Got to Valparaiso Saturday afternoon (on the coast) 1.5 hours bus ride from Santiago, very nice bus. Weather no better here, but quite cool (15deg), no wind to speak of which is a pity cos maybe it could blow away this goddam fog! There are no nice views, you can just see the ocean from the port and the boats but absolutely no sun or sky or anything, a blank white sky right down to your very limited horizon. Checked into Hostal Pilcomayo then went for a big wander up into the hills, came across Pablo Neruda´s house (now a museum) so had a look round that, then when I got back to the hostel found the English couple I´d met in Santiago were there as well! Had some very good Chilean wine Sav Blanc but very light and easy to drink (a bad thing maybe?). Spent Sunday checking out the city (pop 200,000) lots of parks and old buildings, because it´s a World Heritage site they bust out the inside of the buildings and remodel from the inside interesting results in some cases. Thought about moving hostels as mine not the greatest but the other address I had was on one of the main streets with a bus stop right outside. There was a drawing competion for children at the port, lots of really good ones. Really cold at night (hole in my window not helping?)

Did Viña del Mar Monday, the beach would have been nice on a sunny day but the fog and the cold kept the locals and tourists away. Spent a few hours in a giant shopping mall (warm in there), a bit more expensive there, getting closer to our prices etc, insane number of security guards. Local city buses (Valparaiso and Viña del Mar are like Hastings/Napier 2 cities but close enough to be one) shocking, thought the seat in front of me would rattle out of place! Spent the night in my 8 bed dorm with 6 smelly boys, some hostels do same sex only dorms, others don´t. Hope my next hostel has a laundry . . . I can´t really hassle the boys!