Chile

---

After a 10 or 11 hour flight we eventually landed in Chile. Santiago to be precise. The flight was with LAN airways. This is when I realised that we have got to learn some Spanish FAST!

We bumped into the typical Dutch couple who recommended we stay at La Casa Roja hostel, little did I know that approximately 16 hours later at about 5 am in the morning we would be in our pants together along with a couple from the UK somersaulting into a freezing cold pool. As David Brent would say ¨El Vino did flow¨. Half a kilo of steak later we were in the mood to party Chilean style. We managed to order in Spanish and the waiters were in shock when they asked for dessert and we replied with ¨yes please can we have another 3 bottles of wine!´

We had a great party with Ton and Isabelle,(Dutch) Wendy and Matthew (Liverpool and Wales), Stina and Linus (Swedish, aka Ken and Barbie). The night progressed to mingling in the local bars trying out our very basic spanish, however the Pisco sour kicked in pretty quick(local brew) which definitely helped us out.

After our party Ton and Isabelle set off on their tour but we would meet later in Pucon. Wendy, Matthew, Nadja and I discovered Santiago up a mountain where we got a little altitude sickness. There was not much oxygen at the top at all.

We took one of the most luxurious buses ever, with Steward service similar to an areoplane to Pucon. It was an overnight sleeper bus. When we arrived we had discovered the climate had dramatcically dropped. No shorts and t-shirts here. Pretty cold and we saw one heck of a big volcano which we had planned to climb! This was no walk in the park.

Now time for the biggest challenge yet! To climb the Volcano. This was one of the toughest things we have ever done, a bit like running a marathon. Many people turn back, especially in bad weather and alot of women are only allowed half way. So many times I wanted to turn back. It was a dangerous climb but we were up for the challenge. This volcano is active and last erupted in 1992 killing quite a few people. The adrenaline flowed once we made it. We all made it, including Nadja which totally amazed us all.

The volano was spitting out fumes at the top and releasing poisonous gas. Other groups were supplied with gas masks but we had to make use of our scarves. The gas burns the nose and burns the throat and lungs. It was almost unbearable, at one point I thought we would pass out. We were quickly taken to a safe spot after holding our breath. The climb up took around 7 hours. Quicker on the way down and in places we got to do some sliding. It was great to do but NEVER AGAIN!

At present we are in a sort of a home stay learning spanish. To be honest my spanish is pretty low and am surviving on a vocubulary of 20 words, however Nadja is actually getting pretty good at it. I hope to catch up soon.

So to sum it up Chile was rather Chilly, but definitely a must see country if you intend to visit South America. This country is an ACE in my book and has so much to offer! Hasta Luego!

---