24th November

The flight from Sydney to Santiago was one of the best flights. So smooth, no turbulence. We were held up for some time at the airport, as we had to pay a arrival tax, then get on another queue to clear immigration, then another queue to clear customs.

The bus ride to the city went according to plan, didn't get lost trying to find the apartment either. Now the apartment we are staying in is ok, but the noise from the road is horrendous. So you can gather we wont be getting much sleep.

Waked to the top of Santa Lucia hill for the view. The view was good, but spoilt by air pollution. The walk to the top took its toll on us, so we headed back to the apartment to rest up


25th Nov.

Well that was one of the worst sleeps of all time, and the worst part is we still have one more night to go. The buses are so noisy, and they run all night. would have thought they would stop or slow down after midnight.

Our fist stop was the old market. One of the top 10 markets in the world. Seeing it was close to lunch time we decided to try the the Chilean fish stew. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Well its not something i would ever order again. It was a bowl full of seafood that looked like it was all scraps from the bottom of the barrel. Some pieces were so tough you could not chew them. So we paid up and left. A $10 learning experience. The funny thing is Alan saw the waitress tip our bowl of seafood back into the main pot, ready to be served to another customer. Talk about not wasting anything.

Still feeling rather sleep deprived we went back to the apartment to rest up.

26th Nov.

Well i think we managed a few hours sleep last night. Don't feel like a zombie any more. Today we are back to the airport to catch a plane to Arica. Arica is at the top of Chile, about 2,000ks north of Santiago.
Time to pack and get ready to go