Hello Peeps, We are here in Chile after some long flights around the world. It was strange leaving New Zealand on a long flight and arriving 5 hours before we left. We did the usual wandering around the city and found a cranky old tv to watch the england sweden game on. After a few days in Santiago and there is not much to do here, we head to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Valparaiso has some wicked architecture all cut into the hills and Vina del Mar is a bit of a posh seaside town. We decided to join a tour to visit some of the sights north of Chile as worsening weather made travel to the south unwise - very cold and wet. So we head up the country to San Pedro de Atacama. which is dry but just as cold. We started climbing up into the Andes and the Altiplano which is between 3000m and 5000m above sea level. This made the NZ mountains and the european Alps look like little hills and nearly everyone on the trip suffered some altitude sickness. On the trip we saw: more football, Argentina lose, flamingoes at sunset on the salt flats. Train cemeteries, abandoned people cemeteries with bones and all sorts sticking out of graves. A giant concrete hand sculpture and drank the local drink piscola and pisco sour. At San Pedro, after a couple of days vomiting, I decide to join in a game or five-a-side football with some locals. Despite being in goal, running around at an altitude of 2500m after not eating for 2 days, kind of takes it out of you. Although the locals were very competitive the hotch potch european team kick their asses and show them a thing or two. However the game went on for about 2 hours and as it was getting dark, the foreigners started to tire only for flood lights to come on. It was strange as there is no heating anywhere in the city but they still power the football ground - at least they get their priorities right. After that we arrange a trip into the cold of the Bolivian Altiplano and head out of Chile. Will update shortly. Keep well Andy and Rachel