Docking in Valparaiso....

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At the hostel in Santiago I met Rory and Angus, two brothers from Perth who were in South America partly on business and partly on pleasure. Despite a number of arguments with them concerning football (they were Eagles fans) I decided to tag along with them to Valparaiso, about 2 hours away on the coast. It wasn´t originally on my itinerary, but I got along well with the lads and thought it wasn´t too significant a detour. I´m glad I did.

Valparaiso is an interesting place with a fascinating history (sorry, if you want to know about that you are going to have to google it yourself). Despite the charms of the city, the highlight of the 2 days/nights I spent there actually just involved hanging out at the hostel.

The city is built on about 17 hills that rise from the Pacific Ocean, and our hostel sat high upon the hill directly above the port. It was an old 3 story mansion which had a rooftop deck, the 360 degree views from which I don´t think I have the wordpower to describe. The best I can do is breathtaking and stunning but I think that sells it short. Early each evening, all the guests at the hostel gathered up there to swap a few stories, have a few drinks, and just watch the ships come and go.

As far as the sites go, we went to a former home of Pablo Neruda, a Nobel prize winning Chilean poet. That was more one of those things that you do because the guidebook says to do it, as I wasn´t particularly interested by it. I didn´t previously know who he was so it would have been disingenuous of me to "oooh" and "ahhh" as I looked at his bathroom, bedroom etc. They weren´t unlike many other bathrooms and bedrooms I´ve seen before. I read some of his poetry but I think it loses a bit in translation, as in English it didn´t seem to have much of a lyrical flow to it.

We also headed up the coast to the nearby beach resort of Vina del Mar. A spot of people watching was good fun, but I think us Australians can tend to be beach snobs and I found it to be dirty, overcrowded and a little tacky.

I stayed an extra night after Rory and Goose headed back to Santiago and had my first mini attack of homesickness. The next morning however I woke up, slung my pack over my shoulder and headed back to Santiago for one last night before crossing the border into Argentina. I´ve figured out that moving onto somewhere new instantly refreshes my enthusiasm. It is the best medicine.

For the illiterates out there who prefer picture books, check out www.harleythomas.dphoto.com. Note that cameras weren´t allowed in Neruda´s house so I haven´t got any shots of his bathroom. Sorry to disappoint.

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Photos

Rooftop antics
HT and Rory enjoying a cold one

Kicking back
Rory and Goose taking in the view

Bella vista
The views up top were incredible

Vina del Mar beach
Gimme Lorne any day thanks