It's early December and time is running out for us. Our plan is to see in the New Year in Rio de Janeiro, then fly home. So this time next month, we'll be back in cold, wet (currently very snowy) England. But we still have a lot of ground to cover - three more countries and almost 5000km! We've no choice but to do a whirlwind tour of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and South Brazil.

We considered taking the bus to Santiago, Chile's capital but that involved a 24hr journey. That's 24hrs we couldn't afford to waste sitting on a bus, so we decided to take a flight and we were in the capital within 3hrs. Santiago had a cool, calm, collected feel to it. All of the other South American capitals (Caracas, Quito, La Paz) were really intense - loud, busy and chaotic. Santiago was different. With lots of green space and plenty of alfresco dining it had a pleasant, sophisticated feel.

Good news - we checked into our hostel and were told that tonight was free pasta and wine night. Food in Chile is expensive compared to all other countries we'd been to, so a free meal was a welcome break for our wallet. Over dinner we chatted to a couple of guys from Switzerland. They told us that the place for a night out is Bellavista, a suburb north of the centre. We decided to head up there to check it out. Bellavista turned out to be very European. The streets were lined with bars and cafes, all with tables out front and locals enjoying the cool summer night. We ordered a few beers and gave Chile's national drink, the Pisco Sour, a try. It's a tangy cocktail made from sour grapes and sugar. It was good, but had a lethal kick. One too many of those would be a oneway ticket to a pounding head and a hangover from hell!

The best views of Santiago are from Cerro San Cristobal, a park on a huge hill overlooking the city. The next morning we caught the near vertical train to the top. The view didn't disappoint. We then spent the rest of the day wondering around the city, taking in the sights. Later that evening we caught a night bus and crossed the Andes mountains for the last time. We said goodbye to Chile and entered country number six ... Argentina.

Check out ‘Chile - Santiago’ at http://gallery.me.com/peterjprice/101922