Blogs from Santiago, Santiago Region, Chile, South America - page 113

The day stared well with 4 rounds of brown toast and delicious jam to go on it. It is amazing how something so basic can bring a smile to our faces, but maybe it's just a sign that we're missing home? We followed this by taking some light exercise and visiting the nearby St Cristobal Hill where we got a good, if not a little hazy, view of Santiago and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. At around 2.30 we made our way to the football stadium. On the metro there was a lot of ticker tape (possibly they stole this idea off Pompey), a group of chanting fans roped off for their own carriage and a lot of transport police. Following the noise and the mass of people all going in the same direction, we got into ... read more

Today was several chores and a walking tour. We did some shopping and sent another parcel home, and travelled into the suburbs to buy tickets for tomorrow's big game - the Santiago derby. Afterwards we did a fairly interesting walking tour around Santiago’s most interesting buildings, a pleasant stroll in the afternoon sunshine but not exactly rivetting blog material. Then, after a power nap, we hit the town. We had dinner in a 1940’s-styled bar (something we’ve not come across before in our collective 56 years), misunderstanding the Spanish menu and ending up with about a kilo of cheese each. This was washed down however with a very pleasant Chilean red. They had ‘Kitty Fernandez’ singing and sounding like her proverbial strangled namesake, with a guy supposedly accompanying her on the piano. But the piano stayed ... read more

So its time to say a sad goodbye to South America. We have had such a wonderful time here - its hard to believe we have been here 5 months - it feels both longer and shorter than that. Our final days have been spent in Santiago - the capital of Chile aka the least recommended place we have been. Whenever we spoke to anyone previously about having been here we generally got a wrinkle of the nose, a shrug of the shoulders and the statement "its just a big city". I have to say I agree. We are, however, staying in a very picturesque corner on Calle Londres and Calle Paris - its like an old quarter of Paris. Our hostel (Residencial Londres) is a grand old townhouse which is lovely. The city itself is ... read more

Nick: Well, picture the scene. Two fools hurtling as fast as is possible toward a city 40 miles away, at 7am in order to meet a tour guide. Not strange you might say, but then you notice the first of the two is squinting into the peasoup fog all around him, in the morning twilight, wearing sunglasses…. As it happens said fool had been wearing said sunglasses for 18 hours already, the normal pair had gone missing the previous day…. And how did we reach this stage?...... We leave Valpo via the coastal road and see stunning coastline, atrocious driving, and pelicans. After an hour we reach the autopista (motorway) and head North to La Serena, 270 miles away and then another 40 miles East, inland. The route was long but manageable, and we finally arrived ... read more

Je ne travaille pas le vendredi après midi donc j´en profite pour aller me balader dans la ville que je ne connais pas très bien encore. Je vais prendre le funiculaire pour monter au sommet du Cerro San Cristobal d´où on a une très belle vue sur la ville et les montagnes qui l´entourent. Je redescends doucement le long de la route après mais la nuit tombe vite et je me retrouve à marcher dans le noir complet. Heureusement je trouve un arret du téléphérique qui me fait revenir dans la ville!... read more