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Last day in Valpo
we got up and packed our bags ready for our departure later on in the evening, leaving them in a corner of the room so they were out of the way should the guy who runs the place actually decide to do any cleaning (the 4 beds used by the other guests were as yet still unmade 3 days later!). Then we decided to go out and look round the town once more and as we had a few dollars left over, maybe have a go on one of the old cable cars of which there are many dotted over the hillsides. Unfortunately our luck was such that of the 3 we found on this blisteringly hot day, none were working :( Whether this was because it was mid week and so not many tourists about or whether they just dont work any more we didnt know. But to console ourselves we bought a completo each on the way back to the hostel, of which I only managed to eat ½ before feeling full! Once back at the hostel we thought to go on the internet but the kitchen was being used as a TV repair place and the area with a couch and TV was occupied by one of the owners friends. So after ascertaining that the beds still hadnt been changed we took refuge here and fell asleep for an hour or so until finally he wanted to clean the room and we moved out onto the couch instead. We spent the rest of our time looking up places we would be visiting and finding things we could do there for free, we did discover that in La Paz in Bolivia there seems to be a reasonably priced Indian restaurant and having not had a curry since we left the UK have decided it is a must!! When it was time to leave we paid our host's friend who spoke a little english and tried to charge us for using the room longer than we should but our point blank refusal put him at a loss for words and we left paying only what we owed. We walked to the bus station arriving an hour or so before the bus was due to leave so I sat and guarded the bags whilst Andy went out to hunt for dinner. He returned looking very pleased with himself carrying a plastic bag containing cheese empanadas which were the bestwe've had here and 2 skewers of spiced meat alternating with sausage and onion which were also extremely tasty!! Dinner finished and soon it was time to get on the bus, our seat was on the top deck and right at the front which turns out to be a great spot as you get the most leg room and should you want it, the best view in the whole bus of the scenery outside! Of course this being an overnight bus we weren't going to be looking at much and so closed the curtains, dropped the seats back as far as they would go and settled under our airline blankets which we nicked off the last flight and went to sleep. Of course we woke up occasionally but I have to say that these buses are substantially more comfortable than the ones in Cuba and we were in the cheap seats too!! Downstairs you can pay a bit more and have a seat that goes back even further and is bigger but honestly we dont think its worth it as the ones we had were really comfy so these are the ones we'll use from now on. We arrived in Coquimbo at about 6am after a 7 hour bus journey and I didnt even have a stiff neck...excellent!!
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