Mon 21 - arrive late in Santiago de Chile. - the capital! Quick amuzingly we have chosen a hostel on the corner of Londres & Paris avenues! Off course it´s a nice pebbled street in the centre of town. We head out for a pisco sour a bit north of the centre in a small smoky bar with live music. Unused to the smoky filled pubs these days, we head back to our spacious hostel for some rest.

Tues 22 - Explore the city, with a stopover a the laundrette as we´re now running short of clean underwear after our 10 days along the cartera Austral. Good thing is that here you just dump your kilo worth and it comes back the same day smelling fresh and folded. :) Main attraction in Santiago is the Cerro Cristobal.. One of the many hilltops surrounding Santiago. As Santiago is a bit in a bowl (surrounding by the huge Andes) it suffers from smog and there is a constant mis over the city similar to China. Often they randomly chose certain car registrations that are forbidden to drive on certain days in order to attempt to improve the situation. We are actually quick lucky and although the walk to the top is not a stroll in the park, the views are fabulous. We wait for the sunset drinking Heulos (sweet tea, mixed in with dried apriocots and some sort of wheat - rice) before heading for dinner in Bellavista area , where all the lively bars and restaurants are siuated. Attempt the eel stew and Fred goes for a traditional chorillas (chips mixed with fred egg, chorizo and beef strips.. yes a little heavy)..

Wed / thurs 23 & 24 - After a late start and catching up for some emails we decide at the last minute to head to Valpariso rather than head straight to Mendoza as it has a UNESCO protected old town and situated along the coast. Its only two hours journey there from santiago and its a great last minute choice as its v. pretty and interesting to see the habour (Chileans most important economic centre in its day). We pick a brillant hostel at the heart of the UNESCO protected old town, right at the top of the hill. We manage to get one of the only rooms with a balcony overlooking the town and harbour. Its just what we needed to relax and we decide to stay an extra day to explore the town full of colourful houses on hill sides. It´s also got a few very cosy restaurants so we enjoy a lovely Italian meal that night a pisco sour in a small bar decorated habour style.

Fri 24 - Head to Vina del Mar by metro train from Valpariso (20 mins).. Its the San Tropez of Chile adn they are in the middle of a music festival so beaches v. busy and people queueing at hotels waiting to see the stars comign to perform!. Its v. chic place and although not quite the scene we were hoping for, reconfirms that Chile and Argentina can be v. similar to Europe in many ways! We enjoy a fab pizza with huge toppings piled (but at v. European pirices 20 US dollars! and enjoy teh rest of the day walking along the promenade, browsing the boutiques, (well at least I am - they have some great shoes with the heal like a boot but front open like flipflops)relaxing on the beach and eating icecream :) The day goes quickly and its soon time to head back and catch the overnight bus to Mendoza.

Sat. 25th - arrive 10 hours later after about 2.5 hrs stuck at the borders at 3am lined up behind other coaches, having to remove all luggage from the coaches for their strict controls!.. At least the buses are v. comfortable (this is only a semi cama but the seat reclines so far back its actually possible to get a bit of sleep aside of the border checks in the middle of the night!