Next stop after Valparaiso was Santiago, only 90 minutes away by bus. Tom and I were both heading to the capital so got a bus together and went to a hostel which had been recommended to me, that Tom had booked but I hadn't- luckily they had space! I was in a female dorm, first time on the trip I think, and being back in a dorm after having had my own room for over a week was fine; I actually slept pretty well and mostly didn't even really hear people getting up- ...

Since I had decided that I wasn't going to go to Mendoza and the famous wine region of Argentina I was glad of the opportunity to go on a trip to a vineyard with a nice group from the hostel (thanks for organising it Annet!) It was a fun afternoon. We got the metro out of the city (where you can actually see the mountains!) then a taxi to the 'Concha y Toro' vineyard. We did the tour which included extra wine tasting with a sommelier which turned out to be a goo...