Tag Archives: Chile

Chile’s national (fast food) dish

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completo italianoEverywhere in Latin-America people eat perro caliente (hot dog). Chile has several versions and the most famous is perhaps the Completo Italiano: a classic Wiener sausage is topped with fresh tomato, a delicious green sauce made of avocado (palta) and mayonnaise. The resulting color combination reminds us of the italian flag and therefore it’s name. Completo lovers say the secret is in the crusty bread and the sausage (vienesa ) and many say that the extra ingredients should be prepared on the spot. The best completo place in Valparaiso? Choosing the best out of more then 100 fast food joints seems impossible to me.

Heritage walking tours

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Yesterday we laid our hands on a printed copy of the ‘Ciudad de Valparaiso’ Heritage Routes, edited by the Government of Chile. The amount of detail, the pictures and the selection of Valparaiso’s cultutral heritage are impressive. This booklet is a must have for city explorers and is a free download. Visit the website of the Ministerio de Bienes Nacionales and click ‘bajar PDF’ on number 24. Unzip, print it, come to Valparaiso and walk, walk, walk.

La Campana

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If the hills of Valparaiso inspire you to do some serious trekking or climbing then Cerro La Campana (1.880 m) is a perfect destination for an active and adventurous day trip. La Campana is a national nature reserve at an hour’s drive from Valparaiso. The metro’s terminal – Limache station- is just a few kilometres away from the park’s South entrance. Charles Darwin climbed La Campana in 1834 and a plaque, halfway up, honours his memory. The 4 hour ‘sendero andinista’ takes you through a variety of unique landscapes and the 7km trail should not be underestimated. On the top you will admire the Aconcagua (Andes, Argentina) in the distance. Cerro La Campana is steep and the trip is intense. Bring water, trekking shoes, sunscreen and appropriate clothing (layers) with you.

Calle Serrano welcomes the trolleybus

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15 Months after the horrible explosion in Calle Serrano the street in the historic center of Valparaiso has been reopened. This street is the main axe in Valparaiso’s Unesco World Heritage Zone and connects Plaza Sotomayor with the remains of the very first settlement in the port town: the church ‘La Matriz’. Since recently the electric powered trolleybus drives through Serrano. Trolleybuses are part of the city’s heritage and are a perfect way to cruise the historic center and down town.

Delicious fastfood

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Travelling Chile or Latin-America is almost impossible without trying an empanada. From Mexico to Chile, fried pastry is being stuffed with meat, chicken, cheese or seafood. In our search for Valparaiso’s best seafood empanadas (‘empanadas de mariscos’) we headed for the Mercado del puerto. Around and in The Central Market, located in the old historic center, you’ll find lots of empanada and fastfood places and we tried Juliano’s seafood restaurant. A friendly waitress served a crunchy empanada stuffed with fresh shrimps, mussels and tasty vegetables. Accompanied with a pebre, a medium spicy chili sauce we had the perfect snack in a tourist-friendly and clean seafood restaurant ‘Juliano’.