alex the seal

Now I understand why people sigh and clasp hand to heart at the mention of Valparaiso. Streets awash in color, murals, graffiti and the occasional view of the harbor have kept me busy snapping photos in hopes of capturing some of the magic. I believe Pablo Neruda compared the streets to a woman´s wild hair - a great analogy for winding, curvy mishmash of streets, stairs and steep hills. I wonder what it would be like to bike through these streets!

A few nights ago we enjoyed an exceptional dinner. Finally! I've had enough microwaved bland tomato and cheese gut bombs to consider eating fish (just for a week or two...). Anyway, we ate handmade pasta, mine stuffed with spinach and nettles(¿) Ryan had gnocchi in tomato sauce. Dessert was 4 scoops of housemade ice cream: chocolate, plantains, melon and chirymoia, a chilean fruit. It was awesome, the purest combination of the main flavor, e.g., melon and just a bit of cream. As we left, I believe I managed to tell the host that this was the best food we´ve had since arriving in Chile. And all of the chilean wine in my system compelled me to also point out that I´ve been to Italy 3 times, so I know what I´m talking about!

After dinner we went to Club Mascara and caught the last 20 minutes of La Mujer Violencia´s live set. Kind of punk / rock influenced (not punk rock). We had a good time. It as about $5 for both of us to get in, and that included a beer for each of us. Yeah, we had a good time. After that show we ended up in a dance club filled with 20 year old who were taking a break from making out in the parks to make out on the dance floor. More cheap beer helped. A cute couple shared their table with us, and even shared their beer! Instant friends. When 'Smells like teen spirit' came on, we told them we were from Seattle, like Nirvana - and were met with blank stares. (Ryan later guessed that they were still in diapers when that song, and Nirvana were popular.) And since the DJ only played each song for the first 60 seconds, we were soon dancing to another song. We eventually extricated ourselves and after hugs and kisses from our new friends, stumbled back up the hill to our hotel.

I need to mention the little girl listening to Lady Gaga and Latin American pop on the bus ride to Valparaiso. She sang along most loudly to Gaga - Alejandro and Bad Romance. She and I share the singing method where one believes it important to focus on the music and melody rather than getting all (or any) of the words right...and making up those you don´t understand. I helped her out with the lyrics - where I could.