Driving into Valparaiso we passed many coloured houses on the hill. We also passed some police in riot gear and something on fire in the middle of the road. The bus also stopped on a road to let us off rather than in the bus station. So not really knowing where I was, I walked down the street a bit. Luckily I came to a taxi rank quite quickly. I got a taxi to the hostel. The people at the hostel were really nice and even gave me a free hot chocolate on arrival. In my room were 2 German guys. I left my bags there and went downstairs for my hot chocolate.. The Mexican guy that worked there then told me that everyone from the hostel was going out to dinner if I wanted to join them. I went along.

There were 8 other people and 2 people who worked at the hostel. On the way there I got chatting to another girl called Vicky, who was from Chester and was an art teacher. We arrived to a small cafe / restaurant where we almost filled the place. There wasnt much on the menu but Jose (the Mexican) recommended a local dish. Quite a lot of us ordered it. When it came it was humongous! It was a mountain of food. At the bottom were apples cooked in red wine (but i never got to them) and on the top was a pile of fat chips with mince, sausage and onions mixed in. I tucked in but I knew there was no way I could eat it all. The chips and meat really nice. I did like it but could only eat half.

After the meal the meal we started to walk back to the hostel but decided to stop for a drink in a bar with live music. We had a drinks waiter who seemed a bit crazt but very funny. A girl was just finishing singing and 2 men were just about to start. They played a guitar each sang as well. They were quite good. The second song they played was Arabian Nights. They sang it in Spanish but I recognised it from the Disney film Aladdin! When we had finished our drinks we left. We had to stay together as it was unsafe to walk alone.

In the morning I had my free breakfast and went to check out. The news was on the television and it showed strikes and protests happening all over Chile. You could hear people banging pots and pans outside from in the hostel. I decided not to go out exploring and stayed in the hostel all day. I didnt fancy going out on my own at all. When the time came I ordered a taxi to the bus station. The man said it might cost a bit more than normal as he might have to go the long way around to avoid the protests. Baring that in mind I went a bit earlier to make sure I was there in time. In the taxi we didnt really pass any trouble but could hear banging in the nearby streets. The taxi dropped me off at the taxi rank where I had got the taxi from the day before. He pointed down the street and I could see the bus station but the road was blocked off by the police so he couldnt drive down there. Thats also why the bus dropped us off on the street the day before. I walked down the street, passed the police and into the bus station.

I was there with an hour to wait. I found a bench to sit on but soon wished I wasnt there so early. There was something in the air. Many people had masks over their mouths and noses. Those that didnt were all sneezing and coughing. Pretty soon I was sneezing as well. I dont know if it was because they were burning something in the protests but it was really strange. I was glad when the bus came to get out of the air.

It was only 2 hours to Santiago, my last stop in South America.