As events turned out, however, von Spee waited about at sea for a day or two after the action, apparently in the hope of either hearing news of the _Good Hope_ or finding her. Writing at sea on November 2nd, he says, in a letter that afterwards appeared in the German Press: "If _Good Hope_ escaped, she must, in my opinion, make for a Chilean port on account of her damages. To make sure of this, I intend going to Valparaiso to-morrow with _Gneisenau_ and _Nürnberg_, and to see whether _Good Hope_ could not be disarmed by the Chileans." Writing under date of November 5th, he adds: "We arrived at Valparaiso this morning.... The news of our victory had not yet reached here, but spread very quickly." The squadron split up, it seems, arriving at different dates at Mas-a-Fuera, which became the temporary headquarters of the German squadron for the next fortnight. Here all ships coaled in turn. Communication was maintained by sending the German light cruisers into Valparaiso one after the other to get the latest information. The _Leipzig_ was there somewhere about November 13th. This would show a proper caution on his part, as belligerent vessels cannot use neutral ports except at extended intervals. At Valparaiso von Spee must have obtained information concerning the movements of our squadron under Admiral Stoddart, who had then just sailed north from Montevideo. He would also have probably been aware of the presence of the Japanese squadron operating in the Northern Pacific. In order to make the position clear, it must be apprehended that a squadron consisting of the British light cruiser _Newcastle_, together with the Japanese cruiser _Idzuma_, and the small battleship _Hizen_, was concentrated in the North Pacific. The battle-cruiser _Australia_ left Suva, Fiji, on November 8th to strengthen this squadron, so that it may be deduced that this was a direct result of the Coronel action which took place just a week before. She joined these ships on November 26th at Chamela Bay on the west coast of Mexico. The object of this squadron was to prevent von Spee from coming north, and to close on him should he remain on the western coast of South America. Sailing southwards, these ships visited the Galapagos Islands and then proceeded on their quest for the enemy, the _Newcastle_ searching the Cocos Islands _en route_. When nearing the coast of Colombia, the splendid news of the Falkland Islands battle was received, after which these ships split up and separated.