Hotel Tupahue Santiago

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Chapter 1: A close shave



Nadine and Duncan arrived early at Buenos Aires airport after their last night out in the city to try and secure some exit seats on the aeroplane so they could stretch their legs after having been cramped up into various rubbish Aerolineas Argentinas aeroplanes for their previous trips to Calafate and Iguazu.

"Can you see our flight on the departures screen?" asked Duncan as he fumbled around in his rucksack for his electric shaver ...

... we have noticed in Santiago is that the same kind of shops are always together in the same area or street. For example, you will get a whole street of money exchanges or a whole street of yarn shops (?) or a whole street of opticians... We can´t figure out if they just do not understand the concept of competition or not... and how they ALL manage to stay in business when they are competing with a shop that sells the exact same thing, for the same price right next door ...

... in 1540, naming the town Santiago, and from this place the city grew. Besides nice views across the tops of the surrounding buildings, it has some Moorish fountains in a park that is littered by young locals intertwined gumsucking. We had to step over the bodies on our way out.

We enjoyed our brief visit to Santiago and enjoyed the company of Lauren and her friends. We wrapped it up with a very pleasant birthday dinner for James (where were your cards????).

... and eating and just having a good time...

i cant believe this part of the trip is over!!! it seems unreal that we have come so far, and ecuador seems like ages ago. i have had a great time though of course and hopefully can cope with being stationary for such a long time......

things i have learned, dare i say mastered.....
1. squatting and accepting that toliet paper is not an ensured commodity
2. accpeting nausea 24-7 ...

... daily was even more apparent on the way up there. The city is ringed by the Andes so it gets trapped in a bowl, a grim sight. You can see further at night towards the city centre from Emma´s apartment than during the day as the lights just about get through the smog. We saw the Moneda where the President Salvador Allende ¨died¨ during the military coup which saw Pinochet gain power in the 70´s. We went to the central fish market a couple of times and ate ...

... lovely colonial buildings housing museums, through the arty district, and took a funicular and gondolar to this lovely botanical park with awesome views across the Santiago basin, snow capped mountains in the background, where we stayed for sunset. Next stop, Salta, in Argentina´s north, another day and half away by bus.

... dancing breaking out every second song. Yes, it's true: Latin American men really know how to dance! Somewhere while we were there, we changed the clocks back an hour - yep, it's opposite seasons here in the Southern Hemisphere - which gave us an extra hour to enjoy the nightlife before dragging our exhausted selves back to the hostel for some much-needed sleep. It was a great first day in Chile and I am absolutely in love with Santiago. More soon.

... part in this new found hope, as President Bachelet spent some time living in Australia before being elected. Included is a photo of a native Chilean that resides in Australia, it is only fitting that she be in front of the ministry of justice flanked by the Chilean flag and Salvador Allende. As a naturalised Australian I did my bit for cross pacific relations by befriending this police officer, proving that in Chile's democracy the police are there to help.

So I made it to Santiago at 01:30Am on Friday. LAN paid 132 reciprocity visa fee for one night. I also was given accommodations for FREE at the Holiday Inn which is directly across street from the Santiago Airport. I was able to get to sleep at 03:30 and had to wake up at 07:00 for my 9:40 flight.

... and I decided to head back to the hostel because we were knackered and suitably merry.

We collapsed when we got back to our room, after successfully putting 2007 to bed and welcoming in 2008 in great style!

All in all Katie and I have had a fantastic year and ...