Blogs from Santiago Region, Chile, South America - page 147

This entry is frank and honest and may not be for the faint of heart (Mommycakes I´m referring to you.) Had I written this blog this morning, you most certainly would have received a bleak and even sad description of my state of mind. However, having just finished an excellent pasta dinner and salad, my first with lemon (Monica, me gusta mucho la ensalada con limon) I am able to tell the story of my arrival in Chile with a happier tune. But, let me not step ahead of myself. Many of you are wondering, Chile? But what of Argentina? While enrolled in my TEFL course this summer I spoke with a number of people who highly recommended Chile. I was not fond of the idea of living in a large city, Buenos Aires is one, ... read more

We're back...to South America anyway. Our crazy round-the-world dash has landed us back here for 5 more glorious weeks of seeing everything we'd missed the first time (that's kind of the plan, anyway). So to Chile. Santiago is another city with a reputation...for smog. The city is situated in a lovely spot on the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by mountains. The downside of this is that the area is prone to low cloud, which in turn traps the crap spewing out of cars and factories in the city. I would leave my return to good health through running until we'd left Santiago. Our hostel, the Happy House in the Barrio Brasil area of town, was maybe the best we've stayed in on our entire trip (no mean feat). Not much to look at from the ... read more

We arrived in Santiago, Chile to begin our last leg of what has been an amazing three month holiday. It was immediately evident that Santiago is a cosmopolitan city compared to the other capital cities that we have visited. We were staying in the suburb of Providencia at Hotel Orly which was a real treat. We spent the first day chilling out and exploring. The next day was Kerry’s Birthday and after a sleep in, we made our way into the city center for a bit of indulgence. Kerry treated herself to a very relaxing facial whilst Kai had a fantastic full body massage. We then headed into the shopping precinct to do a bit of widow shopping and have a light lunch. That evening we ordered room service (the first time this holiday) and sat ... read more

To Auckland, and to drop off the Maui. This produced mixed reactions. Marianne nearly broke down in tears. If you listened carefully, you could hear her saying "that's my home they're taking away". Marcus on the other hand couldn't take the grin off his face. You didn't need to listen at all carefully to hear him say "thank God it's gone. I hated it". It was certainly fun and eventful - but for anyone in doubt, read Nicky's comment. The main issue is how much space the travellers need and, if they are teenagers, what enormous space they will need to feel their personal privacy is not invaded. Quite apart from the fact that the Maui does not pamper and the fact that we're as a group too soft (some softer than others!). Wandered around Auckland. ... read more

Sa wat dee from Thailand... How are you all doing? So finally have our feet in the one spot for a few days to jump in for a bit of a blog update. The last we left you I think we where in NZ covering our Argentina leg, its fairly surreal to be sitting here in Thailand, in damp swimming trunks, 90 degrees, overlooking the Gulf of Thailand recounting our snowy adventures through Chile. It seems like months ago now, but it was only actually 2 - 3 weeks ago... We have been moving, since Chile we did a run through NZ, Sydney, Bangkok and are now on an Island called Koh Tao kicking back enjoying the sun, and its a scorcher today! After dragging ourselves off the vineyards in Mendoza, we headed for a few ... read more