We slept pretty well from 11pm onwards until 9am the following morning. The seats we were allocated had more leg room than the previous overnight buses as we were at the rear of the bus. However this meant we could hear everything mechanical. I am not a mechanic, but grinding was the best word to describe the noises coming from the rear axles on the bus. I think this bus was overdue a urgent stop at the workshop. Thankfully I had a good set of ear plugs to block ...

Today we had plans to catch the night bus to Pucon (further south in the area of Chile known as the Lake District) which meant checking out of our hostel room at midday. Since we had the whole day to kill we made the most of a leisurely morning at the hostel, packing up our stuff and Scott spoke to his Mum on skype. I was annoyed at myself all morning as I realised I'd left a small thermos flask somewhere (probably back in La Serena) containing all my larium for ...

Wow what a noisy night last night. Revellers next door banging on the floor and wall. Luckily my ear plugs managed to block most of the sound. Despite a disturbed nights sleep we left to walk the route across the top of town that we walked yesterday. We passed the same old graffiti hotspots and beaten old cars overgrown at the edge of the road. We stopped at a viewing spot to soak up the scene of the harbour below with it's cruise ships and war ships. The majorit...

Today we had the whole day to explore Valparaiso and all the delights it had on offer. The first thing I noticed was it was sunny and warm - about 25 degrees with a cool breeze - like a comfortable hot English summers day. So finally my shorts could come out of the bag after a month on the road. After a hearty breakfast with fresh strawberries and banana (the hostel we are staying at is run by a Chilean-British couple so the breakfasts are considerably better!) w...

After breakfast we packed our bags ready to depart later in the day to Valparaiso on a Pullman bus. The weather was again cloudy and fresh - this hadn't been the hot spot we thought it would be. I spent a little time online checking out camper van companies in New Zealand. We had been recommended two companies called Jucy and Wicked. The Wicked company seemed best as they didn't specify a minimum lease time unlike Jucy which was 21 days. Also the price was half o...