, may regard that as something of an overstatement. But "Valpo", as locals call it, is a town of matchless charm where the day visitor may spend a pleasant afternoon wandering the steep and zigzagging hillside streets and alleys.

These hillside suburbs (known as "cerros") are reached by a series of cable cars which, though made around the end of the 19th century, are not as primitive as they look.

The operator assured me that the running gear of the one that rattled us to the top of Cerro Alegre was much newer and better maintained than the creaking cabin.

Up top, it was easy to get lost in the warren of winding streets, many of which are wide enough for foot traffic only, but at any corner we could take a road leading down to the town.

We had lunch on the balcony of a house which had adapted a room with a view into a restaurant. The city was spread at our feet. The Pacific stretched before us with only Easter Island between the coast and home.

I could almost hear the words of the Auckland poet Bob Orr, whose collection Valparaiso contains the poem called Pablo Neruda and the lines:

Thinking of Pablo Neruda


I go out walking


a sailor's song upon my tongue


my arm around a ghost


in Chile.


Getting there

Lan Chile flies Auckland-Santiago three times weekly. Return fares start at about $2450. A return fare to Europe (Madrid or Frankfurt) via Santiago will set you back about $3300. Aerolineas Argentinas flies three times weekly, Sydney-Auckland-Buenos Aires-Rio de Janeiro. Air NZ also flies to Rio, via Tahiti and Santiago. Return fares start at about $2600.

Getting around

Daily flights connect La Paz with Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Cuzco. The famous nine-hour train journey over the mountains from Irica runs intermittently (ask upon arrival in South America) and costs about $30.

A one-way air fare Rio-Foz do Iguacu is about $350. Buses also connect Foz do Iguaco with major towns in Brazil and Argentina.

Accommodation

All sorts and widely available. You can pay anything from $10 to $300 a night.

Food and drink

The water in the cities is mostly safe to drink but bottled water is easily and cheaply available.

ATMs are everywhere. $40 buys a good meal for two with wine. Lunch at a stand-up counter is much cheaper.

Visas

New Zealand passport holders do not require visas to visit Peru, Bolivia, Chile or Argentina.

Tours

There is a huge array of tours. See your travel agent. Specialist local operator Latin Link has several, including Inca Highways, 22 days in Peru and Bolivia, for $7495 ex-Auckland. Contact them at Latin Link or 0800 528 465

Weather

May-January are the dry months. Temperatures plunge in late afternoon and in the shade. Always carry a jersey. June-August are the coldest months.

Further information

Visit Chile

Bolivia Web

Jetiii

Try Baja

Peru Explorer

Peru

Hill Man Wonders gives useful general details about Iguacu Falls and Hotels and Inns is a good starting site for accommodation in the area.