Santiago
28th November - 01st December (Day 269 - Day 272)

After an epic 23 hour bus journey from San Pedro de Atacama we finally reached Santiago. The bus journey was epic in terms of time but it was actually really comfortable. We had seats that folded down into full beds and a private tv to ourselves. In fact compared to some of the places we have stayed in it was Luxury, I could have stayed on there for days.We took a taxi to our hostel based in the Bellavista Barrio area of the city. Even just from our taxi ride through the city we noticed some big differences from the places we had previously been in South America. The first was that we could breathe! We were finally down from the altitude of the Andes and we could really feel the difference. The second was the sun was out and it was really hot outside. Also from looking at the people and the way of life it felt and looked far more European. This was especially true of the Bellavista area which was crammed full of alfresco cafes and street bars.We took the first day in Santiago pretty easy as we were due to meet my mates Dan and Pizz early the following morning as they were coming over from Argentina to see us for a few days.The following morning we met the lads in the hostel, it was great to see them both after nine months. After chilling out and catching up for a while we set about sampling some of the culture Santiago had to offer.... i.e. We walked round the corner and found the nearest bar with tables on the street. We then cracked open a few local beers and enjoyed some banter while enjoying the lovely weather and the great atmosphere the Bellavista area had to offer. We had a good afternoon apart from a short period of time when a local Chilian guy asked to sit with us for a while to practice his English...of course we said yes but we immediately regretted this as he turned out to be slightly nuts. He spent all his time telling us how awful Chile was, but as soon as we mentioned any other country he would start abusing them and telling us how great Chile was. It was a little confusing to say the least! Eventually we escaped by claiming Tina was in desparate need of an ice cream... which wasnt a lie as Tina seems to have a permanent need for ice cream.We spend the evening in a few more bars before heading to a nice local restuarant for some food, this turned out to be some of the best food we had eaten in ages. After we had finished our meal we headed back to our hostel. As we walked back the atmosphere on the streets had changed considerably, the local football team from Santiago had just beaten Vasco de Gama in the equivalent of the Europa league semi finals. As a result the atmosphere was crazy... horns, flags, people hugging and dancing in the street. It was a great way to end the day.The following day we decided to go on the walking tour of central Santiago which was recommended in our guide book. I was our guide for the day. We walked from the Bellavista area through some lovely parks towards the centre of the city. The city itself does not have any massively impressive sights but is interesting enough and has a lovely atmosphere. We walk passed the palace and the parliment bulidings as well as taking in the main square with its rustic looking cathedral. We then headed up to the main market area. The market is famous for it seafood and has nice restuarants inside. We decided this would be a good spot for lunch and enjoyed some great seafood and a couple of free Pisco Sours that came free with our meal.During the evening we headed back out to a few of the street bars in the Bellavista area before heading to a cheap Sushi restuarant we had seen earlier in the day. The restuarant seemed a little odd and we soon realised why it was so cheap....none of the pieces of sushi had any fish in them...in fact it became apparent every bit of sushi was essentially just rice with cream cheese inside.... disgusting!!!!!The following day we had to check our fairly early as we were all heading to Argentina together to spend a few days in Mendoza before the lads have to head back to the U.K.