Santiago and Valpariso, Chile

I arrived in Santiago on a Sunday morning, and there is not a whole lot going on in Santiago on a Sunday morning. I showed myself around a bit with a walking tour, but aside from some nice buildings and a little climb I did to get a view of the city, there really was nothing to do. I was planning on spending a couple days there, but by the afternoon I felt like I had pretty much covered it. Granted it was overcast, but it just seemed pretty dull to me, and the whole city is covered in smog most of the time. There are a few places where you can see damage to the cityfrom the earthquake, but other than that it looks just fine. I hopped a bus to Valpariso.
Valpariso is a whole different animal from Santiago. It was bright and sunny, and far and away the most colorful city I've ever seen. I got into the bus stop and got a local bus to my hostel- it was possibily the most frightening bus ride I've ever had. The whole city is built on a series of little mountains (looks like one giant mountainside, though), and because it's had so many earthquakes, the roads and houses have been repaired and rebuilt very haphazardly, all teetering on the edge of cliffs. The entire town looks like it would come crumbling down with one little shake. The bus whipped around very uneven and tiny, twisty roads, all the while on the edge of the mountain. Luckily it was just barely still daylight.
There was no one around at my hostel when I arrived, so I set out to explore a bit. Not one to miss the local cuisine, I made sure to march myself right down to the seaside for some straight-out-of-the-water seabass ... yum!
The next day I again gave myself a little walking tour, making sure to wander up and down as many streets as possible to see all the different graffiti-- the city is COVERED in it. I have never seen a city with so much character. La Boca in Buenos Aires is very colorful, but now it is only for tourists- Valpo is real and with very few tourists. The houses are every color under the sun, each one totally unique, and the graffiti is amazing. I went up to Cerro Panteon to see the old cemetery perched on the cliff, and I was surprised to see that most of the graves were written in English- strange. Then I went to Museo a Cielo Abierto (open sky museum) where certain murals are specifically noted. I took the ascendors (little gondola-sized rail/trolley lifts that zip you up the hills) whenever I could, and made sure to take Ascensor Concepcion, the oldest one (but not by much), built in 1883. Before I left I headed down to the port and jumped on a little ferry boat and took a cruise around the harbor to see the city from the ocean- beautiful. Turns out the Pacific Ocean from South America looks much like it does from North America.
On my way out of town I stopped in Vina del Mar (30 mins away) to check it out. It is beautiful in its own way, but a stark contrast to Valpo. It is an impeccibly clean and new-looking resort town. Everything is perfectly manicured and not a blade of grass out of place. After Vina I hunkered down for another 26 hour bus ride up to San Pedro.