After saying goodbye to Santiago for the final time, we boarded a bus west bound to the arty, creative city of Valporaiso. Only 2 hours later and we rolled into town and jumped into a taxi to get settled into our hostel which was small, neat and sported a lovely veggie and flower patch in the front garden.

We spent that afternoon strolling around the streets and getting our bearings. Our hostel was in the area of the hills, and they were literally mountains. So taking a stroll around was more of a hike but it was good checking it out either way. That night we enjoyed a couple of beers and then headed out to a retaurant in our area where Lex enjoyed, for the first time in a while a big juicy steak (and I, some boring vego dish) which we both washed down with a tasty bottle of wine. Feeling a little tipsy we wondered home for some great TV viewing....America's Next Top Model.

The next day we decided to head over to the ajoining town that is Vina Del Mar where we once again was blessed with seeing the western coast of Chile. We spent a couple of hours there and enjoyed the rays, ocean breeze and vibe of the cosmopolitan feel of the small city. Since we lost our shoes in the mosh at the Foo Fighters concert, we were in desperate need of some new flippy flops so was off to the cloest department store to buy tacky, bright, ugly thongs.

On our last day in Valparaiso we finally went out to discover the city in full force on a free walking tour. We were a little worried about the tour as it was Easter Friday and not sure if it would even be on, however the easter bunny was on our side and we enjoyed a visually informative day. We started out learning about the city's history which turned out to be a thriving and prosperous port before the Panama Canal. In these times, there was an abundance of sailors (mmmmmm), prostitutes, alcohol. Basically just a cool, dirty port town vibe that attracted hundreds of artisans and eventually evolved into the inspiring town that it is today. Although....on the down side, it has also evolved into a city of drunks. Not that this is something for one to judge...especially Lex or myself. However this certain circle of people have contributed to the violence and theft in the city. Even the locals tend to warn tourists off areas that are bad and have a reputation. At one point we felt that nowhere was particularaly safe. BUUUUT.....as we continued along the tour we discovered the positive side of Valparaiso which is the amazing, diverse and pshcadellic street art that spreads accross the walls of houses, alleys and practically anywhere that has space for such works of art.

At the end of the tour we finished at a bar and was gifted with a free shot of pisco sour. The time came to thank our guide that was paid through tips. We decided on US$10, however Lex (who's usually the smart one in the relationship) was confused with the currency and ended up tipping her US$40. Pretty sure the tour wasn't worth that much but...Oh well. What can one do.

That night we basked in the small front garden chilling with some wine, music and the sweet thought that the next day we would be on our way to enjoy some more wine in Mendoza, the wine country of Argentina.