Why Valparaíso Needs More Murals (And Less Tourist Traps)

the sun dips low enough to make the ocean blush pink but the streets stay icy-14.52°C spits from the weather app like a disinterested ex. i’m here, camera in hand, pretending I’m not just another tourist with a sketchpad and five-star philosophy.

this city’s a goddamn canvas. last week, i heard some old woman at the coffee shop say the smell of salt and spray-paint was the only thing that kept her from moving back to stockholm. she wasn’t wrong. every corner’s a shout-out to chaos-tagged subway cars, gang signs with a soul, murals so old they’ve started peeling like regret.

if you get restless, Antofagasta’s a 12-hour bus ride, but honestly, just follow the birds. they know where the good stuff hides. walked into a dive bar with a neon sign that read ‘el buceo’ and found a dude painting a goat’s face on the wall. he said it was a tribute to his ex. the bartender sold me a bottle of pisco for 6 dollars and a wink. i’m not sure who’s drunk in this equation.

someone told me the old port’s been hiding a mural since ’07, and if you follow the sheep feedback, never trust the street market on Thursdays. heard a rumor it’s a trap for lost backpacks and bad decisions. took the advice with a grain of salt, but now my boots are stained and my hostel roommate thinks I’m cursed.

the beach here? not the postcard kind. more like a gritty love letter to the ocean. sat on a pile of discarded tires watching surfers eat waves. one kid had a full-sleeve tattoo of a rooster. he kept eating the waves like they owed him money. maybe they did.

i linked to TripAdvisor but no one believes Yelp, right? Found a ‘hidden’ vegan spot via Google Reviews-literal garbage bag trash piled outside, but the falafel? Chef’s kiss. Also, the hostel’s Wi-Fi cuts out during rain, which is basically 70% of the time here.

map below is just a guess. coordinates say 20.5222,-100.8122, but I’m pretty sure this cave I found in a back alley is where the real action is. trust the shadows.

images here, obviously. one’s a statue, one’s a clock on a building, one’s a church with a weird altar. didn’t click any links to verify. took the photos myself, probably at 3am.

if you’re bored, tell the locals you’re from valparaiso and they’ll argue with you. passion here’s a currency. and if you see a stray cat with a paint-stained tail? that’s the city’s mascot. it’s watching you too.

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