The tour yesterday had certainly helped us to get a better perspective of Valparaiso, beyond the facade of run down, ramshackeled buildings, to appreciate some of its charm and appeal. We had a much better night's sleep, hopefully we've got over the jet lag just in time for to head back west to Easter Island! After breakfast we packed our bags, left them at the hostel and headed off to visit La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's home and now a historic building. We walked back along Avenue Almirante Montt, where we'd come on the bus yesterday, to reach the house and took advantage of an audio tour whilst we perused Chile's most famous poet's collections of furniture and artworks. The four story house gives great views over the hillsides and harbour. From here we headed down through the open air museum (more graffiti!) created between 1969 and 1973 by local students. We weren't really too sure if we were on the right street but we did see lots of murals! From here we headed back towards Cerro Alegre and found a cafe for lunch. The skies had cleared with the temperature rising and we decided to chill out for an hour at the hostel before setting off to get the bus back to Santiago. We left the hostel and got the local micro to the bus terminal (the journey was as crazy as the one yesterday with the same loco driver!). We'd booked tickets for the 16.01 bus and waited patiently watching the clock pass 4pm. A bus arrived, displaying 16.15, which we attempted to board however the driver wasn't happy to take us. After a bit of 'chat' between the driver and ticket office we finally boarded and set off back to Santiago. Our flight to Easter Island is scheduled to leave at 9.30am tomorrow and we'd decided to stay close to the airport to avoid an early start. We got the airport bus and checked in at the Holiday Inn just after 7pm, used as many of the facilities as we could and had dinner in the restaurant before heading off to bed.
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| The view from the terrace of Pablo Neruda's house |
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| La Sebastiana |
Have to smile when you say you used all facilities at Holiday Inn, must have seemed like heaven after such a strenuous day. I marvel at the way you organise and find your way about in strange places.
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