Play hop-scotch around endless piles of dog doo, be mistaken for an American student and marvel at the sight of a suited-and-booted businessman sloping out of a house made of tin! Welcome to Valparaiso, the city that never fails to amaze! Much like Brighton, its a bohemian place full of artsy types wondering around drawing pictures, writing poems and playing live music in poorly lit local tango bars. I'm sure bongs, pipes and other marajuana-related paraphanal...

For anyone who has ever complained about having black snot after a ride on the London underground, I present to you...Santiago. The Chilean capital is among the world's top ten most polluted cities and you can tell. Home to around 5.5 million people, the city is located in a bowl of snowcapped Andean mountains. Its ironic that the beautuful and breathtaking backdrop to the city is also the main reason for its problems. Granted, I am visiting in a month when t...

Hi everyone, My first day in Chile left me with a very good impression. The weather is good (25 degrees), the quality of service and product is excellent and the people are extremely friendly. The first night, I got an early night in so that I would be full of energy for the 5 hour hike up Volcan Villarrica here in Pucon. There is a one hour time difference between Chile and Argentina so, having fiddled around with the alarm clock, I went to sleep int...

Having ambled down the dusty highway for the last time, I arrived at Villa La Angostura bus station for my evening bus to San Martin de los Andes. I was met at the bus by most of the local street dogs including the one from my campsite. It was like they had come to say "Thanks for coming, now f*ck off" The journey to San Martin was memorable to say the least. About 50 miles of the 75 mile journey was on dust tracks full of loose stones. The 'road'weaved up a...

I arrived here in Villa La Angostura to find a very quaint little town full of wooden chalet type houses. Its quiet at this time of year becuase its halfway between summer and winter. Having said that, it is the best time of year to visit because the sun lights up the colourful mountains without being so hot that you can't breathe! Whilst waiting for the bus here I checked my finances to discover that they are running perilously low! Its quite annoying th...