After
not sleeping much I got up at 10 to grab some breakfast and checkout. I then
met up with Cheryl and Rowan at their hostel (walking much of the same route as
the walking tour). We then went for some coffee and catching up before walking
around a little and found a restaurant which was overlooking the city where we
had some lunch (I had salmon which was very yummy).

We
then took a walk around the area (covering more of what I did on the walking
tour) before heading through the main square where we enjoyed a few free ice
cream tasters on the way to the port. We watched the boats for a while before
making our way back to the square where Cheryl and Rowan met up with the guys
from last night to do a cooking class while I made my way back to the hostel
and grabbed some bus munchies along the way. I am looking forward to some sleep
on the bus and some chill time in Mendoza!

I
think Chileans are trying to bring the fanny pack / moon bag back into fashion
– wherever you look they have them!

Valparaíso
comes across as dirty and run down on first impression but the city has a lot
of charm and is another of my favorite. Chilean people are incredibly friendly
and helpful but their Spanish is scary fast and full of local slang so I am yet
to understand them. I have also noticed a large open lesbian community but have
not seen many gay men.

All
Chileans have many public displays of affection and this is apparently due to
the fact that most young people stay with their parents in small homes until
they are married and therefore don't have opportunities for privacy. If you are
asked to go to the park it means to go there and make out...

A
common Chilean slang phrase is "el pollo al veladora " which directly
translates to "the chicken on the nightstand" but actually means
"do u want a lunchtime shag"

I
met up with Rebecca back at the hostel and she napped on the couch while I did
some chatting and backing up pictures. After a while we went for a wrap for
dinner and a farewell. Traveling with her has been full of laughs and it will
be strange to be travelling alone again.

After
dinner I took a walk to the bus terminal where I waited a little while for my
bus. Fortunately it wasn’t a long wait as the bus left on time as usual and I
was asleep very quickly, also as usual (after a chat in Spanish with a Chilean
guy sitting next to me - he actually thought I was from Chile until I started
speaking).

I
didn't manage to sleep for very long so read a little before falling asleep
again and waking and sleeping…I hope this doesn’t become a habit. I did enjoy
some good moonlit views while the bus was climbing up the Andes from the almost
full moon. This would be a good trip to do during the day for the views but my
problem is that I just sleep through them anyway. We got to the border crossing
and slept while we waited for it to open at 4 and then got out to stand in a
very slow moving queue. While we were waiting in line for the passport control
(the bus steward walked around with a cup for people to put money in – I am
still not sure what that was about).

Finally got away from the border at about 6 and
now on our way to Mendoza and fortunately I got to catch some more sleep…