I hiked up to Rano Kau Crater in the south of the island. It's 400 m high, and the way there took significantly longer than I had antipated (it was about 1 hour, while I had though I'll soon be there after 15 min). In the middle of nowhere I met three dogs that blocked my path, which made me a bit nervous, since I was walking alone. Fortunately they were friendly and easy to bribe with a few potatoe chips. Not the highest point of the island, but likely one with...

Today I made a day-trip to Valparaiso. This is Chile's main harbor, and the typical stop for ships that sail around Cape Horn. First of all I was impressed by the buses. They are extremely cheap, fast and yet comfortable. There's lots of leg room, and the seats are very comfty. There's even TV screens onboard where they show movies, and at some stops people come on the bus that offer drinks or snacks. This is way better than flying! I'm in Valparaiso within 90 mi...

Petra flied back to Germany while I fly into Santiago to start the last month of my trip in Chile. After two weeks in Bolivia and Chile, Santiago is like a different world to me. After having been in a poor country where hardly anything works, this is a culture shock - new buildings, motorways, and traffic is fast. For the 15 km's from the airport to downtown we only need 20 minutes, and the car is actually new, has insurance and a meter! Gianni told me that it...