Well San Pedro de Atacama has turned out to be somewhere I have stayed longer than planned, well, didn't really plan for how long I would stay but have been here a week already! As is often the case I was busy my first few days here, doing tours and then have spent some time relaxing, or you could say being a bit lazy! (see part 2!) I arrived last Wednesday at about midday after sleeping pretty well on the bus. Watched a few films and had our evening snack giv...

Decided to stop at La Serena on my way north to break the long journey to San Pedro de Atacama but also to visit the Valley of Elqui which I liked the sound of from reading about it in the LP. Thursday 19th I got the bus to La Serena from Santiago, which required getting up at 6.30 but was for the best priced I ticket I found at only 5,000 pesos, £6.60, one of the cheapest journies I have had in Chile! It took about 6.5 hours to get there and I went to a hostel ...

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...

Of course I ended up staying in Valparaiso for longer than planned, not that I really had a plan but I didn't think I'd end up staying 6 nights! On the Sunday having arrived at about 8am after the night bus I was keen to get out and explore and enjoy the lovely weather. I had seen a little bit of the local area while looking for a hostel, typically for me I hadn't booked a hostel…..being Easter Sunday morning quite a few places were full but luckily there were ...