Unbeknownst to me, but the bayside city of Valparaiso boasts one of the most spectacular New Years firework shows on the planet. Obviously, at only 90 minutes from Santiago, it would have been criminal to miss it. Arriving back in Santiago last Sunday before New Years, Michael and I snagged some of the last bus tickets bound for Valpo on December 31st. We considered ourselves extremely lucky after hearing our classmates lament the lack of tickets by Monday at noon, and then again as we zoomed past dozens of hitchhikers along the highway on Tuesday. We lucked out again when our Spanish school managed to find us lodging in a beautiful homestay. The only hotel rooms remaining from our Internet search were in the vicinity of $1000 so we were prepared to spend the night wandering the streets.
The sea breezed streets of Valpo were hopping with activity, street markets, last minute firework sales, oversized 2014 neon green glasses and more when we arrived. The normal population of 300,000 more than triples on New Years, and we wandered the streets, one of many bright eyes tourists. Our homestay, situated on one of the steep hills half a mile in from the ocean, is the home of a brilliant, charismatic Chilean family who welcomed us with open arms. When we inquired as to a place to eat a celebratory New Years dinner that night, they just shook the heads and invited us to their family gathering (albeit for a small extra cost). As the afternoon sun stretching long above our heads, we walked the streets, getting a preview of the world famous Valpo street art, wondering at the unexpected grittiness of the city, and joining revelry that gripped everyone around us.
Our typical glacially slow meal began around nine with neverending drinks and petite appetizers in the courtyard of our home. Gradually our new extended Chilean family, who Michael was making fast friends with his brilliant Spanish skills, moved us all inside for a huge meal. Finishing up with minutes to spare before the fireworks show, we charged from the home, dashed half a block down the hill, managed to find space along a magnificent vista point and waited for the lights. Sadly, in our hurried exit, I forgot my camera at the house, and so wasn't able to capture any of the lit night sky.
With an inexplicable sense of timing, the crowd around us began the countdown chorus, "Diez! Nueve! Ocho..." and as we shouted out "UNO!" five huge, green, exploding, expanding, golden tinted fireworks splashed across the sky, synchronized and spaced apart across the 20 km bay. As with every fireworks show I have ever seen, a collective "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" went up from the thousands gathered, our necks craned backwards in a delight universal and pure. Timed with a waved precision, the choreographed shows boomed and reverberated our bodies at our feet, into our hearts, to the very tips of our hair. Every imaginable color, shape, combination of bold and delicate firework flew into the air, all at different angles and heights, so that it seemed the whole bay was a bowl of electricity. The President of Chile observes this show right in Valparaiso, so the show closest to our view point was just a tad bit more dramatic and robust. Without interruption, the eruption of gas and fire lasted twenty pounding minutes. Oh and the finale! A crescendo, becoming bolder, more intense, more vibrant, so that we all seemed lifted off our feets as whistles, claps and cheers rose from the jubilant crowd.
Truly spectacular. And best of all? The New Years beso.
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