We were so tired we could so easily have been dreaming as the taxi approached downtown Santiago but we were here and not for the the first time on this trip, it was pinch yourself stuff! Nine months ago when the decision had been made to take a gamble and change our life as we knew it, South America was the first destination on both of our lips..we were very excited!

Friday the 11th of February 2011 was quite literally 'Ground Hog Day' and until now the longest day of my life! We left Auckland airport at 4pm and took the 10 hour flight to Santiago, arriving 4 hours earlier than we had left. In fact, just in time for a 2nd lunch but we both felt so physically drained the thought of food actually made us feel ill. Despite our tired eyes we had to try and stay awake for another 9-10 hours in order to try and make in roads into the jetlag.

It is fair to say you can understand how tourists are such an easy target upon arrival at an airport and for a moment we had forgotten to pack our learned traveling instincts before leaving New Zealand. As we gazed at the surprisingly dry desolate landscape, my focus returned as I recalled how we had come to be in this taxi van. Once bitten twice shy is an apt expression in relation to airport taxis and it's safer to assume you cannot trust any taxi driver. With this in mind, I realised we had just boarded a non official airport taxi, based on a man with a taxi plaque approaching us from within the arrivals area. He had even helped and then watched us use the ATM, before agreeing a price and radioing his waiting driver to pick us up. The one solitary consolation was that it was a good price and based on what we always find out prior to arrival, as good as we were likely to find! Despite a certain amount of discomfort wondering whether he was actually taking us to the right place or not, it actually turned out to be the best airport taxi we had taken so far, but we knew we needed to be more vigilant next time. That is of course easier said than done, when every possible urge in your body and thought in your head is telling you to find a bed....and quickly!

We were very excited about South America and airport incident aside, we knew initially it was going to require a new level of vigilance. Asia was too relaxed and too easy and crime soon became a seemingly distant concern. However we had heard a lot of stories about South America, where muggings are seemingly commonplace and although this scaremongering could also be said of certain areas of any city, even London or Birmingham the continent was new to us and until we found our feet, we knew we had to be watchful.

Given our weakened states, our first foray onto the streets on the afternoon of our arrival was simply a quick orientation task and supermarket run. Our first full day out found surprisingly quiet ghost town like streets until late afternoon and friendly smiles. There were no hassling taxi/rickshaw/mototaxi drivers, no staring locals and no eagerly approaching tour sellers, in fact our only dealing with a local was a rather friendly older man, who sensing our disorientation, pointed us helpfully in the right direction. Perhaps we should reserve judgment a while longer, but maybe our rightful concerns were somewhat overestimated.....either way it was an encouraging start!

Santiago del Chile is the full title bestowed on this capital city and with a modest population of 6 million, it is certainly not a huge city. It is however very interesting and except for the torrential muddy waters of the Rio Alameda, exceptionally clean and on a clear day very picturesque. Standing on a plain at a mere 600 metres above sea level, the nearby 6000 metre plus snow covered peaks of the Andes mountains provide a stunning backdrop to the city. As we exited the metro subway downtown, a gap in the buildings opened up before us and we gained our first glimpse of this remarkable mountain range..another pinch yourself moment....wow! Although not quite at the heady heights of the Himalayas they are equally impressive, as we were looking up at them from nearly sea level this time!

Santiago has a very European feel to it, where colourful villa style buildings with shuttered windows, are separated by tree lined and occasionally cobbled streets. Chairs and tables from Cafes and restaurants clutter virtually every large roadside pavement. In terms of eating and drinking, the central Bellavista district is the place to be with not a shop in sight. Instead, road after road of cafes and bars, including a rather smart square with more upmarket eating establishments and of the course the token Irish Bar!

Uno Cerveza was easy enough but when the menu listed a bottle of vino after an initial attempt we had to resort to an iPhone app simply to ask for a glass of wine. It quickly dawned on us, that this is the capital of Chile and if they don't speak much English here, what hope for the rest of South America? It was immediately confirmed that our Spanish lessons scheduled for Buenos Aires next week couldn't come soon enough!

As expected in South America there is a strong catholic influence although with the exception of Sunday preachers in the central Plaza de Armas it is not as full on as we expected. There are the odd churches dotted across the city and a fairly modest (by UK standards) Cathedral. There are however lots of biblical statues & monuments and a large 'immaculate conception' shrine standing atop the conical hill of San Cristobal that overlooks the city. A 5 min ride up the steep slopes on the funicular train not only allows close views of the Virgin Mary statue but at an additional 300 metres altitude, panoramic city and stunning snow topped Andes mountain views.

The central sights are all conveniently within walking distance of each other and with a reliable metro system allowing easy access, 2-3 days is long enough to explore the city. Although we don't necessarily need further time in Santiago, the Chilean feel and friendly people has drawn us in very quickly and we have already started looking at our plans to ensure we see more of this fascinating country. For now we move East directly over the aforementioned Andes mountains to the wine growing region of Mendoza on the Argentinean side. It promises to be a spectacular entry into Argentina and for now, we won't say farewell, instead goodbye as we will defiantly be returning to Chile later in our trip....