Pumillahue Apart Hotel Santiago

... and the duo left to go hostel hunting.

Duncan strode purposefully down San Antonio toward Plaza de Armes in search of their next hostel, Nadine in tow. “What’s a Jacuzzi room do you think?” asked Nadine as they walked past a hotel price list on the main road. “One with a Jacuzzi in it I would think” replied Duncan and turned toward where Nadine was looking. “Actually those prices look pretty cheap for a hotel, let’s have a quick look at ...

... We took the winery tour and tasted a few wines and then just sat out on the lawn and enjoyed the wonderfully sunny and warm weather before wandering back into town.

Today was our last day and so we took a hike up to Cerro San Cristobel, which is quite a high hill near where we were staying. It has a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top that overlooks the city. There are a few ways to get up, but we took the harder way. We climbed the steep way up to the ...

We got our bearings today, even venturing onto the Met to go to the bus station to purchase our ticket to Mendoza, Argentina on Sunday. The train is fantastic, all underground so super fast.

Took a long walk to get to the fenicular which took us to the top of the hill to the monument of....... A ...

... I hadn’t taken out enough cash so grabbed some in cash machine and the taxi man helped me count out some my cash to pay him – amateur mistake!I realised about 10 mins later he had totally took me to town!That was lesson number 1!

Met the lads in reception as I was checking in – Boom!The fun began!

Went on a Walking tour after arriving in Santiago on the first day, i was in an absolute trance but was glad to see the lads and have alook around this crazy ...

... the one in Liverpool. Except the stuff is cheap in Liverpool. On a Friday evening we went to the races at the Club Hipico de Chile. We had no idea what to expect, and got out the smartest clothes we have, which could never ever be considered as smart anywhere but at the Club Hipico de Santiago it seems. It was free to get in and the stand was an amazing classic European style, looking straight out of 19th century France or something. There were a few people ...

... was great - we went with a local guy who was decked out in a large-brimmed straw cowboy hat, jeans, shirt and spurs, all very John Wayne. Our stirrups were made of wood and we had to ride western style, which basically means grabbing both the reins in your right hand, clinging onto the saddle for dear life with your left, pulling the reins up against the neck to steer and flicking the reins back onto the horse´s bum to make it go faster. Heading up and around the ...

... He was warm, funny, a little quirky, and had a LOVELY girlfriend named Pilar. We went out for a late lunch, had tons of laughs, and I felt damn good about how much my Spanish was rolling. Luckily, none of us had much sleep from the previous night, so we returned to Francisco´s great apartment and all took a good siesta. His couch was way comfy, I might add. By ten o´clock we were out on the town which was buzzing with busy cafes and people ...

... Seriously, they need to get more flavours over here because "queso" is getting old. Eventually, we get to Santiago and I am soooo excited to be in a big city again. It´s so nice here. So we jumped, well, stepped into a cab and headed for the hostel. After being ripped off by the cabbie, we book into the hostel, had a well deserved shower and had a look around the city. you´ll be glad to know we found Starbucks on our first day. relief washed over us. I don´t know if I ...

... we looked up to see a few nutters doing a 'bungy' jump (leaping off with a harness connected to huge rubber bands!) from the top of the tower, and then ventured inside for a rather less risky stroll around the 360 degree observation deck.

This was the America's Cup harbour area which we walked around yesterday...

Santiago, Chile al_fey

... found my hostel and just crashed out for the first half of the day. Later that afternoon I went for a walk around the city with Mat an Australian who was staying at the same hostel. Mat was a very tall and lanky guy with short black hair. We caught a train to a lookout overlooking the city also visited a zoo and saw some strange animals that I had never seen before. The next day Mat and I decided to explore some ...