What a fantastic journey. The road beyond San Pedro de Atacama climbed across the desert and up into the Andes, past various salt lakes around which we could see small packs of vicuna, donkeys, and flamingos, and with great views of colourful mountains and volcanoes. At this altitude, nothing much grows so the scenery is very muted but nonetheless dramatic and interesting. Within 2-3 hours we seemed to have reached the highest point in the road but as we descende...

The bus journey with Tur Bus was very good - we had TV and were treated to evening and early morning snacks. We were really comfortable on our camas - big comfy seats that fold flat into beds - and so a very reasonable night's sleep was had by us both. We awoke in the very early morning when the bus pulled into Antofagasta (which originally was to be a stopover) but by the time it had left the city boundary and was climbing in the direction of Calama we were back...

Another excellent journey with Tur Bus and we arrived in La Serena on time at around 6pm. Our hostel, El Punto only five minutes walk from the bus station, was a colourful traditional Spanish style house with a big courtyard. After quickly settling into our room, and with few suggestions from the reception about places to eat we set off into the nearby town centre to explore for ourselves. La Serena looked a really nice with a mixture of narrow old lanes and wide...

We were glad to be in Valparaiso and at Luna Sonrisa once more, where Sol welcomed us back - and Felicity was still in residence (really good to see her again too).It was lovely to spend the afternoon just wandering around the narrow streets soaking up the atmosphere again.When we got down the hill to the port we decided to jump on the very new and modern Metro and take it to Vina del Mar.The idea was to have a walk along the coast and take in some sea air.Howeve...

Time was now limited and we had a few things to do before we left Santiago. One thing we'd deliberated over was the need to further downsize our backpacks before getting on the road. We'd obviously not been ruthless enough in Auckland so we identified a few items of clothing that were worthy of sending home. The Santiago Correo (post office) was very helpful - even with virtually no English - because M managed to explain exactly what was required. They provided a...