Valparaiso

No more pics for a little while, as I have no more camera!!! I got mugged on Sunday right in the middle of the street, a few blocks away from a main plaza. Just bad luck...wrong place wrong time. I had changed hostels that morning and the locker in the new place wasn´t available to me (the previous traveler still had his stuff locked inside)...so I ended up walking around with my small backpack for a little bit. I obviously usually never do- especially in cities. Those who know me in NYC know that i never carry a bag even there (mostly because i´d forget it!). So long story short, 4 guys came from behind me and just grabbed the backpack off of me. It happened so fast, no time to react or even shout. I think I did resist a little, or they struggled getting the strap off my right arm, so I have some scratches on my forearm, but other than that, I´m ok. Good they didn´t hit me or push me or something. So pissed though as they got away with my passport, money and credit cards, camera, and my journal...and postcards I was about to send off. Went to the embassy yesterday to apply for a new passport...will take 3 weeks. All in all, a bad start to my stay here, but I figure it won´t/can´t happen to me again, so I´ll be safe the remainder of the trip. The hostal got an earful when I got back though...why couldn´t another locker be available to me....ugh. The police officers who helped me out were very nice (I think they are so used to it... it was like a doctor´s office...so many people in line to report thefts). One guy spoke english which helped to file the report. He gave me his number in case I needed anything. And NO, he wasn´t hitting on me...it was just out of pure kindness.
I also realized after that a big cruise ship was in town, so it´s probably the worst time to walk around as thieves are on the look out for tourists. Oh well. I´m over it now. Glad that I had some friends at the hostal that I had met in La Serena...they spot me some cash and we hung out Sunday night, cooked a big pasta...shared some chilean wine... got me over the initial shock (sure feels weird when you´re left stripped in the street...not one penny on you!).
Ok, on a lighter note, I finally started my Spanish classes this am. Very small class...only 2 or 3 other students. I think I´ll breeze through the first chapters. Looking forward to figuring out verbs and every day expressions. And yes, I¨ll learn a few swear words in case someone comes too close to me again and I can scare them off.
The sun is out...pretty strong...need to go buy sunscreen (part of the stolen stuff, along with a roll of toilet paper, i hope they find that useful!!!)...and off to the beach.
More later in the week...maybe I´ll even attempt some a spanish entry!!