The longest (4300miles) country in the world, with an average width of 107 miles is inevitably going to have long stretches of nothingness and aside from the Lake District area, central Chile is exactly that.

Dominated by it's long Pacific coastline, it isn't only the numerous active Volcanos that present a danger to the people of Chile. As we experienced personally following the Japan earthquake, any Tsunami alert is taken very seriously. Locals in the central inland town of Linares, where we had stopped the night en route to Santiago, were rightly concerned as they huddled around small televisions in shops and street cafes. Interestingly whilst the western world channels centred around repeats of the Japanese earthquake carnage, the Chilean television was more concerned by when, if and how big the wave may be when it finally reached Easter Island and the mainland.

Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Chile, and the big one that hit the central mainland in March 2010 not only caused damage but also triggered a Tsunami which caused fatalities and damage in some of the low lying towns in Central Chile. Not taking any chances this time around, those same towns and many of the larger ones evacuated people to the inland hills as the wave moved rapidly across the Pacific ocean. The evacuation came a day before our planned excursion to the coastal resort of Valparaiso and therefore left us watching the news closely. Thankfully the 3 metre waves that were predicted didn't materialise and except for some of the lower lying areas (where my parents were heading 3 days later) the coast and Easter island were largely unaffected. However, the fated seaside town of Dichato was once again subjected to an inland swell of water. No one was hurt but fish and boats were amazingly deposited 100 metres inland, some 21 hours after the Japan earthquake had unleashed havoc.

After leaving the lake district town of Pucon we took the route 5 north. The picturesque lakes and volcanic landscape quickly disappearing, replaced by 900miles of nothingness. Chile is a uniquely shaped country in the South West corner of South America. Long and very narrow, the major and only main route 5 motorway, simply runs lengthways down the country. With extreme beauty in the South and another National park in the far north (next on the agenda) the middle of the country offers very little excitement and uninspiring ordinary scenery.

Nothing really changes until the spectacular Andes mountains reappear on the skyline to the East approaching Santiago. Fertile green wine growing valleys sit under the same foothills, an hours drive from Santiago. The central Maipo valley is home to the majority of Chilean wineries such as the large Vina Santa Rita or Cousino Macul.

West of Santiago the coastal cities of Valparaiso and it's neighbour Vina del Mar are a favourite weekend or holiday retreat for Chilean people. An easy 60 mile jaunt through a valley of rolling barren hills, the road then opens up almost Monaco like to reveal the two cities below. Small shack dwellings clutter the mountainside, with larger more modern apartment buildings and hotels in the flatter area along the seafront.

Within the large bay the old town of Valparaiso sits to the South separated by a peninsula from Vina Del Mar, where sandy beaches are busy with sun worshippers. The rocky outcrops are frantic with birdlife with Guls, Cormorants or large Pelicans all providing fishing masterclasses for tourists on the promenade.

Although Valparaiso lacks the glamour of it's neighbour, it wins in the character stakes. Admittedly the smelly, dirty, graffiti covered, stray dog filled streets in the port area are about as rough as any place we have seen on this trip. However a brisk walk through this undesirable area leads to a short funicular up one of the many steep surrounding Cerro's (mountains). The cable car doors open to a refreshingly different city of old cobbled narrow streets and colourfully painted corrugated iron and wood buildings. Coupled with fantastic views of the mountains, resorts or mighty Pacific ocean, the desperate urge to take the tram back to Vina Del Mar was forgotten and replaced by a sly beer at a cafe overlooking the bay!

Chile is a country of dramatic landscapes and unique scenery to the north and south but few and far in between. The Andes and city of Santiago and surrounding area, offer some semblance of change. Although maybe not the most exciting of roads to drive for 2 full days, in doing so, it does provide an opportunity to appreciate the size and varied landscapes of such a magnificent country.

With another 3 days of nothingness between Santiago and the far north, we have opted to take a flight to our next and final destination in Chile. The beach resort of Arica offers a gateway to reach Bolivia, but first there is the small but spectacular matter of the elevated Lauca National Park and our first foray into Andean thin air.....now where did we put those altitude sickness pills?