A must-hit vacation spot for Santiaguenos and tourists alike, Valparaíso is a port city with steamy weather, colonial plazas and pastel houses that clash wonderfully with the neon, modern street art all over. The main attraction is the “ascensores,” cable car-like elevators from sea level to the various hilltop neighborhoods. Since we happened to be here on Christmas Eve, many of the museums and Victorian-era houses were closed, but it was pretty enough to just walk around.

On our way into town we visited Isla Negra, which is not an island, but last and favorite home of Pablo Neruda. A hodge-podge of homages to the sea, rails, and the love of his life, the house looks out at the rocky shore and is floor-to-ceiling full of the types of artifacts that inspired him. Unfortunately photography wasn’t allowed inside, but the exterior was nice too. The surrounding area feels like any beach town with souvenir stalls, open-air cafes and fancy homes.

For Christmas we met up with a former camper of Eric’s whose been teaching English in Chile. The family of one of her students invited her to use their beach apartment in Reñaca for the holidays and when she realized it had four bedrooms, she invited us to come along! Cliff-hanging beach towns Viña del Mar, Reñaca and Con-Con all run into each other. The look is sort of like Malibu, with luxury condos and glass-front boxy apartments crawling up the hills from the shoreline.

All in all, it was a great substitute for our traditional movies and Chinese food Jewish Christmas.

Here’s where we were:
(Valparaíso, Chile)