Quintay 02.12.2009











We visited three old cemetaries overlooking Valparaiso on this day before hiring a car and driver (el collectivo) and heading out for a small oceanside village named Quintay. Earthquakes have played a major role in the development of the city as most of the Pacific Rim. The cemetary is lodged above the city on an adjacent Cerro.

To obtain a driver for the trip to Quintay, you go down to the bus station, but first you have to know which color taxi to look for as they all have different destinations. It was a 45 minute ride in the collectivo and the roads and driver were in good shape.

Quintay is a small village outside of Valparaiso on the map I posted below, and contains a couple hundred residences, three resturants, a couple of beautiful secluded beaches. Quintay was once a whaling center as they have built a museum around their old facilities. The literature suggested that Japan and Norway are the only two countries that continue to kill whales änd only for scientific purposes. But I am sure that it is difficult to measure exactly which countries are directly responsible for whale deaths. To get to the secluded beach we walked through a eucalyptus and pine forest and down the hill. It seemed to be a locals beach with a few natural pools in between the rocks. The perfect spot.