This was our first taste of bus travel in Chile and the Tur Bus bus to Valparaiso was really excellent - on time and very comfortable. However, for a while we were worried that we might be on the wrong bus because they seem to be quite precise about bus time, stance etc and there was a lot of chopping and changing of seats and putting people off the bus at the first couple of stops. However, it did seem to be efficient and gave us some confidence for our future journeys. We got to Valparaiso no bother - sleeping most of the way - around mid-day and, following the directions in the Hostal Luna Sonrisa's website, we jumped on a number 612 bus which wended its way up through the narrow, winding streets of Cerro Alegre (Happy Hill) and twenty minutes later we alighted at Plazuela Juan Luis. About six ancient cobbled streets led off from the small plazuela, but it took us only minutes to walk the couple of blocks downhill to the hostel. Sol welcomed us to the hostel and gave us excellent information about the area.Valparaiso is set on over forty hills and after settling into our room we set off to explore our one - Cerro Alegre. It is one of the oldest parts of the city and is a fascinating mix of well-to-do large houses sitting cheek by jowl with rickety old shacks; very steep and narrow streets; uneven pavements and cobblestones; little corner stores; dogs everywhere (and the inevitable mess); sudden wonderful views across the city and bay; coffee shops, restaurants and bars; art galleries and artisan workshops; and occasional signs of regeneration. Many of the houses are brightly painted in vibrant colours and the streets are full of fabulous, extremely well executed murals. Our walk eventually took us to 'La Sebastiana' one of the houses that belonged to Pablo Neruda, one of two Chilean winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was in fact a poet, author and a politician. He was a very charismatic figure who had a very interesting life which included diplomatic positions around the world - and had three wives! The house reflected his artistic disposition being built in an unusual style and filled with arty artefacts - well worth the visit. Back at Luna Sonrisa, which is owned by the author of the Footprint Guide to Chile, we met Felicity. She's an English lady who's lived in France for donkeys and is now retired. She has travelled a bit and seems to have fallen in love Valparaiso, this being her second visit within a year. In fact, when we met her she hadn't even been anywhere else in Chile (although as this goes to press she should be in Chiloé). Felicity was an absolute gem who was really good fun and seemed to have no fear of quizzing everyone about their life. Naturally this helped enhance Luna Sonrisa's very friendly atmosphere. The following morning we were off on a whistlestop tour of Valparaiso and its more upmarket neighbour Vina del Mar. It was a good tour, with our excellent English speaking guide Marie, and we saw and learned more about the area than we could have done ourselves in the time we had available. When we were dropped off to pick up our bags for our return to Santiago we realised that we wanted, and indeed Valparaiso deserved, more time to appreciate and enjoy the city. So we made arrangements to return in a couple and headed back to Santiago in a very upbeat mood.Lots of LoveE & M xxxx