{"id":923,"date":"2016-08-23T07:12:23","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T19:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/?p=923"},"modified":"2018-01-01T21:00:33","modified_gmt":"2018-01-01T21:00:33","slug":"3-locals-warned-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/3-locals-warned-danger\/","title":{"rendered":"3 locals warned me of the danger"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"vce-row-container\">\n<div id=\"el-b2a3d329\" class=\"vce-row vce-row--col-gap-30 vce-row-columns--top vce-row-content--top\" data-vce-do-apply=\"all el-b2a3d329\">\n<div class=\"vce-row-content\" data-vce-element-content=\"true\">\n<div id=\"el-ca4550c1\" class=\"vce-col vce-col--md-100p vce-col--xs-1 vce-col--xs-last vce-col--xs-first vce-col--sm-last vce-col--sm-first vce-col--md-last vce-col--lg-last vce-col--xl-last vce-col--md-first vce-col--lg-first vce-col--xl-first\">\n<div class=\"vce-col-inner\" data-vce-element-content=\"true\" data-vce-do-apply=\"margin padding border background el-ca4550c1\">\n<div class=\"vce-text-block\">\n<div id=\"el-a6abb9c4\" class=\"vce-text-block-wrapper vce\" data-vce-do-apply=\"all el-a6abb9c4\">\n<p>Sometimes I look back on a memory and wonder what the hell I was thinking\u00a0&#8211; why did I do that! It&#8217;s so obvious now that it&#8217;s a bad idea. My walk off the tourist trail in Valpara\u00edso (Chile, South America) was one of those times.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d taken the bus from Santiago on my own and walked from the bus terminal into the port city. The terminal is actually quite far out and, in hindsight, I should\u00a0have taking the train or taxi.<\/p>\n<p>I hadn&#8217;t research a huge amount beyond seeing some pretty photos of the area. Eventually I stumbled onto the tourist trail as it wound around the hill overlooking the bay. The buildings are colourful, with winding pathways and plenty of stunning street art.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 99.99%;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\/* see sc_gallery() in functions\/theme-shortcodes.php *\/\n\t\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='sc_gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-923 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full none'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"997\" height=\"1500\" src=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building.jpg 997w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-199x300.jpg 199w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-768x1155.jpg 768w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-681x1024.jpg 681w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-97x146.jpg 97w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-33x50.jpg 33w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/cat-building-50x75.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 997px) 100vw, 997px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I had heard that you could take an Ascensor Artiller\u00eda or\u00a0cable railway up some of the hills and knew there was one that gave stunning views back onto the city. After taking the obligatory photos, I decided to stay at that height and walk along until I got back to the tourist area. I love exploring and always wonder what&#8217;s around the next corner.<\/p>\n<p>As I set off, a local black dog with the most stunning eyes decided to befriend me, so we walked along\u00a0the roads trying to find the best\u00a0route.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-927\" src=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1.jpg\" alt=\"Dog-1\" width=\"1500\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1.jpg 1500w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-768x434.jpg 768w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-1024x578.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-260x146.jpg 260w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-50x28.jpg 50w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Dog-1-133x75.jpg 133w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Eventually I came to a neighbourhood where a local man gestured to my camera and said\u00a0something like &#8216;put your\u00a0camera away&#8217;. I assumed the locals didn&#8217;t like photos in this area, so put it\u00a0away and carried on. Then a taxi driver pulled over and wanted me to get in the back to take me to the main area. I said no and gestured that I wanted to walk. He seemed a bit put out and I was thinking how annoying and pushy the taxi drivers were!<\/p>\n<p>By this point I&#8217;d finally realised that the neighbourhood was looking rough and started the click that maybe I shouldn&#8217;t be there. I started making my was down the hill towards the main part of the city. A\u00a0rough looking man suddenly turned\u00a0in my direction and asked for the time. Anyone could see I didn&#8217;t have a watch on and there was no way I was taking out my phone! He disappeared down an alley and I started power walking down the main road.\u00a0The black dog was still faithfully following me, giving\u00a0me comfort.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<style type='text\/css'>\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 49.99%;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t#sc_gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\/* see sc_gallery() in functions\/theme-shortcodes.php *\/\n\t\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='sc_gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-923 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-full none'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1500\" height=\"997\" src=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2.jpg 1500w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-768x510.jpg 768w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-1024x681.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-220x146.jpg 220w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-50x33.jpg 50w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/port2-113x75.jpg 113w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1500\" height=\"841\" src=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road.jpg 1500w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-300x168.jpg 300w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-768x431.jpg 768w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-1024x574.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-260x146.jpg 260w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-50x28.jpg 50w, http:\/\/travellingk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Road-134x75.jpg 134w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>Ahead were two\u00a0women with a child. I decided the safest idea was to walk close to them. When they saw me they pointed down the hill and told me in broken english that it wasn&#8217;t a safe area. At this point the rough looking man suddenly appeared in front of me again. Talk about giving me a fright! I was now very worried and wishing I&#8217;d taken the taxi when I&#8217;d had the chance!<\/p>\n<p>I pointed to the rough man and mentioned that he was following me. They must have known him, as they shrugged and said he was fine. I trailed behind them the rest of the way down the hill to safety, eventually arriving at a restaurant for some much needed rest. The adrenaline and my imagination\u00a0had worn me out.<\/p>\n<p>This travel story could have had a bad ending. Looking back on it now, I should have noticed\u00a0the quality of the neighbourhood sooner! What I also learnt was\u00a0that the locals I met are willing to help\u00a0travellers and the local dogs are beautiful. I recommend visiting Valpara\u00edso&#8230; but stay in\u00a0the safe areas of\u00a0what Lonely Planet describes as the\u00a0<em>&#8220;notoriously unsafe port city.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes I look back on a memory and wonder what the hell I was thinking\u00a0&#8211; why did I do that! It&#8217;s so obvious now that it&#8217;s<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 locals warned me of the danger - Travelling K<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/3-locals-warned-danger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 locals warned me of the danger - Travelling K\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes I look back on a memory and wonder what the hell I was thinking\u00a0&#8211; why did I do that! 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