We touched down at Santiago Airport at about 11 in the morning so at least it wasn´t dark. Gem was a bit on edge as we were now out of touch in being in more dangerous countries what with Australia being so safe. We followed the guide book´s advice and ordered a taxi from inside the airport and were given a ticket to pick up the correct taxi outside.

We had pre-booked a hostel and gave the driver the address. He spent the journey teaching us some real basic Spanish like Hello, Good-bye etc. When he finally found the street the hostel was on we couldn´t find the actual hostel. He spent about 10 minutes walking round with us and then we finally found the right number and knocked on the little red door. Two minutes later the door creeks open and an old Chilean guy with cataracts looks at us with our backpacks and black crcled eyes. There was a conversation between the taxi driver and this lovely old man and the taxi driver explains to us in broken spanish that this is not a hostel. At this point we decide the taxi driver has done more than enough so we pay the man and let him go. The next 3 hours is spent walking in squares around all the blocks, finding a sushi cafe and buying shushi to use their wifi only to find out their wifi is down. Walking more. Walking even more. Until, finally Matt walks into an office building and shows the receptionist our email from the hostel and asks where it is. She calls her son who can speak English and the phone is alternately passed between Matt and the women with the son translating. The women finally puts the phone down and ushers us to walk with her. We alked two blocks following her until she stops at the same door the taxi driver had knocked on 3 hours previously. The same old man with the cataracts opens the door, a spanish conversation is had between our friend the receptionist and the old man. He laughs, opens the door and beckons us in. It is the hostel we had booked and the room was quite nice. We will never know why he wouldn´t let us in the first time, it remains a mystery.

After a good nights sleep which was much needed after not much sleep on the plane and a night in arrivals at Sydney we were refreshed and went out to explore Santiago.

It is a beautiful city, much more cosmopolitan than either of us had expected, gorgeous squares with old churches and new office blocks. The backdrop to which are scerene snow capped mountains. We spent 3 days in Santiago and just enjoyed walking around getting used to being in a new country. We "happened" by a real spit and sawdust bar (what are the odds that Matt had found it in the Lonely Planet book and cunningly steered us that way?) which was full of locals on a Wednesday afternoon getting drunk on cider with fruit liquor and alcohol-flavoured ice cream all in the same pint glass. We had to try one (or 2) and had a great afternoon singing along with the locals playing on their guitars!

We spent hours walking around the many squares, watching locals having their paintings done or paying for photos on toy horses and ponies! We spent one afternoon in the square watching local dancers amuse the diners in the restaurant next to us and made friends with some Chilean guys around our age who were on holiday for a few days. They were all dentists and bought us a few beers which was very nice of them. They even offered to take us on a driving tour of places around Chile the next day. We declined, you never know, shame though as they seemed very nice.

On our final day in Santiago we took the (air-conditioned) metro to SAnat Lucia Hill and walked around the old churches, statues and fountains on the way up. The view from the top was breath-taking, with the mountains in the background and high rises below us.