14th May 2013
After a 2 hour bus journey we arrived in Valparaiso and jumped in a taxi to our hostel. The outside was graffitied in bright colours and certainly fitted in with the vibe of the town. We were shown to our 4 bed dorm which it turns our was just the 2 of us anyway! Starving after a long day of walking we made our way into the town for a bite to eat and decided on a cafe dedicated to poets that had either come from or gone to Valparaiso. I ordered a beef and tomato sandwich and josh ordered and Chinese chicken dish. Both were lush! My sandwich had so much beef in it that it was hard to tear through! Josh and I swapped when halfway through our meal so I got to try a bit of both, we normally go on a 70 to 30 ratio on meal sharing. I loose out but I don't mind, the portions are ridiculously huge here and I can hardly finish a portion anyway!
After we'd finished our meal we walked to the super market, which is possibly the most developed I've seen in SA. Everything thing you could think of was there, Josh and I picked up chocolate and pop and brought it back to our room for dessert. Outside the super market was a group of people having a BBQ on a trolley. Bizarre! My head still banging like mad from altitude sickness I went to bed ready to explore Valparasio the next day.

15th May 2013
After a good breakfast consisting of cheese toasties and a lie in Josh and set off to explore the town. Just walking out our hostel we were met by the bright graffiti and colourful houses. It really is a unique town bursting with colour and has a friendly atmosphere. We walked the trail of the city tour to ensure that we saw everything. When walking up one staircase we were met by a dog and right next to him was a portrait. He was perfectly situated, I'm not sure if on purpose but it made an amazing photo! We walked up further taking in the different art work around us, it got to the point that if a house was dull colours it stood out more then the brightly coloured houses.
We got to a view point of the city where an old man was humming to the birds at the top of a tree which reached where we were standing. He called us over, and soon showed us the tree was full of humming birds. I'd never been up so close to them. We stood there for a while listening to their hum and watching them hover from branch to branch. We then walked further along the trail to what I had been most excited to see the piano steps. Simple but effective! Makes me think why don't we make our towns more artistic. The steps are simply white with the piano key in black. We then wondered past some more amazing art work along the different streets. The streets are so narrow we came across a bus stuck in the middle of the road with all the school children sitting waiting for it to move. However after analysing the situation Josh and I agreed that it wasn't moving without a massive scratch down the side!
We came across Plaza Sotomayor square where there was a large white building which looked important and also a large memorial for the lost sailors. There was just a random sailor stood inside the gates of the memorial, I can only presume he was meant to be a guard of some kind. We walked down to the port , which was busy but still nice to walk alongside the sea. I imagine it is the nearest port to Santiago so alot of stuff gets shipped from there. It was at the portwe met our companion a black mongrel dog who I name Chile Dog. She, well I presumed it was a lady dog followed us the whole length of the port. She d even got into a scrap along the way, I think she must have crossed over into another dogs territory whilst following us. As we walked towards the funicular to take us to a good view point of the city, she followed closely behind, sometimes only running ahead only to check out people walking towards us. Kind of like our very own guard dog! We paid 300 pesos and boarded the funicular up to the top of the hill. Poor Chile Dog just sat there looking abandoned, I wondered if she'd be still waiting for us on our return.
At the top of the hill was great views of the colourful city. We walked around the mini market for a bit. There was so much I wanted to buy, but I'd decided to leave my shopping spree for Bolivia! We then walked to the point that we had seen so many times on google images, a beautiful blue house then a view of the vibrant city below. I can't explain the feeling when you research a place so much and look at photos, then to actually be there is just insane. Rather then take the funicular down the hill we decided to walk down to take in more of the graffiti around the city. When we made it to the bottom of the hill, I couldn't believe it when I seen Chile Dog from a distance running towards us. She'd waited at the bottom of the funicular the whole time!
We made our way through the city with Chile Dog following promptly behind until we got to Plaza Sotomayor square where she just sat down, I think it must if been past her territory. I felt sad to loose our little companion, if I lived in any country in SA I'd be terrible wanting to take the strays in! As we walked past a dodgy looking bar Josh's football second sense came into action. He spotted the Euro cup final game showing on TV. Seeing his longing face I gave in and we went in the pub. I'd given up on alcohol for a bit so Josh ordered a pitcher of beer to himself. When the game was over a slightly merry Josh and I walked towards the supermarket to get some cash out. Right outside the supermarket was a Mexican, we were both starving and it's my favourite food so we decided it was time to eat. For the equivalent of £9 we ordered chicken and beef fajitas for 2 and it also came with the Famous Chilean cocktail Pisco Sour. We'd heard that you have to try when in Chile, we had even thought we'd tried one! The lady came over and poured into a champagne style glass which sugar around the rim a small amount each for us, then prompted us to drink. Not really sure what to do Josh and I just necked it. After downing it I looked across at Josh who had a perfect line of sugar on his nose and burst into laughter pointing, simultaneously he did the same. I had a matching nose, the waitress just looked at us a bit bewildered. It then occurred to me she just wanted us to try the Pisco sour to check it was ok! We both nodded looking like idiots and she poured us a proper glass each. After an amazing Mexican meal we made our way back to the hostel to wait until we needed to get our bus back to Santiago. We sat with some of the other backpackers chatting the usual chat about where are you going etc. I asked Josh to check the bus times. He came back from the luggage storage room with an awkward laugh saying he'd left the back pack at the pub we'd watched the football at. I could see slight panic in his eyes. The backpack didn't only have our bus tickets in but also our passports. Josh ran out of the hostel and I sat with the other backpackers hardly able to talk. Trying my best to keep calm as we didn't know they were definitely lost yet. It was hard not to imagine the hassle of finding the Uk embassy and having to sort another passport. I heard doorbell of the hostel go then Josh running up the stairs. I asked him quickly if he had the backpack and to my relief he answered yes. Some kind person had handed it in behind the bar at the dodgy looking pub we had watched the football in. Feeling relieved but lucky we made our way outside to get a taxi back to the bus terminal. We had to get a bus to Santiago and then a 22 hour drive to San Pedro de Atacama the driest place on earth!
I would recommend Valparaiso to anyone, I could of spent a week there. It makes me wonder why in England we don't make a tourist town like it although I'm not sure if it would work. The different graffiti across the city and vibrant colours made the town. Somewhere I would definitely love to return to!