Well what can I say.....I CANT BELIEVE IM FINALLY IN SOUTH AMERICA!!!!!
Ive been talkin & dreaming about it for years now, so its pretty exciting to finally arrive.
Plane was cool and uneventful - I managed to get 2 seats to myself, and even a window posi for the flight from Auckland to Santiago. Food was quite edible, and everyone had their own inflight entertainment system with several movies n sitcoms to choose from. Im sure your all dying to hear that I watched Mission Impossible 3, RV (comedy with Robin Williams), Everybody loves Raymond, and 2 1/2 men. I stupidly put my jacket in my luiggage in oz though, so i was quite cold for the trip.
Anywayz, good news as soon as I arrived in Santiago - for the first time in my life, I passed myself off as a Brit....and saved US$56 on entry to the country!
Hooked up with 2 other ozzies (who met on the flight) and came to La Chimba guesthouse, which Id read about from Rachel who recommended it and was here a few months ago. Nice place!! 2 more Ozzies at the guesthouse btw. Cant believe I fly halfway round thew world and their still everywhere!!
The guesthouse is also at the base of a fairly biggish and steep mountain - so after a nice feed (chicked with cheese sauce and salad) we climbed the mountain, took some photos of us and the statue of "Virgin de imaculate conceptione" (or whatever it is called), and looked upon Santiago. Its a pretty damn big city!! Unfortunately, its also v smoggy, so we couldnt really see how big it was.
There are some AWESOME looking mountains though, that rise up v freekn high, snow caps n all. Paul only has 1 more day in Santiago and is keen to climb, so I may find myself on a massive hike tomorrow if we can get it organised (when we called they had already shut). I dont feel like a hike at the moment, but Im sure I wont regret it when im at the top!!
Anyway, onto Santiago.
The place is alot more developed than I expected. People dont seem that poor, there are 5 subway lines, alot of buses, & alot of places selling western food (pizzas, Hamburgers & Hotdogs are all popular).
Other interesting things I noticed were
- the place is pretty much made of one way streets! I think they drive on the rhs, but its hard to tell as every street is one way.
- facial hair seems to be in atm. Young boys especially, seem to enjoy a decent (or little) beard, mo, or french tickler. OK, so its only about 30% of people, but I noticed it straight away.
- people are generally quite relaxed. Not something youd expect from such a big, bustling city...but nice nonetheless!
- prices are generally cheaper than oz, but nowhere near as cheap as Vietnam, Cambodia etc
- theres lots of cars (and not all that old looking either), and not that many motorbikes (or pushbikes for that matter)
Anyway, Ive waffled on enough already, and my hike (if it happens) is gunna start in about 5 or 6 hours from now...so its probably best I finish here!
Adios 4 now
Joules
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