After a surprisingly good bus journey and a good nights sleep to fully recover we spent the first day exploring Santiago and discovering just how big it is. We walked around all of the usual stuff - parks, plazas and viewpoints - including an amazing park that was built on a small hill in the middle of the city with waterfalls, statues and even a castle! As we have been away for two months and were missing the comforts of home we decided to go for lunch at an American style all-you-can-eat buffet that was lovely.

On the second day we explored more of the city and took a fenicular to the top of a big hill to visit a statue of The Virgin Mary and get some good views over Santiago. The views were spoilt somewhat though by the worrying layer of smog that covered the cities skyline! The rest of our time in Santiago was spent relaxing in our great hostel and enjoying the pleasant climate and low altitude for a change.