Hola. I've been here a little over a week now, but it feels like a month. I can't say enough good things about this place so far. My first regret is not learning more Spanish, because the locals here talk crazily fast. But they are always smiling and patient with a 'Gringo'. Asking for directions or help will often end up with a local walking you to your destination or waiting with you until the right bus comes. At first I was waiting for them to ask for a few peso, but its all genuine. In fact nearly everyone you see in the streets and buses etc. seem to be enjoying life (a huge contrast from the US). The time difference when I got here was about 3 hours, but as yet I haven't had to adapt. The hours they keep here are a little bizarre for me. I don't think I've been asleep before 2am or awake before 10am yet. They love to party and dance too of course. Nothing really starts until after midnight. A lot of bars don't even open their doors until 11pm. If you ever want to feel inadequate, go to a Latin American Salsa Club. They put any nightclub in Australia to shame. The floors are packed with couples throwing each other around and swinging their hips all over the place. Its deeaaaadd sexy I tell you. Sadly, I have no such talent, and I'm just another gringo standing on the poor locals toes. But as always, they encourage any attempt to join them. The food here is nothing special. Most of it is fried and not particularly healthy. They love their hotdogs (a 'completo') and empanadas. Standard dinners might be a Chorrillana (fried potatoes, onions, egg and steak) or Lomo a lo pobre (a slab of beef with fried eggs and a stack of fries). They do have good fruit and juices though, and quantities are always large. I've just spent last week on the coast in Viña Del Mar and Valparaiso travelling with a Canadian bloke. Viña Del Mar is Santiagos nearest 'resort beach'. Thousands of locals flock there to sun on the beach which is ugly with lousy surf. Valparaiso is a little further up the coast and is the main port town for shipping and the navy. It backs onto a steep hill which has dozens of 'Ascensor' which are steep cable cars that take people up and down the hills (built in the late 1800's). Valparaiso is one of the most beautiful towns I've seen. Construction and roads are complete chaos. The roads are all winding cobblestone alleys and the housing constructed of all sorts of materials and designs with brightly coloured exteriors everywhere. This was best viewed from my rooftop patio with a cervesa in the afternoon. Tough life. Hopefully my photos do it justice when I put them on the web. The accommodation here is great. Hostels are generally clean and there's plenty of options. I stayed at a B&B in Valparaiso with my own room, TV (I got to watch The Simpsons in Spanish), and breakfast for about $16 (and Chile is the most expensive country around here). I'm flying from Santiago to Easter Island on Wednesday night (about 4,000km's east). Chao.