It was not the best of sleeps. After 5 weeks with 'Airbnb's most comfortable mattress' in Buenos followed by almost 3 weeks with 'comfort incarnate' on the Roald Amundsen, the Hilton's bed offering was lack lustre to say the very least. It was deja vu all over again on Monday morning. We finally got to try the Hilton breakfast, not bad. Back up to the room for more packing, we're allowed 3 x 23 kg bags each for the flight to Chile and we made the most of it. We took care of admin, checked in for the flight and even managed to spend some pesos on a gorgeous pair of earrings that James spotted in the hotel gift shop. By 12 noon we and our mountains of luggage were in a taxi and en route to the airport, again.

Check in was the usual palaver but we got there in the end then had to head through Immigration. The man who stamped us out was confused about something and took my passport for a walk. We blame Costa for not having us stamped into Argentina. Whatever it was it was not a problem though I was making an art form of looking calm and collected while we waited.

We were eventually ensconced in the LATAM lounge and polishing off Argentinian bubbly by the truckload - It was the one type of wine not included in the drinks on board the Hurtigruten ship, so it was lovely to have unfettered access to a couple of bottles. We weren't too surprised to hear our flight was delayed by 90 minutes. Shock would have only been the response if it had run on time. Being in the lounge made the delay immensely tolerable.

Given enough of a delay, nibbles and bubbles, a tolerable delay turning into a tolerable flight with LATAM - good service and a Chilean concoction for dinner was a roast pork and cheesy roll, a few more drinks and we enjoyed the scenery over the snow capped Andes (yep… thems be the bunch of mountains found at the end of the Wristies… tiny bit funny? No? Hard crowd.)

We were first off the plane and first through immigration which was a welcome change from yesterday's flight. James's visa was well-received so we're glad we got that sorted out back in Barcelona. All six bags arrived (also very welcome) and by the time we got a taxi into the city it was 9 pm. Sheesh. What a day. Airbnb was fine. Beds were hard so we're back to normal in that department. I've always joked that I'm allergic to polyester - most particularly polyester and cotton blended sheets. As if there's not enough going on in the world to keep people awake at nights, it turns out some evil genius thought you just can't get enough of a bad thing and created 100% polyester sheets. So rock hard beds, sheets made of shopping bags that felt like sleeping in the fires of hell and the commercial building across from the apartment block had massive, roaring air conditioning vents that didn't stop roaring for 11 days and 11 nights. And single glazing. It was so noisy we thought there was a window open, somewhere, and we just couldn't see it. The owner was a lovely man though and bought us a new kettle when it turned out his was kaput. It was lucky it was a good price A$64/night. Still haven't reviewed that place but the purpose of the joint is a place to live and sleep in a modicum of comfort - not making new friends. We definitely prefer Santiago in winter… but that stands for most places.

We were pretty knackered after what felt like two full days of travelling, so Tuesday was a no-day - nothing more than a trip down to the supermarket on the ground level for some groceries. By Wednesday we were approaching human again and took ourselves out and about exploring the inner city pedestrian streets. We also visited the craft market and planned our badge shopping. Down Estado we came across a pretty classy vintage shop and bought James a new linen jacket for the forthcoming voyage and a couple of pairs of white pants for me. So far pretty happy that most places, including small purchases at the craft market, take cards - the silver lining of Covid. We tried a Thai joint just down the road from the apartment, never again. Bland, greasy, tasteless and took forever. Understandable once we realised there wasn't a Thai person in sight. Never again.

Despite many places taking cards, we really needed some cash for our 10 day if for no other reason that buying some decent fruit - the stuff at the supermarket looks tired and is overpriced for what it is (convenient - but that's about it). So started the dance of the seven ATMs. We're usually pretty sorted in this department, load up the Visa card so it's in credit then pull some cash out. Not hard. Usually pay a local fee to the bank we use - maybe $4-5. The first place we put the card in seemed to be going well - right up until almost the end of the transaction when it said the fee would be 8500 pesos. Huh? That seemed expensive - we pulled out the calculator and figured it was A$16 - Waaarrkk! We tried another one - still 8500, and another 7000, eventually got to a bank that was 'only' charging 5000 - or $9.60. Never, ever thought we'd call that cheap, but it's all relative.

On Saturday we were well into February and we visited the Central Market for a look. We were at the end of a year of travelling when we last visited Santiago in mid 2013, and never made it for a look. Beautiful, wrought iron roof - standard Spanish style covered market. We thought 400 peso for a post card was a bit expensive at the Craft Market - but they were having a laugh trying to charge 1000 at the central market. We bought some cherries and grapes from the fruit section with our hard won cash then went to have a look at a couple of vintage shops on Bandera Street. Turns out it was a pedestrian street and consisted of cheek by jowl vintage shops of varying degrees of price and niceness. There were so many, we stuck to just one side of the street (the shady side) and will hit the other side another day. Good stuff - kept us amused for a few hours and we couldn't leave without buying a couple of jackets - a velvet one for James and a leather one for me to replace a leather jacket I wore to death and eventually discarded in Sydney.

We headed back to base and tried a late lunch at the Indian joint just over from the apartment. We ensured there were some actual Indian people in the kitchen first. We learned our lesson about the bland Chilean palate the other day so ordered 'hot' - and Indian hot not Chilean hot. Turned out it was enjoyable and moderately spiced. We saved one whole serving for dinner. Australia has its overweight and obesity issues but it is nothing compared to the collective bottom sizes in Santiago - hoovering food like there's no tomorrow and scarfing Coke has a lot to answer for.

We live near one of the pretty neighbourhoods of Santiago, Barrio Lastarria. We definitely came through there on a walking tour on our last visit here 10 years ago, so took ourselves down the road for a walk. There was a small Sunday morning street market, but nothing particularly interesting (we were spoiled with the markets in BA). We did however find some cute postcards - only to have heart failure at the price, 1500 pesos! Just getting worse. It'll be a small mortgage by the time we actually purchase a couple of postcards. I did however give in and buy a long and flowing linen dress - desperately wanted one in BA but with the silly/crazy/loco system of currency it was going to cost twice as much as in Sydney. So here, it was Sydney price or a bit less and I was able to put it on a card - job done. Will save it for the cruise home to Sydney - getting closer now, departing in just a few days.

We started the week with a visit to the Santiago Cathedral of which they are justly very proud. It was a cool respite from the incessant heat pounding through Plaza de Armas. It was only 10 minutes until the 12.30 pm mass started so a quick look around only. From there we continued on over to Bandera to scope out the other side of the street in this vintage shopping mecca. Nothing grabbed our attention - having done most of the packing, it would have to have been incredibly good. We finished up in the Central Market area for some fruit - a kilo of blueberries for A$4, seedless grapes for $2 a kilo and same for nectarines. There was a thick haze in the air today - both of us were sneezing a lot - it was only by chatting with family on Skype that we found out about the bushfires raging 5 or so hours south of Santiago. Had just assumed pollution. When we were down at the central market we were looking over to Cerro Christobal and it would have certainly been a wasted trip up there for the cable car and 'sparkling' views over Santiago.

Despite the fug of fire smoke and the complete lack of interest in going up Christobal, we did haul ourselves just down the road to climb our local hill, Cerro Santa Lucia. It was an interesting spot and a few years back it would have been a beautiful spot, but Covid, lack of funds, lack of interest - who knows - this series of paths and outlooks over Santiago was seriously run down. It was like a frustrating rat maze as every single exit was blocked off due to paths disintegrating and far from being able to go up one side and down the other to the monumental fountain and craft market, we had to go back the way we came and walk around the base of the hill, next to the four lane freeway, to get to the other side. We finally got to the monumental fountain and it was indeed monumental. Over the road to the craft market and finally bought our postcards for Santiago and Easter Island for 400 peso each (still expensive, but having seen them for 1000-1500 elsewhere, it was the best we could do). We moved along and walked home along the pedestrian street of Estado where a pickpocket clumsily tried to get his sticky mitts into James's zipped up cargo pants pockets - attempting to do what the cats and beggar children of Rome have failed to do… and he failed. Seriously folks. Aim for a wallet bulging out of a backside pocket.

Most of the rest of the world seems to have moved on from Covid-mania, but it is dragging on like a drunk guest making a wedding speech here in Chile. On 7 Feb we had particularly efficient day and booked an antigen test with certificate to be done at the apartment. It was an extra $50 on top of visiting a local clinic full of sick people and that seemed like a bargain. Unbelievable that you can't actually get a test and certificate for travel from a pharmacy here - it was so easy and inexpensive in Spain. We also booked a driver and car for the trip over to Valparaiso and our cruise departure on 10 Feb. Hugely productive. Especially since these items have been in the calendar 'to do' for a few weeks now.

We had the test visit booked for 4 pm on 8 Feb so had to think of something else until then. Mostly though thinking of the hypocrisy/stupidity of MSC Cruises requiring people to produce a negative test when the 3000 people already onboard have been out and running about getting infected for the two days the ship was in Valparaiso then just waltzing back on board willy nilly. Virtue signalling at it's finest. To keep ourselves occupied, nice and early, we took off into the 'cool' of the day at about 10 am for a general walkabout. The smoke haze continues. We checked the air quality out of interest and not surprisingly it's a) unhealthy, b) 178 parts per whatever of 2.5 particulate matter and c) that's 20 times (20!) the WHO's guidance of what sort of air is safe to breathe. Suffice it to say I agree with the WHO on this - if you can see the air, don't breathe the air. But there are few alternatives.

We hoofed it down Huerfanos enjoying the market stalls along the way and then took a left on to Morande. Our first stop was to be a quick cruise past La Moneda - the Presidential Palace. With luck that has to be seen to be believed, as it's only done every second day, we arrived just in time for the Changing of the Guard. Nothing says pomp and ceremony like a military brass band playing the Village Peoples' YMCA. Nothing at all. They also played some suitablly march-y and military music. When the soldiers clicked their heels they officially qualified as silly walkers… they swing their leg straight out to the side the slap it back into place. Must not crack up. Must not crack up. Nope. Too late. Brilliant show, and quite uplifting indeed. We continued onwards and saw the rear end of the palace and, without a doubt, the biggest flag either of us have ever seen. Huge. Enormous. We waited for about 5 minutes for the wind to come up enough to lift this behemoth into the air. Wow. Even huger. Continuing on we were en route to our barrio of the day, Bario Londres and Paris but the Chinese Commercial Centre got in our way. Bit of impulse shopping - little organza bags for the ever-growing jewellery collection and a tiny penguin carved out of lapis lazuli. He will join our two penguins bought in Argentina in honour of the Antarctica trip. Also a toilet stop. All vital necessities to one degree or another. The Barrio London and Paris is the small area around the intersection of London and Paris streets and is certainly reminiscent of the nicest parts of Paris. The streets are lined with plum trees and the birds were ecstatic nibbling away on the fallen plums. We took a happy snap outsde one hotel that had two statues of Moais - the big heads of Easter Island. It is on the immediate agenda, assuming we test negative this afternoon and can board our cruise in peace. We also passed the torture and interrogation location of the secret police during Pinochet's regime - now a museum and memorial with the names of victims on plaques embedded in the footpath. We popped out of the barrio and onto the main drag and visited the church with the clock tower - which we'd only seen in the distance.

Our sightseeing by accident was proceeding well and we crossed the road and made our pedestrian-get home street Alhumada, just for a change. I'm still looking for another fan to extend my collection of two (albeit a very small collection). Only cheap and very nasty ones around. Sigh… On a positive note, no pick pockets today. It was a pleasant day to be strolling about. We cut through one massive Galleria or shopping arcade - Santiago has many of these pretty internal arcades linking building to building sometimes even covering a whole block - like Pasaje Matte which contains a jewellery bazaar. We passed three busking opera singers and were mentally thinking ooh - go on - do Nessun Dorma - and they did. Amazing - though never heard it done as a three parter - sharing the love. We were close to home and 'lo the doors of a church were ajar - we thought it was permanently closed. We snuck in super quietly and heard a beautiful male voice singing a prayer… whoops, went into super-snucky mode even harder - turns out mass had been going for 7 minutes at that stage. We were vewy, vewy quiet just like waskally wabbits as Elmer Fudd would say. Unlike the 4 (sounded like 10) clueless individuals who barged in as we were sneaking out and slammed the door behind them. We eventually got home and had lunch, a spot of exercise and a spot of Walking Dead on Netflix then, after assorted mixups and keystone-kops'ing it around the parking garage, we found the nurse sent to do our RAT Tests. Yay! Negative. Three cruises, two needing tests and we've made it over the last hurdle - we're definitely boarding the MSC Magnifica on the 10th and heading home to Sydney. Last Day in Santiago we just had a stroll and got the test results printed, 35 degrees and only pleasant in the shade. Definitely time for us to go Santiago. Adios.