It's almost two months since I returned from my quick jaunt to South America and I have been desperately slow at finding time to blog, so this probably wont be a completely comprehensive trip log, but hopefully it will give you a taste!
The flight to Chile from Sydney is surprisingly (at least for me) long, with a stop off in Auckland along the way. I got sucked into a Tetras vortex on the plane so arrived in Santiago with bleary eyes and the beginnings of jet lag. Trying to find the local bus into town turned out to be too much for my sleep-deprived and non-Spanish-speaking state so I ended up in a taxi with a feeling I was going to be ripped off, which in fact turned out to be the case. It wasn't too bad, but I made sure I booked one through the hostel with an agreed price for my return journey.
I think my taxi driver took me via the "scenic" route so I saw some of the poverty of the city as well as some of the more interesting buildings. After arriving at the hostel I decided to make the most of my one afternoon in Chile and headed into the city heart with a map in one hand and warnings about unsafe streets tucked away in my head. On my couple of hour walking tour I saw plenty of old colonial style buildings, police and guards with visible and reasonably large weapons! and enjoyed some respite from the hustle and bustle of the city in Cerro Santa Lucia - a small peak in the middle of town, which had excellent views of the city and the nearby Andes, though you had to be carefully rounding corners as it also appears to be the preferred destination for courting couples. I met some University students at the base of Cerro Santa Lucia and had some interesting discussions with them about the cost of attending University and the opportunities young people had in Chile.
As the sun started to lower in the sky so did my energy levels so I headed back to my hostel and turned in early after setting my alarm for 4.30 am. After waking up pretty much every hour, checking my watch and going back to sleep again I was woken up by a knock on the hostel door at what my watch said was 4 am, turns out I'd sent my watch wrong and it was actually 5 am and my taxi was waiting! Luckily I had packed the night before so only needed to through on some clothes and head straight down!
The first 30 min of the plane flight to Uruguay was spectacular as we flow right over the Andes. In the early morning light the mountains looked incredible and I spent the time glued to the window in awe of mother nature.
University building, Chile
A view of the Andes from the airplane
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