9th January

Cerro Santa Lucia

We woke at about 9.30 and did some more stuff on the computer before actually getting up, then I went for a shower and we moved into the living room to continue. Alex left for a meeting at 11.30 and said he'd be back at 2 so we decided to wait for him to come back before leaving as we were not yet sure if we were going to another couch surfers or a hostel yet! We were now researching our trip a little more seriously and thinking about date when we needed to be places to get to the Peru Congress in time without missing anything important. As ever this took quite some time and before we knew it it was 1.30 so we decided to make some lunch thinking Alex would be back at 2 and could share some too. By 2.45 he still wasnt back and we were starving so we ate our share and left the rest for him when he wanted it. We now had a response on couchsurfing and were due to meet a rock musician called Roberto at 8pm, so when Alex did eventually come home we asked if it was ok to leave our bags there until later. He said it was fine but that he'd leave the key with the guard as he didnt think he'd be home by then, so we thanked him for our stay and said goodbye then. Now with a free afternoon ahead of us we wandered out and headed towards the small hill which we had yet to climb. It was another lovely day so we took our time going up, often stopping to take pictures as it really is quite beautiful with fountains and trees, flowers and of course amazing views out across the city. One view we found particularly interesting was looking at 2 large skyskcrapers which had mirrored glass so you could see the hill we were standing on reflected beautifully in the sunshine. By various twisting ways (there are many interchangeable routes) we got to the top of the hill and climbed the final steps up onto castle ramparts to enjoy looking out across the city which is massive and similar to Anchorage in Alaska with its mountain backdrop encompassing it all around. After taking in our fill of the view and of course some photos we headed back down to a lower level and bought a calypso type ice lolly each for under a dollar. Mine was orange and very refreshing whilst Andy had Pina Colada flavour which was quite sweet but very tasty, we sat in the shade to eat these whilst watching the abundant bird life in the trees, they have some kind of sparrow and thrush here that looks very different to those in England but with similar habits! After our ice lollies we decided to walk to the Plaza de Armas again to see what was happening and so made our way slowly (it was very hot) through the streets we had so recently seen from above to find that there was a comedian and a chess tournament going on but not much else at that moment. We sat down for a bit to decide what to do and left to walk a couple of streets leading away from Plaza de Armas that we had not yet explored. Not finding anything of note and being mindful of the time we started on our way back to Alex's where as guessed he wasnt in but had remembered to give the key to the guard so we could get our stuff. We left fully loaded once again and managed to get on the metro without incident to arrive at Santa Lucia Station where we were due to meet our next host, we had spoken on couchsurfing earlier in the day and we had said we'd wait outside, thinking he'd check both entrances of the station and would find us at one or the other. We waited quite some time and were thinking about giving up when our eye was caught by another backpacker crossing the other side of the main road (kind of a small dual carriageway) and staggering up to the fence in the middle that separates the direction of traffic. He was obviously wasted and we watched in amazement when instead of going around the fence where there was a gap 10 metres away he decided to climb over! You can see how this was going to end up....a very drunk man with a heavy backpack...as soon as he was half way over, the weight of the backpack took over and despite his efforts to cling to the railing, inevitably, though quite gracefully as if in slow motion, he was pulled onto the floor on his back, where he promptly fell asleep!!! 5 minutes or so later he woke and attempted to get up only to find himself in a more comfy position and fall asleep again...this is in the centre of a dual carriageway remember with cars whizzing by on both sides! Well when he actually rolled off his backpack and halfway into the road, someone decided they should help so he didnt kill himself and went and sat him up. Shortly after another person and a policeman turned up and they eventually got him off the road and onto our side of the pavement where they sat him down with his belongings then left!! I couldnt believe the police didnt arrest him or at least put him in a cell or hospital until he was sober enough to look after himself but apparently thats not how things are done here. The guy woke up and had enough wits about him to see if he'd been robbed and finding all as it should be (I'm guessing) picked up his bag and lurched off around the corner which was the last we saw of him. After this entertaining diversion however there was still no sign of Roberto so we decided to walk through the underground and check he wasnt on the other side, there was no sign of anyone who looked like it could be him so we thought we'd head back to where we were waiting before and maybe try and get a room in the hostel we were in originally. Just as we were heading up the stairs on the far side Andy heard my name being called and we turned round (not easy with the backpacks!) to see Roberto waving at us, he had been waiting inside the metro station whilst we had been waiting outside, oops! Anyway we said hello and followed him back through the metro and along a few blocks until we reached a large highrise building in which he has his apartment on the 14th floor. We dropped our bags off and all went straight back out again to get some dinner, walking mainly in silence to a little bar called Bucanera which inside looked like a ship including pirate themed staff, but in a kind of tasteful way lol! Roberto obviously comes here often as he greeted the waitress as a friend and we went and sat upstairs where some sails were stowed away......! It was quite a cool little place actually and once we had deciphered the menu (actually Roberto saw us struggling and asked for one in English!) and ordered we started to talk, haltingly at first as I havnt really spoken much Spanish lately with all the people we've met speaking fairly good English. We soon got over this and were chatting away quite happily, me with my Spanglish which thankfully Roberto mainly understood as he does speak some English and us trying to decipher his Chilean Spanish with its slang words and speed. The hardest thing I find is that they drop the ends of the words a lot so I dont recognise them, luckily Andy seems to have a better knack for hearing what they are saying than me so our conversations are a bit of teamwork! After we'd eaten, I had a hotdog with melted cheese, nom, we ordered another drink each and talked some more before heading back to Roberto's apartment. I happened to mention whilst we were in the lift how high the building was with 22 stories considering the earthquakes they get here to which Roberto replied with actions how much the building moves when one hits and then would we like to go to the top floor. We said yes we'd like to and so up to 22 we went and out onto the roof where we climbed another few short flights of stairs to get an amazing view of Santiago at night! It reminded us a little of Vegas, there being a main central bit with lots of high buildings and lights (especially the radio tower which frequently changes colour) then the surrounding vast area of small houses stretching out for miles. About 7 million people live in santiago which is over 1/3 of the country's population and on New Years Eve the radio tower is where an impressive fireworks show is let off from that everyone can see and enjoy. After a few pictures we went back inside and into the flat where we sat for an hour or so discussing music, Roberto is guitar player in a band, before heading to bed, ours being a sofa bed in the tiny living room/kitchen that turns out is pretty comfy!