When travellers arrive in Santiago from the air, a lot of the time they are faced with the decision of trundling north to the Atacama desert or heading South to the Lake district and beyond to Patagonia. My first port of call was to head west (well ok north west to be precise) and see one of the countries most important seaports. Haven't I made it so exciting for you to want to read on more? To make you even more enthralled, I have shamelessly stolen this from Wikipedia. Valparaiso is home of Latin Americas oldest stock exchange, it had the continents first volunteer fire department, and it also had Chiles first public library. You've probably already crossed the screen
off now, so the rest of what I write will be quick and not much effort will be made, as I am sure only my avid follower will still be reading.

Getting the bus from Santiago was an experience as we looked for 10 minutes for stand 44 and 45, but what the man at the desk really meant, was that they were our seat numbers. We missed that bus and then asked politely if they could give us another ticket for free. The man spoke Spanish back, I looked blank and spoke in English and then he looked blank.....FAN-TAST-IC. The man behind the counter ran out for the bus which was already departing and stopped it for us and then on we boarded. The girl I was with was saying how it was so embarrassing and what a nightmare the whole experience was. For me, it was great. The language barrier is a struggle but it is funny and
challenging at the same time, as you never experience this in England. The bus had reclining seats and the interior was green (it really has been one of those kind of blogs I'm afraid). The hostel was just a house on a hill with about 10 guests. What was refreshing was the lack of bunk beds, which is a tad unusual.

Due to it raining, we didn't do much in Valparaiso really, but I looked at the colourful houses on the hills whilst walking in the pouring rain. Whilst walking, a stray dog which seems common here was following us and it barked at every person in the street apart from us two, and it kept plodding on behind us. Apparently the dogs get beaten up and can tell a tourist a mile off so latch on. To get rid of it in the end, we just ventured into a supermarket in the search of traditional Chilean food. I ended up with Chicken and mash and a flan.

Right that will do for that one now. I know you've got more important things to worry about at home at the moment than my silly little blogs, but just thought I would let you know I am ok in South America. I will be in touch in a few weeks when I report back from my journey to the Atacama Desert.

Rich