Hotel Valle Nevado

... my thoughts, my mind, my mouth and well it was pretty ****ing cold so everything else was without much movement anyway so this may have something to do with it. Standing there one thing that wasn't paralysed was my eyes and with that tears rolled down my cheeks, overcome with emotion. Strange.

I can only imagine what people feel like from the top of Everest but I have an idea. This was not my Everest, it ...

... artefacts from the whole of South America, from the Incas, the Aztecs, the Mapuche peoples and many other tribes and groups of people and it helped us to piece together a jumbled history of South America. Some of the artefacts were just fantastically preserved, and some things were so interesting - they had some gold brooches made approx 1500 years ago that were really intricate bird-men and they were made by making a wax model of the ...

... Bella Vista, the central focus for Santiagoīs nightlife. Iīd been to Santiago twice before, and each visit has improved my opinion of this city. At first, youīre put off by the smog and general pollution, but you realise that itīs actually well-policed and quite safe (expensive though). Chileanīs are passionate (couples snogging everywhere!) and proud of their country and city. Our location next to Bellavista improved our experience here I think ...

... buildings and a bustling central plaza. The sun was shining and it was a great day to sightsee. We followed a local map checking out most of the notable government buildings, museums and cathedral. By the end of the day we were fairly exhausted and had an early night in preparation for our morning flight out of Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

... like Spiderman and one guy had the biggest frizzy mullet we have ever seen in our lives, and Danny got his photo taken with him, as we needed photographic evidence to give that haircut justice - it was worse than Damoīs Dadīs!!!! Someone sold Damo a beer in the stadium and he was disgusted to find out it was alcohol free - I donīt think he got over the shock all night!!! Our last day in Rio was also cloudy and rainy unfortunately, but we knew we could leave ...

... the stuff was fine, but it was a right escapade to get it. I ordered it at one counter, they then scanned it and printed off a ticket. I was then sent to the other end of the shop, with just my ticket, to pay for the one item whilst they bagged it. After paying - and a bit of argy bargy in the queue with the locals trying to push in - I got another ticket to take back to the original counter to pick up my deodorant. Back at this counter, the shop assistant ...

... I suppose ... The tour began and luckily for me, the tour guide spoke very clearly and slowly, which is the opposite of most Chilean Spanish speakers. Neruda was fascinated by the ocean and as such, the design of the house was inspired by the structure of a boat. He was an eccentric man, and had the place built with secret passages. It was a bit of a time warp, as the place had a 1950s/60s feel to it. It was interesting to note that Pablo ...

... higher than the peak of most European skiing mountains) which linked the three others, called Farellones. We stayed in a mountain hostel called Refugio Aleman, which came recommended by a few people we met as basic (the toilet and shower was all the same thing with the bog so close to the wall that I could barely find sit down) but friendly. The refugio faced back down into the valley, away from the mountain, from where you could see the high ...

Valle Nevado is one of the premier ski resorts in Chile, only an hour's drive from Santiago. Having had knee surgery only 8 months ago I was very reluctant to get back on a snowboard so soon - but the opportunity seemed too good and that was that - I was going. I couldn`t have asked for better weather on the day really and the snow was pretty good, making for a great day's boarding (without injury!).

... and skis and boots is only 35 quid a day though, and saved money on the ski suits and accomodation so not too bad. We have run out of food, we came up with a lot in the minibus (buses cant reach the resort) but have eaten it all and there are no shops here, just very expensive restaurants. We have ordered for more to be delivered though, the nearest town is about an hour away, Santiago is only 2 and a half hours away. We went out today for our first days ...