Tag Archives: Chile

Flashback Friday: The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

FlashbackFriEarlier in the month I wrote about Finding Banksy In Coney Island. The controversial graffiti artists took up “residency” in NYC for one month and was leaving his mark all over the city.

I only had the opportunity to see one of his pieces in person. I tried to see a couple of others but they were already covered up (so that they could be preserved) by the time I stopped by.

After following Banksy’s residency (mainly) online, it made me think about graffiti and a post that I wrote about street art back in the middle of 2012. I thought it would make for a fun post to re-share for this week’s Flashback Friday.

Here is the post:

  • The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

Continue reading Flashback Friday: The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

Flashback Friday: An Unlikely Place For A Souvenir- Easter Island, Chile

FlashbackFriOver the past few years I’ve been bringing back less and less from my trips. This could probably be due to a couple of reasons. First would be that many of the souvenirs I’ve been seeing lately don’t really feel authentic or special anymore. The other reason would be Lucas. Extra space in my bag is now reserved for his things. On recent trips I’ve been finding myself  looking in shops catering more towards kids. We now have a few smalls toy from around the world instead of more crappy souvenirs.

However there are  times that we  buy a small souvenir more for the memory than the actual item. One such occassion for me was while on Easter Island. We visited quite possibly the oddest place imagined to go souvenir shopping- the local jail.

Continue reading Flashback Friday: An Unlikely Place For A Souvenir- Easter Island, Chile

An Unlikely Place For A Souvenir- Easter Island, Chile

I was asked by travel clothing company SCOTTEVEST/ SeV to write an article for their weekly Pocket Guide newsletter. I am happy to announce that this post will be featured there!

            a green gate with signs on it

Over the years I’ve definitely slowed down on buying souvenirs on my trips. It seems like you  see the same trinkets and junk for sale all over the world. However, I still do like to try to bring a little something back (to Kim’s dismay!) with me to remember the countries I’ve visited. Things that I collect are masks, traditional hats, shot glasses (silly and pointless, but why stop now) or anything that seems really interesting and unique.

On our visit to Easter Island we hired a guide for two of our four days. Kim and I rarely hire guides but we figured for EI it would be a good idea to get a better understanding of what we were looking at. While visiting the sites I had mentioned that I would like to get a small statue of a Moai to bring home. (Moai are the carved rock figures found all over the island. You can see them in the title picture for my blog)
Soon after, he mentioned that we should visit the local jail where they might have better prices.

a man standing in front of a sign
“Artisinal Shop” sign with guard standing by

I was extremely surprised that we could go visit the jail to pick up some souvenirs and had to make it a part of our plans!

a sign on a fence

When we arrived there was a sign outside with some rules listing items that you could not bring inside. The items on the list were alcohol, drugs, cell phones, cameras and weapons. Luckily they did not enforce the camera rule (I asked first).

a man sitting at a table with wood carving
An inmate at work
The inmates have it pretty easy in the jail and are given a lot of freedom. They have decent areas to sleep and a kitchen area to prepare food. The souvenir area was impressive. They get to use power tools and other seemingly dangerous items to create their crafts.
The quality seemed top-notch and they even made a sign for the entrance to the jail.
a sign on a fence
two men standing in front of a store
They actually did not sell what I was looking for but I had to buy a little something to remember my visit to jail. I decided to buy a carved fishing hook necklace (worn in the picture above). I do not recall what I paid but after a quick negotiation I bought it for around half of the initial asking price.
a wooden object with a string
The Necklace
I haven’t worn my necklace since the day I bought it, but when I see it with some of my other travel related souvenirs, I always remember my odd visit to jail on Easter Island!

The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art

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Valparaiso
A couple of months back I was reading a Lonely Planet newsletter which had a short article related to street art. A LP Magazine reader sent in a question asking- Where can I see Amazing Street Art? (Check out the article HERE)
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The article answered the question with three suggestions- Belgium, Pittsburgh and Melbourne. I’ve been to Belgium and Melbourne and don’t remember the street art. Maybe I didn’t pay attention to it or it just did not catch my eye.
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However, I immediately thought of a couple of cities that did- Bogota, Colombia and Valparaiso, Chile. Continue reading The Best Places To See Amazing Street Art