Apart Hotel San Marino Santiago

... the same route as the tour buses over to Vina del Mar but is a public bus so much cheaper. Having enjoyed some spectacular views as the bus drove over the cliffs toward Vina del Mar the intrepid duo found themselves in the lovely seaside resort of Vina del Mar. They followed the promenade along to a sandy beach, past a huge number of pelicans perched on the shoreline.

“I once stroked a pelican on the head and it nuzzled against my knee” said Duncan. “Yes I know ...

... grew some balls and with the grace of some good weather we made it up to the top after 6 hours of snow and ice hiking, including some very steep faces……at one point we had to put one foot either side of a peak, which had steep drops on both sides and step our way across the ridge…scary stuff considering my general dislike for heights and anything that may potentially hurt if I get it wrong! It only took us three hours to get down though thankfully. However, on ...

... that Chile is one of the only countries not to have some fruit killing disease, and they want to keep it that way.

Then came one cool endlessly windy road, taking us down a good 1km in altitude in only a short distance. The windy road doesnŽt stop the driver flying past the slow trucks whether theres a bend or not.

Hostel Life in Santiago
It was slightly more difficult to find a hostel this time round, but in the end we found a good one called ...

... long last metro trip home. I had to sit on the floor even though the signs said not to. When I stood up for my stop, I realized that I was taller than most of the men on my car. They seemed much taller whenI was on the floor.

Back at the hostel I played poker and made dinner. I still haven't felt like going out, even though I'm in the prime neighborhood for that. It's winter and I'm back in hibernation more, at least for a few days.

... and huge amounts of pizza places too. Not quite the unique cuisine that we thought it might be!

With one chapter of the trip ending another one begins, this time Asia! A continent we know a little more about after holidays over there but one we are very much looking forward to spending a lot more time exploring. First we get to spend 5 days in an (allegedly) English speaking country… we get to say G’day to Australia!

... almost non stop to Santiago. It was a long day and most of it on the Pan-American Highway so mainly a big road trip day. It was somewhat depressing arriving in the city again and we both felt we had so enjoyed the trip south that we wanted to stay in the rural areas. We arrived about 3 pm and booked into the recommended Che Legarto Hostel in the city centre. It was affine ...

After a nice meal our groupexcursion went on to the capital of Chili, Santiago. This is the first time that I visit a capital with an organised tour and it really isn·t my thing. They tell you a lot about everything, history, places but you cannot stop where you want and you always have to be back on time to catch the ...

... translation: tamales with nothing in them... just the masa wrapped in the corn husk things... so funny!) Michael and I went searching for a church nearby to go to Mass after the lunch... no luck though, all the Sunday afternoon Masses don't start until about 8 or 8:30 here! South Americans stay up REALLY late... eat dinner at around 9pm then hang out till after midnight... just on a regular night. All in all, we had a pretty great weekend...

... For this reason, the blog might be a bit sparse over the coming days. Fear not though.....we will still be having the time of our lives! So, after dragging ourselves from the bedroom, we collapsed by the pool, only surfacing to carry out such important tasks as eating, drinking and disposing of any waste products. Do we really have to go back to work....ever?!!

Caught a bus into town and started walking towards the listed accommodation sites we had on our map. Every where was full eventually we were referred to the now cliche šlady around the cornerš who still had space. Her place was huge (more than 36 rooms). She could have charged us anything and we ...