Before the Panama Canal and before America’s Transcontinental Railroad, the US East Coast to US West Coast route was a hzardous journey overland or a hazardous sea journey around South America’s cold, wet, windy Cape Horn that needed a rest in Valparaiso, Chile, before continuing to America’s West Coast. The journey is underestimated today.
https://youtu.be/_BWEO4-jQS8?si=Z9Xb_Qalggg7E-R5
I’ve been to Valpo - a very interesting city, a bit like San Francisco but without the bums, closed stores and people crapping on the sidewalks.