The first day of this Chile trip was a gentle one, spent in Valparaíso.

It’s such a colourful city. Many of the buildings are beautifully decorated with street art. Indeed, I’ve never seen a city with so much street art.

It’s a messy city, too, and that’s part of its appeal. There’s character, and atmosphere. It’s a major port, but also a centre for education with four universities. Because of its vibrancy and personality, it’s also a major tourist draw.

Think of it like Chile’s San Francisco. The city is arranged on a number of hills, and many of the streets are steep.

One of the features of the city are the ascensores – these are steep funiculars and there are 16 of them remaining, although not all are operation. These were traditionally an important way of getting from the bottom of the city up to the more elevated bits. Now they are more for tourists.

There’s even beach life here, in the neighbouring town (the two blend) of Viña del Mar.

We had a lovely dinner at Espiritu Santo, which really impressed with its clever use of seafood. So good.