Graffiti from the Southern Half (21)

The graffiti in Valparaiso covers many subjects (and many buildings!).

Graffiti from the Southern Half (20)

Currently ‘resting up’, so it’s back to some more of the excellent graffiti in Valparaiso.

I’ve heard that there is some in sunny Salford, so I’ll get down there soon.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (19)

All quiet in Timperley today, but we are reminded of our South American trip as we are due to give another presentation to SWOG on 19 October.

It won’t all be graffiti, I promise!

Graffiti from the Southern Half (18)

This was a huge, stunning, piece of graffiti depicting the anguish of a woman in labour.

It was only visible from a flight of steps behind a building. We had to peer over a fence to get these pictures.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (17)

It has been a dull week in Timperley. We’ve woken to wet surfaces and rain every morning until today.

I should perhaps have taken some photos last night when 17 ex UMIST folk congregated for a meal at the Midland Hotel in Marple Bridge, but I was too busy chatting. Most of us were fairly local but we rarely meet up these days. Ken had travelled from Ottawa and Gary had just landed from Hawaii, having spent most of this year in New Zealand.

I mentioned both Pat’s books and my books to a few people. It’s strange (to me) that people seem quite happy to spend £5 on a cheesecake that will last them 5 minutes, but not on a book that would provide several hours of enjoyment.

Enjoy the graffiti.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (16)

‘At the seaside’ in Valparaiso.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (15)

Here’s another image from Valparaiso, shown in context below.

The current graffiti album/slideshow is here.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (10)

Here’s an old piece – you can see how the paint has worn, but there’s very little graffiti as we know it on this graffiti as the people of Valparaiso know it.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (9)

As previously recorded, whilst in Valparaiso we took advantage of a ‘Tours4Tips’ (T4T) guided walk. Priscilla and two assistants took a group of nearly twenty of us on a three hour tour of the city centre. Here, Priscilla gives us a brief talk about the graffiti. Different artists have different styles and I think she named the person who created this image on an otherwise rather tired looking building.

Note the T4T ‘Where’s Wally?’ uniform – the guides were very distinctive. T4T runs a number of different tours, including one of the nearby wine region. We would have liked more time in Valparaiso, to take advantage of such tours and other attractions that we didn’t have time to visit.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (8)

This is a detail from the mishmash of graffiti on a house (below) very close to our hostal.

Here’s another photo taken from the same spot, looking up the steep road. Our hostel is a distant building on the left.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (7)

This house might look rather tatty without the graffiti…

I’ve not attempted to photoshop the deep shadow cast by a telegraph pole in the bright sunshine.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (6)

See below (click to enlarge) for these two images to be viewed in context. So far as I can tell, although they are huge they can only be seen clearly from this high point above Valparaiso’s docks.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (5)

“Hello World”

Graffiti from the Southern Half (4)

On the wall of a house. I’m sure it must have a deep meaning to somebody!

Graffiti from the Southern Half (3)

Here’s another image courtesy of a Valparaiso street artist. I’ll be posting more of these in the same vein, often with no description. I’ll try, as in this case (not very successful in this instance), to provide a second image in an effort to show the graffiti in the context of its background/building.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (2)

Thanks for the encouragement, Conrad. Here’s another piece of graffiti from the same shed wall. The two images are shown in context below, on what is a typical artists’ ‘canvas’ in Valparaiso.

I’ve also started an online album – here, as the images, especially the first one (Sue’s more vibrant version is included), are better viewed at higher resolution on a full screen. You can of course also click on them here to enlarge.

The cables above the beautifully cobbled street are for the trolley buses that operate on a fixed circular route around the town. I’ll show you some later if you like.

Graffiti from the Southern Half (1)

graffiti
ɡrəˈfiːti/
noun: graffito; plural noun: graffiti

• “writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place”

Manchester has become noted for graffiti in its Northern Quarter. Valparaiso is also noted for its graffiti. Some people we came across last month hated it. We regarded it more as ‘street art’, though technically it is graffiti. The owner of the hostal we stayed in told us that a noted ‘street artist’ from Europe had stayed in the hostal. He’d gone for a wander, returning with the words “I think I’ll have to up my game here”.

I felt the graffiti added to the character of this enthralling town, so I’m going to post a few images on days when nothing of much note is happening here in Timperley. I’ll enjoy revisiting Valparaiso, others may never want to go near the place..

Valparaíso, and the end of a trip

We enjoyed our day in Valparaíso, but are sad that it marks our last full day in Chile before returning home.

A stroll down to Plaza Sotomayor with Morgan saw us join about 30 others for a three hour guided walking tour offered by the T4T team. That's 'Tours4Tips' - you just give them some money at the end. The guides all wore 'where's Wally' t-shirts.  They were led by Priscilla, aided by Ignatio and Philippe. Very good they were too. We spent an informative few hours walking around, hopping on and off buses, visiting the prison with a capacity for 300 inmates, where at one time the Pinochet regime kept 1200 political prisoners behind bars, and generally enjoying a morning in the bright sunshine that is symptomatic of Chile's unpredictable weather.

Anthony was also on the tour, and we had the pleasure of his company afterwards for lunch in a sandwich shop. The Chacarero and Barros Luco sandwiches were excellent. We hope to see you again one day, Anthony.

On return to Luna Sonrisa, Sue invested some time in checking in for tomorrow's flights, and perhaps more importantly sorting out collection arrangements for our hire car. The Puerto Montt company has no office at Santiago airport, so we have a rendezvous with someone at a petrol station, from where hopefully we'll get a lift to the airport before he takes the car back to Puerto Montt. Thanks go to the Luna Sonrisa staff who helped sort this out.

This faffing delayed a planned visit to one of the houses of the political figure and poet, Pablo Neruda, which was then shelved in favour of another walk around town. It's an eyecatching place, thanks to the variety of brightly painted buildings and the 'graffiti', otherwise and perhaps more correctly known as street art.

We took a funicular to a good viewpoint above the port, on the way down chatting at length to an interpretation and translation student, Andreas, born in Germany but taken to Chile at the age of one by his Chilean mother. He is excited by plans to visit his father in southern Germany in the next few weeks, especially at the prospect of seeing snow.

A fine meal at La Bruschetta marked our final repast in Chile.

Today's pictures are all taken around Valparaíso:
Hotel Reine Victoria, one of many fine old buildings
The prison, now used as a base for small artisan businesses
Priscilla explains 'graffiti'
A view of the port
Our street - Templeman (2)
Pannacotta - my last dessert...

Tomorrow we will try to find Santiago airport, where we will no doubt bump into Chris and Wanda again before a 13 hour flight to Paris, then onward to reach sunny Manchester on Thursday afternoon. 

It has been a great trip. We hope you have enjoyed reading about it. An index, and a few 'Hints and Tips', should follow in due course, as well as a slideshow at Hazel Grove Civic Centre are 8 pm on Wednesday 27 April next year.

Valparaíso

The 440 km journey could have been shorter had we not headed out of Santiago along a motorway with no discernable exits, signposted 'Los Andes'.

Valparaíso is in the opposite direction to the Andes, whose lofty summits accompanied us for the easy drive to Santiago, via an assortment of identical Copec service stations.

Toll booths were more frequent today, with at one point three in the space of just a few kilometres, possibly due to our bizarre route. We were also pleased to hear a bleep from a gadget in the car that confirmed that it was registered for Santiago's 'tag' equivalent of London's congestion charge.

We reached our destination, Luna Sonrisa Hostal, soon after 4 pm, much to Sue's relief - she had been navigating from a map in the Rough Guide, which was very economical with its use of place names.

Multilingual Alex soon registered us and showed us the ropes. She then left us enjoying the cups of tea that we traditionally savour when arriving somewhere new.

Then a quick stroll down to the port, admiring the colourful houses and the street art that Thomas regarded as dreadful graffiti. I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Returning up the hill we at first ignored a voice: "Sue, Sue". Who would know Sue - they must be calling someone else...

We turned around to discover Anthony, last seen in a pizzeria in Puerto Natales, sunburnt from a day on the beach and laden with a week's shopping. It truly is a small world. He flies to Honduras next week, but we don't expect he'll bump into us there.

Back up the hill by a devious route, we dined in the highly recommended Vinilo restaurant. A shared 'rock fish' ceviche starter, then rabbit from a local vineyard for me and tongue for Sue. The rabbits apparently come from a wine supplier! Then ice cream for Sue and a local version of banoffee pie for me. All very tasty and served by a jolly chap who had spent ten years in the UK before returning home. He recommended a Chilean  restaurant in Liverpool, and he had an eye on the football match between Chelsea and Leicester that during the course of our meal returned Leicester to the top of the Premier League with Chelsea almost in the relegation zone. Who would have predicted that?

The patio on which we were eating housed a table tennis table. It's a game that isn't so easy after a bottle of Casa del Bosque 2015 Gran Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, a most enticing tipple.

Today's pictures are of a Copec elevenses point and an assortment of images from Valparaíso.