Days 241 Dicing with the Poets in Valparaiso!

A 2 hour bus journey took us to Valparaiso, the UNESCO listed World Heritage site on the coast of Chile. We stayed at B&B Patricia, close to the bus station. It was clean and quiet, with only the four of us staying in the place.

Patricia gave us a map of Valparaiso & some tips on what to see. One of which was Pablo Neruda's home in the hills. Catching the local bus, we passed steep hillside homes in all states of repair. Neruda is a nobel prize winning poet and has an interesting home, with something new to see in every corner. He is quite a local hero and it is clear from his home that he is very well travelled & a social person with plenty of space for entertaining!

Valparaiso is famed for its homes built on the steep hills that surround the city. The weather, however, was not on our side and made it hard to see through the thick layer of fog which covered the whole town for most of our visit.

On our way to the historic center of Valparaiso, we passed a local food market and some men playing dice in the street. Mike asked in Spanish if he could take their picture, to which one of them promptly replied no, saying that Mike would bring his rival good luck! The rest of the crowd that had gathered started to mock that man, so peer pressure came to bear and Mike started to snap away. He turned out to be right however, and the rival who was throwing the dice got his perfect number. Great banter, even with the language barrier. Sarah is hoping this luck will continue to Las Vegas!!

We carried on to the downtown area of Valparaiso, seeing the Turri Clock, British Arch and a statue of Lord Cochrane (A highly respected British Sailor)

Dinner was at Marco Polo with Jane and Holly. Tasty fish and some great Chilean red wine. Since our arrival we have sampled some great wines from the region. There was no room left for cheesecake, which the waiter confirmed was the same word in English and Spanish. Jane's hunt for Cheesecake continues.......

Tomorrow we are off to Viña Del Mar, a short journey north.

Till next time, ¡Buena Suerte! (Good Luck)
:-)

---

---