I just had to start writing this blog straight away because I am so completely in love with Santiago. The view from the plane alone is enough to make you come here. As you fly in, you see nothing but huge gorgeous mountains as the whole of Chile is lined by the Andes. Santiago is nothing like I expected, and the outskirts of the city are stunning. The main housing is blocks of stunning flats, and only the more wealthy have houses. Diego has been amazing, he met me at the airport, then drove me to his mum's house. I have been so well looked after! We spent hours just walking around the outskirts of the city. That evening we went to Diego's friend Oliver's birthday and it was so much fun. His friends were amazing, and spoke such perfect English to me. Today we went to Diego's dad's stunning flat, which had the most perfect view on the Andes. Its such a spectacular backdrop - all the huge buildings, with the mountains behind. I could never tire of seeing it!

Diego drove me to my hostel, La Casa Roja, and its beautiful!! Its absolutely huge, and has the most gorgeous pool and bar area. I've got that horrible feeling of being on my own again, but with this many people, I think I will def make friends! I miss Diego - I'm going to talk him into quitting his job and coming with me!! I can't wait for him to come to England so you can all meet him! Need to sleep now. How crazy is this . . . I left New Zealand on Friday at 6pm, and after an 11 hour flight, I arrived in Chile on Friday at 12pm!! My body needs to adjust now. Also - the pic above is not somewhere I have been, but I have no photos yet.

I spent one full week at La Casa Roja whilst I did my Spanish lessons, with my wicked teacher, Jesus. I had lessons Monday to Friday 10am - 2pm, and then had about 4 hours homework everyday, so it was abit hardcore for my first week, but worth it I think. I´m still not very confident with my Spanish so am going to keep doing lessons as I travel north. After a week of squashing on the metro, and visitng some very cool sights, my time in Santiago was over, and it was time to head north. I was abit nervous about the travelling, so I signed up for a slightly more expensive trip with a company called Pachamama (Mother Earth), which was a six day tour through the north of Chile, and end in the stunning San Pedro. On this trip I met the lovely Claudia, who I am still travelling with now.

Fortunately my time in Santiago ended on a high with a blody brillaint night out in Bella Vista with some wicked people I met! Santiago is a very cool place, but I am ready to head north!