Okay... That was weird.

We were on the trolley bus with our blonde daughters and a girl came up and asked if she could take our picture. We said yes and posed like movie stars.

                                            

The elusive search for an apartment continued today.  We were walking to see one real estate agent when we bumped into another agent, Karen, we’d been introduced to on Monday.  We recognised each other and exchanged pleasantries.  Karen does not speak any English and we are yet to master the Espanol tongue.  We did however agree to meet at 3:30 to view an apartment at the trendy Cerro Bella Vista.

Until 3:30 we passed the time with another agent who took us to see a nice but expensive house high up in the hills.(CH$230000 per week – the apartment we’re looking at with Karen is fifty metres off the main street and is CH$250000 per month).  The 3:30 appointment went well.  We want to rent the two bedroom apartment for a month so we can get to know the city and not have to worry about being locked into a long term lease.  Once the summer holidays finish there should be more appartments to view.

The class structure here all depends on how high you live up in the cerros.  Between El Plan, the flat part of Valpo, and the top of the ascensors is more industrial and commercial premises.  From the ascensors the higher up the hills you live the less money you have.  Plenty of busses and colectivos run to the top of the hills but it’s not where we want to be.

I would have liked to taken photos on today’s walk but the kids took turns being carried.  Today’s Spanish word is burro.

Valpo has a love affair with art – anytime, anywhere.  There are many murals about the city.  I believe that so long as you weren’t breaking the law they would allow any sort of art installation. 

On a different note we went out with hats and still got sunburnt.  There is a hole in the ozone layer over South America. I didn't put it there, but in the spirit of doing our bit for the world I'm putting a link to Greenfleet, a non-profit organization that plants trees on your behalf. It's also tax deductible.

Greenfleet