Sat at 2600m above sea level in one of the driest deserts in the world is San Pedro De Atacama. The journey although not the longest by far was definitely the most exhausting. Although only 10hrs, in that time we had to climb up to the final height of 14000+ feet above sea level. It soon became obvious of the pressure impact that such an ascent has, as packets of crisps began to explode and bottles on being opened sprayed all over the bus. One can only imagine wh...

So Viña Del Mar was our next destination. We had decided to stay here over Valparaiso as we had been told and had read many stories saying that although beautiful and deserving it´s UNESCO World Heritage status, it was not the safest of places. Viña Del Mar is the next bay over from Valparaiso, making it a quick commute between the two. It was also deemed a much safer and cleaner place to stay. We spent some time in wandering the streets of Viña Del Mar, str...

Do we or dont we? That was the question at the back of our mind on whether we should go to Santiago. We´d met some really nice guys when down in Punta Arenas who lived in Santiago (one from the US and one from Switzerland) who couldn´t speak more highly of it. Matched against that was the conflicting messages from the ever pesimistic Lonely Planet that this was a city where you get mugged for walking out your door and if the thieves dont get you then the smog w...

Yet another 3hr bus journey to arrive at our next location. We arrived on a small mini bus and before long were at the bus drivers house as he had ensured us there was nowhere nicer and at such a good price as his ´cabaña´ or cabin. When we got to his place it turned out he was going to rent us his house, which was a bit strange as it was 3 bedrooms and a lounge and kitchen, slightly too big for Reet and I, however with the snipe of a price we couldnt look a ...

After a 3 hour bus journey we arrived at the wine town of Santa Cruz. We left the bus station thinking that the hostel we intended to stay in was only a 5minute walk. Walking in the hustle and bustle of this small town with baking heat is not surprisingly not much fun. After 30mins of traipsing around we finally fell upon Hostel Vida 2000. We had been told about this hostel and how it had a pyramid in the garden which you could stay in. Unfortunately this was al...