Hotel Diego De Almagro Talca

Today, July 11, started very early and ended extremely late. Around 6:30am I awake to get ready for my adventure in Talca, a city about 1.5 hours north of Parral. Chile is separated into 15 regions and I live in the 7th Region. There are 4 Provinces: Concepcion, Talca, Linares, and Parral. I was invited by a friend of Elian's, to spend the day and sites see in Talca. He is the best friend of her cousin Victor. His name is Sebastian; you may ...

... was almost willing to overlook those. The hot water was turned on this morn, no achey back from the bed and with all the lights turned on at once, Kev was able to read.We never did rec'v a key, when we went to the store for provisions and locked the room, he unlocked it from a master when we came back. When we went to dinner, we just left it unlocked with our valuables in the car trunk. So... ...Los Vilos is not really a tourist ...

March 19 We left Santiago in a bus to Valparaiso which was only 1.5 hrs ride. Here is a `paraiso` to photograpers and artists alike, it is a very picturesque city on the hills with many cute houses cascading over towards the bay. It is nothing like other cities we have visited before. They say, some people don`t get Valparaiso because perhaps it is more chaotic and less cleaner ...

... to it! Buying fresh fish down the market and cooking it at the hostel over a bottle of cheap but amazingly good red wine was a lovely reward after the day.... Then off to santiago, where i fully thought i had a day to aclimatize before my mate, mike arrived, however in a very un virgo style i got the dates completely wrong and no sooner had i arrived than i got an email from mike saying ..."where are you... Im in santiago!!!"

Saturday 31st January - Day 18 - At Sea We have now started to turn our clocks back one hour each evening, this meant that we were waking to daylight and a large number of people were getting up earlier than they had previously been doing. Breakfast was a slightly busier affair than normal with a greater number of people being up and about earlier than usual. After breakfast it was once again off to the 'Bridge' lecture this ...

... but apparently the application/approval process takes a couple of years, so she finished her undergrad before even getting accepted into the program! So the random student strikes which end up being huge parties, really hasn't hurt her! But at any rate, things are working out well, as now that she's done in Chile, she'll be going back to school in Virginia to get her law degree. The next stop was a Pisco factory, one of the main reasons for doing this ...

... said earlier, I was ill-prepared for today. I did the quick hike up to the lighthouse, and then over to a larger, nicer beach. I wandered back to the beach where the boat had docked, and sat on a rock, listening to music, and writing in my journal. It was a beautiful setting, with a lovely crescent of sand framed by deep-blue waters, a refreshing sea breeze, the sun shining down, and several bikini-clad women - positively ...

... einen Guide mieten und durch den Nationalpark "Altos de Lircay" reiten. Wir schwingen uns um 7.15 Uhr in den Bus nach Vilches Alto. Dieser Bus ist ein paar Jaehrchen aelter, als die Busse die wir sonst so gewohnt sind (schaetze so etwa 30 Jahre aelter) und fungiert auch als Schulbus fuer die Kinder ausserhalb von Talca. Und so ruckeln wir fuer 2 Stunden in Richtung Park. Die Landschaft ist wirklich schoen. Es geht vorbei an Feldern, alten Holzhuetten und Haeusern mit kleinen ...

... hostel Pucon for the day after tomorrow and head on into town to book bus tickets and stay overnight before the bus trip. Once in the town itself, we realise what a pleasant little place this is and spend a few hours walking around, before finding a nice little Parilla (BBQ restaurant) for a Parillada (meat feast). The next morning at 10.00am we walk through town to the bus station for the 8 hour bus trip down to Pucon

We left Santiago after lunch on Thursday (i think), catching a regional bus to Talca. We were on time until the bus blew a tyre. We were too slow when another bus pulled up offering passengers a ride. Everyone else got on, except us and some men who couldnīt leave the bus because they had filled up the undercarriage with their produce and wares. We arrived in Talca at dusk, and using a dodgy map headed away from the bus station looking for a room. The ...