Valparaiso’s funiculars, commonly known as «ascensores», are the city’s landmarks. Valparaiso is built on a series of small hills that surround the port like an amphitheater around the bay. Since the «plan» (at harbor level) is quite short, most of the housing is nestled on the «cerros». Funicular railways take you to the heights of the city in just a minute or two and for a few pesos, while climbing the steep stairs is much more physically demanding… More than thirty funiculars were built between 1883 and 1931, but only sixteen remain today, about half of which are out of service. These little old machines cost the city a lot of money and require almost daily maintenance, so workers work on them without stopping traffic. Taking advantage of an opening in the fence and allowing myself a little impudence as well as imprudence, I slip my head under the rails like a little mouse to watch these men at work. A cable did indeed file my ear a little, but that was undoubtedly the bargaining chip I gave up for this photo. The worker who held his gaze for as long as I took the picture did so as a gift to me, and the other surprise of this picture was to discover the word «love» inscribed on the bottom left.