Valparaíso is only a quick, 10-minute metro ride away from us. So today we decided to venture over and take a free Valparaíso walking tour to get a lay of the land. We met several other travelers, including a young woman from England who decided to make the most of her layoff and travel for a year, and a guy from Sacramento who had to remind himself that it was OK not to be watching the 49er game right now.

The tour took us up a couple ascensors, or funicular trains. They’re incredibly steep, but very charming — as is most of Valparaíso.

But the best part of the day? We learned our first Chilean slang!

Apparently, men would leave the office for an extended lunch and tell their colleagues they were going out for “pollo al velador,” which translates to “chicken on the nightstand.” It was basically a euphemism for going to a hotel/motel for sex. Eventually, some hotels started serving chicken in rooms too. Probably to both add some legitimacy to the phrase, and because people were hungry. Nowadays, it’s just a slang term for sex in general. #nowyouknow

We also saw this statue that locals have nicknamed the Statue of Injustice. She stands in front of the courthouse, but she a) is not blind, and b) isn’t holding up the scales.

Lastly, another traveler who’d just come from Argentina told us all about the Argentinian currency-exchange black market, and that you can get a better exchange rate if you sell your dollars on the street. Seriously. Click the link to learn more about the Dólar Blue.

That’s all for now. This is going to be a great month. We love it here. Hi and bye!

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