Valparaiso, Chile

Valparaiso's claim to fame is that it was mentioned in Herman Melville's classic book 'Moby Dick'. It is a very hilly town with a mixture of slums and mansions all packed together on the side of the hill. The place is so steep that there are several funiculars that take you from the bottom part of the city up to the top.

Here you can see one making the trip up and down the hill. It's a modern place with an above ground metro system, so I bought a metro pass and hopped on the LRT. I was told that one of the nicest places to visit was Vina del mar, so I got off at that transit stop. It's a big, bright area with plenty of department stores, a big casino (which I couldn't find), and really, really nice homes. This is the upscale area where the millionaires of the early 1900s lived.

I went to go see one of these old homes, the Palacio Vergara. Current millionaires also live in the area so there are lots of nice things to see and do here if you have money.

Back onboard the Prinsendam, a Chilean song and dance troupe put on a show for us.