Valparaíso is an easy day trip from Santiago. Since we were travelling before the peak season, I thought we would just show up at the bus station and buy tickets. Big mistake! When we showed up at Pajaritos bus station around 9 AM, the next avaialble tickets to Valparaíso were 10:15 AM! And it was even worse on the way back. We had to wait 2.5+ hours to get on a bus coming back to Santiago. So make sure you buy tickets in advance if you don't want to wait for hours at the bus station.

1. Valparaíso.

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3. One of the working funiculars in Valparaíso.

4. It only cost 100 pesos (~15 cents) PP to ride the funicular.

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12. You can wander around by yourself to see the street arts, or join one of the walking tours. We joined Tours 4 Tips' Valparaíso Highlights Walk which meets everyday at 3 PM at Plaza Sotomayor (pictured here). I highly recommend it. The guide's English was good, we learned a lot about Valparaíso.

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21. A map of Valparaíso.

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(To be continued)