The road between Argentina and Chile west of Mendoza starts off being quite dull but within an hour starts to ascend steeply into the Andes under the shadow of 7000m mountains. It then winds its way through sheer valleys and along the side of chasms before descending sharply into the Chilean plain. It is a journey that is a tourist attraction itself or at least that is what we are told as we both slept through the lot. Our Kiwi friends were disgusted with us when we caught up in Valparaiso but were generous enough to give us their photos so we could pretend we were paying attention.

We had been ignoring Chile a little up until this point save our fleeting trip to Santiago and our day trip to Torres del Paine. Not from any lack of affection but simply because it is a lot more expensive and there is so much to do in Argentina we didn't feel like we were missing out much. So we crossed the border with only four days to see as much as possible but rather than head for Santiago we hopped to the coast and the faded glory of Valparaiso.'Valpo' was built on the wealth of the shipping industry in the 19th century but has been in a slow decline ever since Panama decided to dig a big ditch through the middle of their country.

That said it is still very much a working port and despite being quite grungy and rundown in districts there is still plenty of life in the old girl yet. The guidebooks suggest that you either love or hate the place and we were seduced from the moment we were dropped off by the taxi on one of the hills packed with guesthouses and restaurants. The hills are crisscrossed with narrow cobbled streets and tiny alleys frequently leading nowhere. After half an hour of enjoyable wandering with our packs on our backs we blundered out onto a promenade hanging off a cliff and found a small hotel with a terrace looking over the whole city.

We were supposed to go back to Santaigo for a couple of nights before the flight to Peru but we couldn't bear to leave. Each day we wandered off into the city taking 'ascensores' (furnicular railways up the hills that are not highly maintained) to different districts packed with highly colourful buildings. We wandered through cemeteries where all the heads of the statues had been knocked off by earthquakes. Ambled across hilltops where the buildings had been covered by murals and in the evenings hung out with our Kiwi buddies to discuss the discoveries of the day.

Eventually we had to go back to Santaigo for a night before an early flight and had a great time wandering around the historical centre before we ran out of energy and went to the movies (Vantage Point if you must know, three stars). Maybe we made a mistake prioritising Argentina over Chile but I do know we had a fantastic time in every place we have been so if that is an error I can certainly live with it and we have to come back anyway to do the Torres del Paine walk so no lasting problem. Off to Peru now, we have a rendezvous with Jos in Lima before we are reunited with the Andes and grovel before them to make up for our sleepiness.

Hope all is well in the world,

Love A & R