(For English version, see furtherdown)

Her er en hilsen fra Ecuador. Ja, vi mangler en del at fortaelle siden Mendoza, men det kommer ogsaa nu. Saa mange gange undskyld for den lange ventetid, men vi har oplevet en masse og her kommer det J. Da vi endelig ankommer til Santiago efter en lang bustur fra Mendoza gennem de flotte Andesbjerge og nature dertil, bliver vi moedt af de to soedeste mennesker i busterminalen - Andrea og Marco. Rikki kender Andrea fra da hun var i Danmark, som udvekslingsstudent tilbage i 2001. De har siden holdt kontakten og nu var hun klar til at vise ham (os) rundt i hendes hjemby. Naa, tilbage til den varme velkomst. Andrea og hendes kaereste hentede os og koerte os hen til vores hostel, hvorefter vi blev inviteret ud og spise paa det mest laekre sted. Fantastisk mad. Saa det var en god start paa vores forlaengede weekend i Santiago. Under middagen fortaeller Andrea, at hun har planlagt alt, og at hun nok skal vaere vores turguide, saa bare rolig. Dette viste sig at vaere den bedste sightseeing, paa alle punkter, baade kulturelt saavel som kulinarisk. Vi blev vist rundt i byens gader, saa diverse monumenter og de flotte regeringsbygninger, som var af gammel kolonialsk stil. Selvfoelgelig var vi ogsaa en tur inde paa Starbucks (som vi nu er blevet dybt og latterlige afhaengige af, fnis..). Derudover fik vi resten af familien at moede over en klassisk chilensk middag (bestaaende af koed - saa som vegetar ville du foele dig udenfor). Vi blev taget imod som en del af familien og der blev grint, spist, drukket og spist lidt mere. Senere samme aften ville Andrea vise os nattelivet i Santiago (og igen selvfoelgelig var det paa St. Patrick´s Day). Det var en super aften med livemusik, karaoke music, shots og masser af drinks. Den sidste dag stod paa afslapning og hygge med familiemiddag hos Andreas mor. Eftermiddagens toemremaend blev lindret af fabelagtig hjemmekokkeret chilensk mad (og masser af det). Vi sad udenfor paa en saa hyglig terasse og noed soendagssolen. Saa vores visit til Santiago var helt klart en succes og kun takket vaere Andrea og Marco.

Mange knus herfra til jer alle (dog specielt til de to soede chilenere)

Here is a greeting from Ecuador. Yes, we have a lot tell you since Mendoza, but don´t fret, here it is. So many apologies for the long silence, however to make up for it, we have tons of experiences to share with you and here they are. After the long bus ride from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile, which was spectacular scenery wise, because of the beautiful and great Andes mountains and all the vegetation around them, we were met by Andrea and her boyfriend, Marco. Rikki knows Andrea from 2001, when she was in Denmark as an exchange student living at his parent´s house. Ever since they have kept in contact and now she was ready to show him (us) around her home town. Anyways, lets get back to the warm greeting that awaited us. Andrea and Marco picked us up at the bus terminal and drove us to our hostel. Soon thereafter we were invited to go and eat dinner at this amazing place - it had the best food, really! So this was a superb start to our little adventure weekend in Santiago. During the dinner, Andrea informed us about our itinerary and that we needn´t worry, because she would be our tour guide J. This turned out to be the best sightseeing in every way possible, both culturally as well as culinary. We visited the streets of Santiago as well as the most famous squares, varies of monuments and saw beautiful government buildings, which still were preserved in their colonial style. Of course we also payed a quick visit to Starbucks (which we now are completely addicted to, ha ha..). In addition to the sightseeing we were introduced to the rest of the family over a nice and traditional Chilean lunch (mainly consisting of meat, so being a vegetarian was not an option!). We were immediately accepted as part of the family and the feast resulted in pure laughter and joy. Later that same night Andrea wanted to show us the nightlife of Santiago (and of course it also was St. Patrick´s Day). It was a tremendously fun evening with live music, karaoke, shots and cocktails. The last day´s itinerary was pure relaxation at Andrea´s mother´s house in the suburbs. Our hangover was soothed by the amazing homemade lunch prepared by ´mammacita´;). Enjoying this outstanding Chilean food outside on the terasse, baking in the sun, what more can you ask for. So our visit to Santiago was definitely a success, and all thanks to Andrea and Marco.

Many hugs from here (especially to the to wonderful Chilean people)