Les Pérégrinations de Pierre

I am starting to think I cannot travel from one country to another without having some kind of nice surprise ... you must remember that I arrived one day late at Havana airport for my flight that should have taken me to Punta Arenas ... this time, I was on time but ... I needed a visa to enter the US as my passport is too `old`. I didn`t do my home work on this one!!!

As a result I am having to stay a few days in Chile – I first thought that my US trip would have to be cancelled but thanks to great counselling, I am having a new passport done and I should be landing in NYC on Friday...

I have taken advantage of this stopover to visit Valparaiso over the past three days. This place is magical, an avalanche of houses coming down from the hills, pastel colors, painted facades,

old lifts,

multitud of stairs, myriads of bars, houses build with a mix of corrugated iron, bricks, wood. Stunning views on the bay and a city that`s somewhat rundown – If you are blessed with the ability to read French, you should grab `Valparaiso` from Alain Jaubert. If I didn`t convince you, this book will do!

I am in Santiago now as I should have my new passport tomorrow. Santiago is a nice town surrounded with mountains. It seems that it is full of universities. Bar life should be good – I`ll check this out tonight...