We are up early to catch the bus back into Chile to San Pedro De Atacama (our final stop in Chile) and this one takes us back through the Andes, but further north where at it's peak we reach an altitude of around 4500 metres (as benchmarks Everest is 8800m and Ben Nevis is 1344m). The scenery is fantastic and we pass through mountains of brightly coloured rock of reds, oranges and greens. We've got our faces stuck to the window for the most part and it makes th...

The journey time on the bus from Pucon to Santiago is 10.5 hours. We've splashed out and paid for fully reclining seats, which actually go totally flat. We are given a blanket and pillow, some snacks and the bus conductor comes to close the curtains for us. It's really good value at £30 each and as it's a comfortable ride we are soon sleeping. We stay horizontal for most of the way, waking occasionally but generally slept for most of it. It's still dark when t...

We are met at the bus station by one of the ladies who run the hostal and taken to our spacious room. With a map placed in front of her she scribbles away pointing out various places of interest in the town chatting away in Spanish at ten to the dozen. Known as a world class destination for adrenalin junkies (like us totally awesome dudes), Pucon is a small picturesque town surrounded by the Andes. It is set on Lago Villaricca and the snow-capped volcano of ...

After a three hour bus trip to Valdivia we walk for about fifteen minutes to find our hostel. The room is basic and the bathroom is tiny but its fine for a few days. The hostel is busy and everyone is friendly. The town of Valdivia suffered the biggest earthquake ever recorded in history. On 22 May 1960 a 9.5 magnitude earthquake shook the town to it's knees. A tsunami warning wasn't issued and the 25 metre wall of water that hit the town an hour later was said ...

A small pretty town steeped in German heritage due to those who settled there in the mid 1800's to keep the local indians out. It is situated on the side of lake Lago Llanquihue, overlooked by two volcanoes named Orsono and Calbuco. They are still active and the latest spew was in 1972 (in fact they were at their most active at the turn of the 19th century). Let's hope they are enjoyng their sleep. Erika, who runs the hostel we will be staying in, collects us ...