A day in Santiago

We had less than a day in Santiago so decided to use the hop-on hop-off bus. The circuit takes about 2 hours to complete and allows you to get a feel for the city and hear some history about it. 

 No reins on the horse - the natives thought horse and rider were one animal

Church near where we boarded the bus

The German fountain with the telecommunications building in background built in the shape of a mobile phone

We left the bus near the circuit end to take the funicular up the hill and get some good views of the hazy city.

A private minibus took the 5 of us to Valparaiso, a port city about 100 minutes west of Santiago. Our accommodation is at Via Via Cafe. Thank you Trip Advisor for this fantastic recommendation.  A short walk in the surrounding area made us realise what a good decision we made to spend the last two days of our holiday here rather than in Santiago. We are part way up one of the many hills with coloured buildings, street art and atmosphere abounding.

 This mural is in the Via Via Cafe where we are staying

 Reverse mermaid with fish heads and human legs

 Angel Gillian next to Picasso saying "the enemy of creativity is good taste"

 Solar panels at our hotel with view to the port

The full moon at dinner time added to the atmosphere.