Internet in Bolivia was rubbish! The north of Chile wasn't much better... Things starting picking up in Santiago, but it's still not great! I did find a new trick to adding photos into my text from my iPhone so not reliant on finding PCs anymore...

Anyway, I am in Santiago at the moment. Or at the airport to be more precise. I'm off to Easter Island for the rest of the week. After a month of constant moving around I need to stay put somewhere for a few days and relax. What better place than Easter Island. The internet is going to be rubbish though that I know already! It's not going to be cheap either! Which is why one of my checked luggage is filled with fruit, veg and pasta. I am going to cook this week.

Yesterday I went to Valparaiso for the day. I originally wanted to stay there longer but because of the (somewhat) unexpected trip to Easter Island, a day trip it was!

Valparaiso is a port city about 2 hours bus drive from Santiago. It's known for its graffiti, it's colourful houses and the numerous funiculars that get you up and down the hilly city.

And lots of graffiti it has!

A lot of the steps have been painted colourfully or have inspirational phrases written on each step or like this one, has been transformed into piano keys.

I rode the oldest funicular in Valparaiso. It was built in 1883 and originally ran on steam power. I was actually expecting that it would take me high up into the hills of the city and give me a fantastic over everything. Kind of like the cable cars in La Paz. The reality was that it went up one street (about 50m) maybe...! Not what I was expecting...There was a view of the harbour, but it's a very industrial harbour. No cute little fishing boats here.

There are also quite a few little pieces of artwork dotted around the city.

Valparaiso is actually a UNESCO World heritage site. Thanks to this building:

It belongs to an international company. They applied to extend the buildings (the glass but they dropped on top) and the city said no. Fearing it would ruin the look of the city. But the company threatened to take its business elsewhere and the city caved. The people of the city weren't happy with this and fought to get protect the city from it happening again. They got the city on to the UNESCO list, although some say it would have happened at some point anyway. Say what you like about the building. But it does stand out!