I left Pucon using a cheaper bus company and as of course I had to realise the savings I made when, suddenly the bus caught fire. Smoke came from the backseats filling the whole bus just about two hours into the journey. Their evacuation procedure was optional as you could decide for yourself if you like to inhale the smoke or stand outside in the rain until they sorted out the problem. After a while we all boarded again and changed bus in the next town. This I g...

The Lake District - Pucon Travelling with the Gap tour group I actually arrived a week early in Santiago as my flight to New Zealand wasn't until Monday 14th. So I decided to visit the Lake District about 1000km south of Santiago. My first stop was Pucon, a small town that was right on a lake and very pretty. A soon as I arrived with the night bus I checked into a hostel and met instantly some new people. That made me feel like a real backpacker again and actu...

Santiago and the disappointing visit to a winery As soon as we arrived I felt the vibe of that city and liked it immediately. It somehow reminded me of Berlin, because of the wide roads I think, but I really felt how much I missed London. It's just as busy and full of things to do and explore. After we checked into the hotel, the Irish woman, Yvonne, and I went for a walk around the city centre. We started in a park which entrance was an old colonial staircase...

La Serena is a town close to the sea. So I was looking forward to eat some good seafood, well it wasn't great. I had a better hotdog off the roadside, than the fish they served me here and the Fajitas at a Mexican place we went to one day. I don't understand how you can make Fajitas that badly! Maybe it's because the Mexican woman was making the terribly sweet cocktails and the Chilean man was cooking the Mexican food! Anyhow, that hotdog was actually quite spe...

I am now in Chile and the change was incredible. Suddenly we were driving on tarmac roads, there are seats on the toilet and sometimes it even has toilet paper. Overall, this country is the most modernised country in South America and there is a lot less poverty. Therefore we also got a big shock when we suddenly had to pay $12 for a one-course meal, instead of $2 for a two-course meal in Bolivia. My daily expenditure was about $10 in Bolivia, it is now $50. But ...