I've decided I'm going to Valparaiso. Santiago is not too bad, but it doesn't really have much to recommend it.

It's hard not to keep comparing Santiago to Havana, and Havana always comes out best. Santiago seems very homogenous (sp?), everybody is Latino: tanned with dark hair. You don't see any blondes, nor any black people and there are almost no indigenous people around. The shops sell the same stuff you find in Europe. The Plaza de Armas could be any square in a Spanish city. It's impersonal and indifferent.

However, one of the great things about travelling is that you can always leave for a better place. I decided to pack my bag (very badly, I nearly fell over because I distributed the weight badly) and for some reason also made the decision not to take a taxi, but do the twenty minute walk to the bus station with my backpack and rucksack. I suppose I feel I need the practice, because I'll need to toughen up when I'm with Journey Latin America...

I got to the bus station next to the central train station (not that there are any trains, Chile's rail network is pretty much non-existent) and some guy from Tur Bus (one of the big companies here) waved me over. Turns out I had to be in another terminal (there are about 4, but how am I supposed to know when it's not in the Lonely Planet!) so he arranged a transfer for me. I had about 15 minutes to spare to get the bus, which left at 2, but he didn't seem worried.

In the end, I had plenty of time to get some drinks and then I got on the bus, which was very comfortable. I had a seat right at the front, so I could look out of the front window. I got to Valparaiso about 4 in the afternoon. There was an older lady called Myriam who had a hostal (well, her son Sergio actually owns it), so I decided to check it out.

It's nice, simple and clean and dead cheap: 5000 pesos (about 6 pounds / 10 EUR) including breakfast! I have a whole room, with four beds and a desk all to myself and she even told me which bed was the best. It's quiet and central, and there are no other people snoring or annoying Israeli kids asking me difficult questions.

After settling in, I went out for a walk through Parque Italia, to Av. Pedro Montt and Plaza Victoria, where there is a lovely church with a high tower (Iglesia Catedral de Valparaiso) and a nice atmosphere: kids playing, picturesque old men talking etc. The sun was setting and the sky was bright blue, for the first time since I got to Chile.

I walked all the way back to Plaza O'Higgins, which is a lovely place to sit, and which has the Congreso Nacional looming over it. This horrible and apparently horribly expensive building is built over one of Pinochet's boyhood homes and was supposed to take over some of the functions from Santiago, but it's become pretty much useless as it turned out to be too far away from the capital to be workable.

There's a huge amount of stalls, with sweets, shoelaces, wrenches and lottery tickets. The Chileans seem to like their sweets as they are all munching away on something. It's a very relaxed place here, lots of people but not hectic.

I went to eat at Marco Polo, which doesn't look like much at first sight: an American diner with Italian style overdressed waiters. But the food is excellent. I decided to treat myself and had a starter (avocado and chicken) and main course (cannelloni in salsa Alfredo with ham) and some white wine (something called Diabolo. It did taste diabolic too unfortunately). My waiter, Ricardo, spoke fluent English. I guess that's what happens if you get a recommendation in the Lonely Planet.

I went to Cine Hoyts but the only American film was Shark Tale and as it's animation it was dubbed in Spanish. I sat in Parque Italia until dusk and decided to make it an early night. In my private room. No snorers except me. Excellent!