Santiago, Chile - the earth moved

Santiago was supposed to be the location where we started our South American leg of the journey, but it turned out to be where we decided that, as brilliant as the trip has been, enough is enough.However, for most of our intended time in Santiago things proceeded as planned

We arrived in Santiago already a little weary, both from the long flight from Auckland and also from the constant travelling of the last six months.Our spirits lifted when we arrived at the hostel to find a fine old building and a friendly welcome.

We rested and, from a negative point of view we struggled to get our head around the fact that it was still Wednesday even though our Wednesday had started back in Napier over 36 hours earlier (and it still wasn't dark in Chile).On a positive note we had satisfied ourselves that the earth is indeed round!

After an appalling nights sleep (which was going to be a theme of Santiago - the basic rule seemed to be when it was dark we were wide awake and when it was light we were knackered), we headed into the centre of the city.We found a city with a southern European theme which with its history probably wasn't that surprising.We completed the Lonely Planet walking tour before sampling two of the supposed culinary delights.

Firstly a 'completo' which is a disappointing hotdog thing with dodgy green sauce, and, secondly the much more appealing (and something that would be enjoyed time and again) Empanada (meat and pastry).

The morning of what was supposed to be our final day in Santiago was spent visiting the Terracotta Army exhibition which is touring the world from China.As we had both not gone to see this when it was in London it presented too good an opportunity to miss.

The exhibit was in an underground exhibition space beyond the presidential palace which was pretty impressive in itself.The army was magnificent, after we managed to find it as it was hidden behind a black wall in a dimly lit section.It was good to find such an amazing link to the earlier Chinese part of our trip.

That afternoon we took the funicular up to a view point over the city where there is a religious statue and a kind of open air church.It would be a fantastic location for a service if you like that sort thing, if you don't you could just sit there and admire the view.

We returned to the hostel, packed our bags for what must be the three hundredth time and settled down to sleep.As with our other nights of sleep in Santiago this lasted about three hours before being wide awake again.Outside the Chileans were enjoying a late drink and, as with most places in the world the noise changed from good natured chatter to more menacing shouting.

By 3pm the noise started to abate, and we tried to get a couple of further hours sleep before our scheduled 5.15am pick up to take us to the airport.Amidst the chaos that followed the taxi never came.

Just after 3.30am the building began to shake. For the first few seconds the shake was small and silent.Gradually the level of shake increased and objects began to move but still the danger seemed minimal.Then suddenly the violence of the quake intensified and everything seemed to move feet rather than inches.The silence was replaced by crashing as plaster fell from the ceiling and walls.There was still a final level of ferocity when further shaking and noise seemed impossible.Then, as fast as it came, it stopped and silence fell again for just a moment before the screaming of worried people started.

Our room was totally dark. Through our open window we could see a street light lit by the clear night precariously swinging at a dangerous angle.We scrambled up from the floor, where we had been sheltering underneath the mattress and, crunching on the fallen plaster , found our torch, passports and enough clothes to be decent and headed to the landing unsure what to do next.

The air was thick with dust and a strong, familiar smell of rubble.Bizarrely slowly other guests appeared from wherever they had been hiding and the street filled up outside from surrounding buildings.Our Chilean receptionist, amazingly cool for a 21 year old, took control and after ensuring that no one inside the building was hurt, we headed out the back fire escape.

This is when we saw the real damage. On the street piles of rubble were on the road in front of our buildingand a wall was missing completely from one side from the top floor.The bedroom above ours had lost a wall!

We waited with hundreds of others in a nearby park fearing further tremors.Time ticked by slowly but we stayed put as that is what everyone else seemed to be doing.After about two hours with no further movements we were taken by our hostel owner to an alternative hostel where we spent the rest of the night and much of the following morning sitting drinking tea and waiting for further a further shake which seemed inevitable.

About 8.30 this came, but after what had happened earlier it all seemed a bit weedy.

We knew that there was no way out of Santiago that day so we ensured that we had a bed in the hostel (a dorm room - a first for our trip) and tried to catch up on some sleep.Throughout the rest of the morning there were further minor tremors but as the afternoon passed without any further movements we felt it was all over.

The feeling was gone at 8.30 the following morning when again the building shook, this time waking us both up from deep sleep.Our dorm mates dealt with this in different ways, some slid further under their sheets whilst other sprinted through the door with barely any clothes.Our approach was somewhere in between.

Later that day we secured accommodation in another hostel where we had a private room and it showed less signs of damage than even our second hostel and we booked our bus ticket away from Santiago, across the Andes to the safety of Mendoza...which had been totally destroyed by an earthquake in the 1860s.

The final evening in Santiago was spent having a pleasant meal outside a busy cafe. All around there were still signs that something had gone on with rubble on street corners, broken glass on pavements, missing street lights, queues for petrol, but what struck us most was how quickly things had returned to near normal.

We know that the news showed pictures of the looting and lawlessness going on in Concepcion and we can't comment on what was happening there, but in Santiago there was a real sense of community which reached out to locals and tourists alike.

Although an absolutely terrifying experience, being in Santiago for these few days had given us real respect for the Chilean people, their calmness in a crisis and their absolute determination to carry on regardless.

Next stop Mendoza, Argentina...