We spent around five days in Puerto Natales, largely deciding whether we were going to do any trekking in Torres del Paine and recovering from our horror of a bus journey. When we got to Puerto Natales, we were shocked to find the town was not only expensive but also booked full. We therefore ended up paying more usual for the Hotel Oasis (though the staff were particularly lovely and helpful to compensate). The first couple of days we didn't do very much, just ambled around town. There aren't that many sites to take in to be honest, and it is [View Full Entry]

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We had booked a 'bruise'with Navimag to see the spectacular San Rafael glacier. Unfortunately this meant five days on a not particularly glamorous boat, as well as overnighting in possibly my least favourite Chilean town, Puerto Montt. We did so just metres from the ferry landing, which seemed like a good idea in practice but after the club downstairs kept us up till about 4 in the morning, I would have to rethink how much sleep was really saved by not having to get up early! The first day involved a great deal of waiting for the ferry to leave. Then, [View Full Entry]

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30 November 2008 - 5 December 2008 - After getting off a flight from Easter Island, there was only one sensible option. Get a taxi to the bus station, hop on a bus to Puerto Montt, then change at Puerto Montt to a bus to Castro. By the time we got there, we were exhausted, needless to say! So we took the first day off sightseeing. We had headed to the region partly because it was NOT touristy and to take some time off must see sights, just to enjoy the slow pace of life in one of Chile's more rural [View Full Entry]

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25-28 November 2008 - We caught a LAN plane for an extortionate amount to Easter Island, about a five hour journey. On the way there, we were sat by a guy who had climbed the highest peaks in 6 continents and, after visiting Easter Island, was on his way to Antartica to finish off the 7th and final highest peak there. Proof positive that you meet some truly amazing people travelling! When we arrived at Easter Island it was really hot and our campsite, whom we'd booked with ahead of time, presented us with flower garlands - it felt like arriving [View Full Entry]

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24 November 2008 - We got to Santiago early in the morning and checked in to Ecohostel, one of a number of different hostels we stayed in in Santiago. Our plan for the day was primarily to make it up to the swimming pool near one of the viewpoints, and Chile was being helpful by producing some of the most blisteringly hot temperatures we'd seen so far. However, there were a few admin matters to be sorted out first (aren't there always?) and so we had to burn our photos to CD so Lorn could take them home for us (which [View Full Entry]

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18.11.08 - Bus from Caldera to Santiago was late. We had a horrifying 25 odd hour journey all in from Caldera to Pucon. 19.11.08 - The bus wasn't the nicest ever and we were exhausted by the time we got to Pucon, which was fine because before we knew it we were being whisked off to Donde German, an awesome hostel with lovely rooms and a beautiful view of the volcano. We didn't do much bar booking a tour to Volcan Villarica the next day. We would have left it longer but good weather is important for doing the tour, and [View Full Entry]

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16.11.08 - After our eventful night bus, we arrived in Copiapo in the morning and waited for an hour or so before getting another bus on to Caldera, where we had decided to stay as it was cheaper than staying in Bahia Inglesa but still well placed for reaching the beach. We then checked in to the excellent Hotel Montecarlo, then headed out to the beach in Caldera. I think maybe tourists are a novelty there, as we attracted looks everywhere we went. The beach near the town was horrible, with lots of boats docked near the pier, so we headed [View Full Entry]

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13.11.08 - We arrived in San Pedro and our first stop was the not fun job of shopping around for a decent hostel. San Pedro is overpriced in my opinion and it was also difficult to find a 3 person room, these being in short supply. Therefore our first night was spent at the cheap but skanky Hostel Florida. We booked a ton of tours upon arrival and before we knew it, we were escaping San Pedro de Atacama for a trip to the Valley de la Luna - an extra special excursion because it was a full moon and the [View Full Entry]

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9.11.08 - Arrived to La Serena after a 7 hour-ish journey from Valpo and had just enough to get lost, find our way to Maria's Casa (much recommended hostel), check in, pop to the supermarket and whip up some Brit style pasta with sausage and sauce before bed. 10.11.08 - Got up and had a typically indulgent bread and cheese breakfast then headed to town to book tours. We did have a look around La Serena, which had its odd sight to see. There was a plaza (isn't there always?), a pretty church with a lovely belltower and lots of shops. [View Full Entry]

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8.11.08 - We got to Valparaiso and after checking in to the dirt cheap Casa de Evelyn (four pounds!) hit the ground running. We walked down to the coast past markets selling all kinds of junk, from plastic combs to old records, through the food markets to town. We had chorrillana at the J Cruz social club - a dish of chips topped in steak, egg and onions. Very healthy. But half the fun was the atmosphere - every centimetre of the restaurant is covered in graffiti, knick knacks and photos of past guests, and we were serenaded by a guitar [View Full Entry]

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