THE COASTAL CITIES OF VALPARAÍSO AND VIÑA DEL MAR

We toured Valparaíso (where we docked) the administrative capital of the country, divided into two very different areas: the lower part of the city called "El Plan", adjacent to the port, and the higher part of the city in the hills, historically called "Los Cerros".

We stopped at Plaza Sotomayor. Once the seat of the first Chilean Stock Exchange, the square is now home to the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique, a sort of underground mausoleum commemorating the martyrs of Chile's naval wars.

We the crossed the business district with its elegant buildings overlooking the narrow streets along the bay, we will head up to the hills towards the other half of the city, the area known as "Los Cerros". It lies on a series of slopes, some of them steep, and is famous for its cable cars that run from the port up to the top and for its brightly coloured houses perched up high where elegant homes alternate with decrepit buildings in a kaleidoscope of colours.

We then headed north along the coast to the charming coastal resort of Viña del Mar, also known as the Garden City thanks to its immaculate roads and lovely parks.

As we entered the city, admired the famous flower clock, a working clock made of authentic corollas always in bloom and the symbol of Viña del Mar.

We passed the Palace of Cerro Castillo, where the president of the Republic spends the summer, and we passed the beaches and historic casino, built in the thirties and surrounded by lush gardens.