When I first arrived in Chile, I made my way to Vina del Mar and settled-in for the Exosphere entrepreneurship bootcamp. A few weeks into that program, some of the other participants and went exploring in the nearby city of Valparaiso and I grabbed some photos along the way to share with you now.
This is the beach town of Renaca, where I lived in for three months.
Valparaiso has always been one of the busiest port cities in South America. As you'll notice in the photos I took there, it's a vibrant clash of Spanish and German-influenced architecture that has been whimsically spattered in colorful murals and graffiti. If you ever find yourself in Chile, be sure to take a stroll through here for yourself on a nice day.
In the urban downtown core, you might think you're in any other western city
Unbeknownst to us both, Luke here would become my business partner in a few month's time.
Being the coastal city that it is, traffic often has to contend with the inconvenient incline of the land, which slopes down to the sea.
Street artists can often be found, hard at work, in the mess of stairways and alleys
There are no dogcatchers so strays are free to roam as any other pedestrian
The cats are free too, of course, but they have to learn to stay up out of the dogs' reach
There are plenty of community gardens and parks to explore. This is Lourdes, another one of the Fort Galt co-founders, in her natural habitat
And just when you think you've seen all there is to see, you look up to find Spiderman on a flagpole... What can I say? It's a quirky town that you just have to see for yourself.
Nice story and pictures! Spotting spidey must've been something eh?
thanks. Yeah, that was good for giggles, for sure :)
Thanks for the colorful report; how is the quality of life in Chile in general? Are you an expat there or were just visiting? Any crime or other potential problems for an english-speaking residents?
I'm an expat, yeah. I live in Valdivia, which is in the south. I like it down in this part of the country. Most people live in Santiago but I personally don't like living in such big cities (six million people). Crime isn't an issue except for the odd petty theft in high-traffic areas. My favorite knife was stolen out of my suitcase once but that's all. The main challenge for English-speaking people is the fact that it's a Spanish-speaking country. I get by fine in Valdivia with just basic survival-level Spanish and I've been here for over two years. There are five universities in this town and lots of tourism so if you ever want to speak English with someone, it's never hard to do. Immigration is easy and we're making it even easier with our new community project, Fort Galt.
Cool thanks, I've actually read about Fort Galt on bitcoin forums, and it spiked my interest in Chile :) Looking really good.
Thanks!