On The Bus to Valparaiso

Valparaiso, the port city about one hundred kilmeters from Sangiago is lively, dirty and colorful.  The air is filled with fumes of rotting fruit, automobile exhaust, coffee and people.  It has it's charms, however, being right on the Pacific Ocean  with the foothills of the Andes rising practically on the water and the houses of the town perching precariously on the hillsides.

We took the Santiago Metro to the edge of the city where the intercity bus yard is located , then caught a bus to Valparaiso.  Although the buses are fairly modern and comfortable my brain was still composing newspaper headlines like "Chilean Bus Plunges Off Road, All Passengers Killed."  You know you're not on I-95 when a couple in matching red shirts and gaucho hats come galloping on horses along the side of the road.  We passed some beautiful vineyards interspersed among the stony, rocky mountains.