Valparaiso New Year 2011-2012

Quick post with a video of the last minute or so of the fireworks last night. They get shorter every year- under 20 minutes this time, which is a shame- but they're still awesome. This year I was at a friend's house on Cerro Mariposa. I much prefer to be closer to the action, but as I don't own my house on Cerro Concepcion anymore, I can't complain too much!

Happy New Year to all.

Friends In The News- Good & Bad

(posted first over on Colchaguino)

Some friends from Colchagua recently appeared in different news articles here in Chile...

First, the positive article about some great friends from Malaysia getting our little charity Campo Antiguo into the papers. If you donated money after the earthquake last year and were wondering what has happened since, we're slowly getting things organised. There's been a bit of jockeying for position amongst some of the members, so I've taken a step back until it all gets sorted out, but the intention to set up a cultural centre and help the local community is absolutely still there...we just need to get the politics out of the way.

La Princesa y La Reconstruccion

Here's a google translated version in English. Not the best, but you get the gist.

And the negative article concerns another great friend from here in Colchagua, Mario Lobo, who suffered a terrible car accident back in February and is now close to financial ruin after his insurance company pulled the plug. It's shocking that it's got to the point that the news has had to become public...and it was shocking for me to find this out a few months ago before the article came out. Mario was probably the most generous person I've met (financially and in spirit) and everyone assumed he was very wealthy.

If you want to buy the triplex mentioned in the article then click here. It's an incredible property.

Here's the article that appeared in El Mostrador: Mario Lobo

And here's a translated version of that article.

Old House

On Saturday I had to go to Valparaiso for the day (or rather, for about 3 hours), to show this property for sale. It's a bit of a hike from Colchagua but as I was invited to the Los Vascos Jazz Festival I had to get back by 6pm.

I had about 15 minutes in between meetings so went to take a look at my old house. The new owner completely re-renovated the house (you can see my own total rebuild process here and by clicking back through 'older posts') and has just had it freshly painted. The renovations he did weren't really necessary, but the changes he made inside look great anyway. Here are a few exterior shots. I really, really miss this house and wish I hadn't had to sell it...but without the money from the sale, I wouldn't be able to own the properties I have in Santiago and Colchagua. Trade-offs and all that.

La Bolsa de Comercio

Valparaiso was home to South America's very first stock exchange. I blogged about it a while ago here.

From that first building, knocked down to reclaim more land for Plaza Sotomayor, it moved onto this one:

And then when this was knocked down to reclaim even more land, it moved to its current location on Calle Prat.

Real Estate in Valparaiso, Chile

I've been working a little bit more in Valparaiso over the last couple of months and there are some great properties for sale- commercial and residential- if you're interested in investing in Valpo.

Have a look at Real Estate Valparaiso, Chile for a few of the options. There are a lot more out there, so please feel free to get in touch and let me know what you're looking for.

What Avenida Errazuriz Used To Look Like

Photos Of Valparaiso From Cerro Alegre

I really have been neglecting this blog of late. I've been meaning to update for a while now, but just never got around to it. Anyway, this is just a very quick post with a couple of photos of Valparaiso taken from the top floor of a house on Cerro Alegre, last week. I've been back 3 times to Valpo in the last month, looking at a project there with various investors and architects. I won't say any more right now, but if it comes off, I'll be spending a fair bit of time back in my old home city over the next 18 months.

I've certainly missed the views...

That's my old red house in the middle of the photo. I love the way the colour makes it stand out so much. The new owner, an architect I bumped into in the Peruvian restaurant in Santa Cruz, Colchagua Valley, is currently undoing all of the interior renovations I did to put his own stamp on it...you'd think I'd be annoyed, but I don't get emotionally attached to the properties I own. Plus, he loves the house and is doing a really interesting job with it. I'm looking forward to the house-warming party.

Interested in real estate in Valparaiso? Chile Investments can help you find exactly what you're looking for. Feel free to get in touch.

Real Estate in Chile

If you are interested in investing in real estate in Chile then please visit Chile Investments.

You can also follow Chile Investments on Twitter.

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Viñedos en venta Chile. Campos en venta Chile. Viñas en venta Chile. Bienes raices Chile. Inversiones Chile.

Another Old Photo

Just to keep you interested in this exceptionally slow moving blog...

Looking up towards Cerros Alegre and Concepcion to the left and Cordillera to the right. The photo is from around 1875, I reckon.

Valpo For A Day

On Saturday, I went for a very quick trip to Valpo for a friend's housewarming party. He bought a place on Cerro Mariposa, not an area I'd recommend for buying property in Valparaiso, to be honest. But his renovation job was awesome and the views of the port and the Pacific from the house are amazing.

Things seem to be changing in Valpo, but at the customary snail's pace...and it's almost all private investment that's happening. It's clear the Municipalidad isn't really doing anything at all to improve the city. I hope that'll change some day, but I really doubt it.

It was great to catch up with friends still in Valpo. Hopefully, I'll be there longer next time so I can see the friends I missed. Here are a few photos from the trip. Enjoy.

View from the top of Valparaiso after taking Camino La Polvora:

Views from a friend's house on Cerro Alegre:

That's my old house. The person who bought it decided to completely renovate the freshly renovated house, at great expense. He's currently completely ripping it apart...It's going to be lovely, I'm sure, but he's clearly crazy...

Looking up towards Lautaro Rosas:

View from Cerro Mariposa:

That's a giant fish...

Views from the deck, at night: