Four Points Hotel Santiago

... the accompanying frustration of not being able to contain or capture the enormity or beauty of it all in single snap-shots. So the selection included with this entry are but a sample. Apparently the tallest mountain in the Andes range is only exceeded in height by the Himilayas. On the approach to the range we also witnessed Gaucho's on horseback doing their cowboy thang - complete with that spinny thing that they do with the rope. <br><br>The journey was ...

... his late 70's. However, the man and a few others in his group decided they were going to give it the old college try anyways. Well, the 15 min walk, timed perfectly to allow us to catch the sunset, turned into 45 minutes as a group of 4 men and women had to practically carry the man through the caves, crawling and climbing. We are not monsters, and we did worry about his health and hope he didn't keel over with a heart attack, but we ...

... 1.30. It was a great night and there was ample opportunity for ridiculous dancing, the only brand I recommend. Possibly the highlight, at least the most talked about event of the night, was when a transsexual (with a certain amount of surgery) came running up to me. I showed no interest, but they were persistent and so a number of pictures were taken. I have a history of attracting gay men, but this was a first, thankfully the message got through ...

... at close to $60 compared to the 380 pesos (just over a dollar) per subway ride. First up we explored the Bella Vista a gorgeous area which is filled with lots of lovely cafes and market stalls, which leads to San Cristobel where a statue of Mary overlooks Santiago. It was very beautiful, but what we found the most fascinating was the little area around the corner where there were literally hundreds of messages left to the Virgin Mary asking ...

... t get elsewhere. Lots of stuff to see and do here for a couple of days. Great place to buy an overpriced cup of coffee in the expensive coffeeshops with great views of the harbour and Pablo Neruda (famous Chilean poet and Noble Prize Winner) had a really cool pad here and that was great fun to see. He really did have some funky stuff in his houses (he had three) and they are definitely worth a view. Closeby is the beach area of Vina ...

... up our coffee and asked the waiter to call us a taxi. Needing some fresh air, I suggested that we all wait outside, which coincidentally, also offered a nice view of the reception area ... Having time to kill, I figured I'd chat with the beautiful receptionist. It's a funny thing - after the brief chat, Wade asked me "So did you get her number?" I chuckled because I wasn't even trying to hit on her - we were leaving Santiago pretty ...

... out the notes. D'oh! <br><br>The conversion here is roughly 1 GBP = 1,000 Pesos = US$ 2, which should be easy enough. <br><br>We got a few puzzled looks on the metro train but barely had time to get uncomfortable before we got off. <br><br>We found our next hostel with no ...

... Vineyard (http://www.cousinomacul.com/home.html) . This appeared to be the only vineyard that was easily accessible by public transport and not by a tour. We took the metro out to Quilin on line 4 and then walked for around 40 minutes. When we got there they told us they didn't have enough people for an English tour. We were happy to join the Spanish tour as we could follow the gist of it. As luck would have it ...