Is a port town about 2 hours east of Santiago. A lot of people told me that it was really nice here, I think I still believe those people despite my personal experience. Let’s weigh it out.

Cons:
Its been cold. Its been grey. Its been rainy. We got robbed.

Pros:
The food has been pretty good. We met some nice people who helped us fumble through our bad Spanish. Our hostel is cheap and familial.

Hmm. I think if I had visited Valparaiso in the summertime my opinion would be completely different. In the cold gray weather the colorful houses and bright graffiti murals seem to clash with the grey sky and the cool air. I can imagine this place being a little tropical paradise when the sun is shining but for now I just kind of wanna curl up in my hostel bed.

Whine whine. We’re jumping on a bus tonight and taking a 27 hour ride north to San Pedro de Atacama where cooler climates and more appropriate vistas are supposed to prevail. We’ll see.

For now here are some boring pictures I took of the town today:

I dunno if that’s how you say it because if I’ve discovered anything about myself on this trip so far it’s that I should have paid more attention during Spanish class back in college. Mi espanol es muy mal…

But, despite the cold weather South America or Chile to be exact is pretty wonderful. I’ve been shooting a lot with the little Olympus SLR that I picked up in New York so I don’t have much to show in the way of photos but I can tell you that it’s been scenic and enriching and satisfying and all those other good things.

Here’s a few things to look at.

I walked a lot yesterday. Up hills, through, alleys, through parks, through a spice market and a mosque. I saw a shop that sold deer antlers with giant knives imbedded in the end, I saw dead fish, I ate baklava, I drank orange juice, I saw too many hardware stores and not enough grit, I got lost and then found again, I almost fell asleep on the ferry, I worried about thunder and rain and gear damage, I battled to stay awake during class, I talked shit, I hung out, I drank beer and today… I’ll probably do it all over again.

Since I’ve been in Istanbul it’s been a series of late late nights. No complaints, none at all.

Went to an opening at Istanbul Modern yesterday. Weird, semi-creepy video art, free terrible wine (makes me rethink all the bad things I said about Sula), delicious free frozen yogurt.

Went to a party at the beautiful home of one of the workshop participants who lives in the city. Walked around the Euro side. Smoked hookah fought to stay awake. Spent way too much money on street food and Effes.

Don’t regret a bit of it. Not even a smidge.

Here’s some evidence:

Delhi to Moscow to Istanbul. I made it without incident or inconvenience save for an hour and a half of urban hiking that I had to endure when I couldn’t get past the language barrier while I trudged around looking for my hostel.

The city is beautiful though. Sea breezes and sunshine. Water taxis and delicious street food. Fresh squeezed orange juice everywhere and it only costs a lira. If I could just speak Turkish this place would be pretty much ideal.

Here are some frames I grabbed yesterday while trying to get my bearings in this massive city.

This is what I saw.

Large size here

Original here.

One great thing about Delhi is the people you meet. Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins who was stopping off in Delhi for a couple days on his way to Afghanistan.

He’s written a lot about the country but two of his stories in particular caught my eye. The first, The master of Spin Boldak:
Undercover with Afghanistan’s drug-trafficking border police is a behemoth of a piece (around 7,500 words) that tells the story of a trip he took with a bunch of smugglers to a border town in Afghanistan to learn about the drug trade. Amazing stuff.

The second, Unembedded in Afghanistan, recalls the time he spent traveling solo through Afghanistan disguised as an Afghan in an attempt to figure out what the war is really all about. Ballsy hardcore well written journalism.

Totally worth a read. Check them out.

You can read more of his writing and check out his photographs on his website.