Diego De Almagro Aeropuerto Santiago

... us.<br><br>On Monday morning, I rolled into Santiago, thankful to be rid of buses for awhile. After a nap, I went out to explore town. Santiago is a beautiful city, thoroughly metropolitan but at the same time awash in vegetation. Parks abound, and there are just tons of trees lining streets and grassy lawns. The day smelled of freshly cut grass, flowers, and cigarettes (seemingly everyone smokes in Santiago) - delightful. <br><br>The one (big) downside of Santiago: expensive ...

... woman he was having an affair with during this second marriage. How romantic, right? But the house and the collection of random stuff in it was one of the coolest experiences of the trip. I also visited La Moneda which is the presidential palace that was bombed in 1973 when Pinochet took power in a coup. The period of Pinochet's dictatorship still brings up sad memories for many Chileans well at least the ones who didn't support him and his mass killings of anyone considered ...

... from dinner &amp; went to hostel bar again &amp; got pretty locked, played some savage games of FuBball &amp; drinking games &amp; then decided to go an look for a club called Blondie(the next day we found out off Horse that they said it was already closed!!)Never found it.<br><br>3RD July<br><br>Woke up locked after night out.<br><br>Horse tried steal 2 hotdogs by covering one in ketchup.He was stopped at the door by 2 ladies saying Senior!Then he decided to dropkick the barrier into ...

... t like to think what would happen if they did that in Glasgow city centre! After 3 nights in the city we decided to head south in search of volcanos and lakes. The friendly man in the bus station laughed when we said Pucon and said it rains a lot there, we just smiled and thought does he not know where we're from!!! So the next morning we boarded the bus in our semi-cama seats which basically means they recline further, we had an 11 hour bus journey to ...

I arrived in Santiago at aournd 7pm, after a long 12 hour flight and being held in the airport and questioned about pig flu. After filling in forms and having my picture taken i was let go. Got a taxi to my hostel which was really nice inside and out. Was tired so went to bed. Got up the next day and went for a walk to Plaza de Armas which was lovely. Met a local who showed me ...

... night watching DVDs on his laptop, max volume... I ended up not sleeping at all. Anyway, I finally reached Santiago where I met Daniela again, and where I spent two weeks getting some rest. I must admit that the length of my trip is starting to take its toll on me, both physically and emotionally. I have more and more trouble resting properly, I lack energy and willpower to do many things. I am also much more on the edge, and specifically I can't stand anymore the locals that treat ...

... Oh, and at the swimming pool a 13 yr old Chilean boy told Chantal that he loved her! Despite their name, the Chilean people give a very warm welcome (!). They´re very charming and although many don´t speak English, they do their best to tolerate our attempts at being understood (ie repeating the English louder and slower and waving our arms about!). Our Spanish is far from perfecto but we´re giving it a go. It´s refreshing to be ...

... didn't do much else really. In the afternoon we went and had a few drinks by the pool. Our new German friends came and joined us for a couple of hours as well before they went to a party. Although invited, we declined due to our new trip tomorrow. After dinner we had a go at tightrope walking at the hostel. We were not too successful at this. I understand now what I must look like when drunk walking - not pretty. We managed to get a ...

... from Chile. It also turns out that she made a mistake with the price of the sandwich, and in fact, the pork sandwich was NOT the same price as the chicken sandwich. Luckily for me, I had just enough cash to pay for it without stiffing her on the tip. I roasted in the sun for awhile, with a double layer of sunscreen applied to my forearms and face, and also a hat. I'm just trying to even out the grill marks on my body, not to worsen any of ...

... br><br>We walked through various impressive squares... <br><br> <br><br>... and government buildings, including the site of the coup in 1973... <br><br> <br><br>...then the stock exchange building (which was dead as a dodo)... <br><br> <br><br>...and finally back towards Santa ...