Costs pp: bus from Santiago 3100p
It took about 2 hours to get to Valparaiso and we had no problem finding our 'couch' Dan who was very welcoming and gave us his own room at his pad. There were 2 other couchsurfers there also, from USA, they were staying for the halloween party as well. What Halloween Party? Dan had organised a 'couchsurfing event' a barbque costume party for saturday night.
We were able to help Dan to clear and decorate his backyard for the event which was a lot of fun, coz Dan is a fun guy.
Saturday was spent exploring the next town of Vina del Mar, Valparaiso is a port and Vina del Mar has the beach, V is older and VdM is richer. We wandered along the beach looking at the stalls there and not much else. It was a cloudy day and not very warm. In the evening we met up with Dan and other couch's and friends at the supermarket to shop for the barby. Then it was home to PARTY!
The next morning was spent cleaning up of course then Dan took us on a walking tour of the old downtown.
It was really excellent as in the summer he is a tour guide so he knew all the dates, facts and figures. We also got the opportunity to ride up and down in 2 different funiculars, really cool.
We had a wonderful time with Dan and really connected with him.
Next stop La Serena.