Valparaiso, Chile

So we only had one night is this city by the bay, but we learned to love it. The city is so much like San Francisco because it is built on a steep hill right next to the ocean. The Pata Pata Hostel that we stayed in looked exactly like your typical S.F. house. High ceilings, tall and skinny, windows everywhere and great views of the city below. We were albe to walk around the town and see a lot of the old churches, the amazing graffiti and the colorful houses (see the pictures below). The city was a huge port town before the Panama canal and most ships stopped there before going to North America. The buildings were built mainly in the late 1400´s and they have a law there that none of the old buildings can be torn down. So the city really has an old feel. The colors of the houses are amazing and you can see the port from all over the city. It was hard to walk at times because some of the streets are soooooo steep, but it was great to just walk around and give ourselves a tour of the old city. We got a good leg workout. At night we had an asado at our hostel and met some really cool people (Bernt and Victoria). We shared a room with a coulple from Norway, who were awesome and liked vino as much as we did. Also another couple from London who were cool, Ben had such a thick accent it did´nt even sound like English. He looked like a member of the Beatles. Also we met some Argentine girls on vacation from Buenos Aires who offered to show us around more when we go back there in a week. Perfect a local tour in Spanish, even though they like to talk in English to practice themselves. We all ate a long dinner and chatted for hours. This was the best asado yet, amazingly cooked pork and authentic chilean tomatoe salads. Plus the best guacomole that we have had yet, or maybe ever had!! It was great to talk with everyone about thier past, travels and all the different languages. We were so excited to just chat about language and learn about these peoples different perspectives of the world. That is the best part of hostels, the people that you meet and the conversations that you have. It is a great way to travel because you all are doing the same thing and are eager to talk and share ideas. We really had an awesome night with wine, food and new friends. I am going to miss that one part of hostel living the most. When in life do you put yourself in the position to meet new people every night? It is great. This hostel had the best breakfest too. A hard boiled egg, fresh mango juice, fruit, a grilled banana sandwich, strong coffee and to top it all off a view of the town with the fresh air blowing in! Plus the owner and staff were super friendly. The owner cooked for us! Over all we fell in love with this city and so began our fascination with the Chilean people, probably some of the nicest people in the world. The next morning we realized that we have become better travelers because we ventured out with our backpacks on, no information about where to catch a bus or the exact place we were going and we did it! We made it to Ritoque Raices stress free and without getting lost, only speaking Spanish and without paying a butt load!!!! It is funny just now we are really getting into the swing of how this all works. I don´t think that anyone can get use to the bus rides though. We love South America!!!!!!!!!! Traveling is the best thing you can do in life. I don´t even know how to put it into words. Just the feeling of carrying all your belongings on your back, moving place to place with no real obligations or plans and seeing the people and places of the world gives you an elightened feeling. We are going to really miss it, but now we are hooked watch out world!!!!!