After uncertainty and definitely anxiety of a strike threat involving Chilean immigration and customs staff, the day came when I would get the bus back to Santiago for my flight home the following day. I was very concerned because if the strike happened the consequences I would face would obviously seriously affect my plans returning home such as missing my flight. The threat did not help my issues I had in Mendoza. However it turned out not to be any problems at all. I got the bus OK and the bus was half empty. I think that many travellers have deterred [View Full Entry]

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Santiago is fantastic. There are huge supermarkets where you can buy pretty much anything you could want (fruit, meat, brown bread and cold milk), very good public transportation, the drivers are super polite and let pedestrians go ahead of them and because we are at a lower elevation it is possible to go for a run and go to the gym!!! It is def a place we could live if we were ever going to live in S. America. Walking around, you feel as though you could be in any European city. We didn´t originally plan to come here but as [View Full Entry]

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“Uma argentina, um chileno e, agora, um brasileiro”, dizia uma mulher que aguardava a fila da imigração do lado de fora de seu carro ao ver a placa do meu, talvez tentando fortalecer os laços diplomáticos entre os três países. Dei um sorriso, acendi um cigarro e fingi estar procurando algo dentro do carro. Não estava com vontade de falar com ela. Um guarda me pediu alguns documentos que eu não tinha. Sabia que não podia confiar naquela fronteira caótica entre Brasil e Argentina. Preenchi um monte de papéis, recebi um monte de carimbos, um cachorro cheirou meu carro e [View Full Entry]

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Hola Chicos, Arrived here this afternoon. The hotel is central but needs renovating. It´s got an Indian restaurant (hence that´s partly why I booked it). I can smell the curry from here!. Just been around the main plaza, couldn´t find a tourist shop, looks like it´s a do it yourselves job here as well. Had a pitcher of beer (hence the slurring in the writing). Hope to book wine tours etc 2MRW: that´s text speak for those that don´t know it. Went to the Indian, what can I say, if it was Akbar´s I wouldn´t pay! 21.11.08 Booked a 1/2 day [View Full Entry]

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hey all!! have finally arrived in Santiago- capital of Chile. Not much to recount of the way down!! We spent three days and nights in San Pedro de Atacama and didnt get up to much at all!! Was enjoying having nothing to do for awhile and caught up in my journal. We went out two of the nights and spent a lot of time cooking!! On the last day there we went to the Moon Valley for a visit which apparently looks like the lunar landscape - cant argue- and watched the sun set. Our next stop was in Bahia Inglesia- [View Full Entry]

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Hola, I am sitting in a hotel lobby in Santiago right now! I left my house at 7am on Tueday morning and it is still tuesday 26 hours later!! Long journey to get here via auckland but am here and in one piece. I checked myself into a decent hotel for the first night - Hotel Orly, as tomorrow I will fly to Rio and stay in hostels. They got my booking wrong so have sent me to a hotel across the road which should cost twice as much and are giving me a free dinner to make up for it! [View Full Entry]

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Day 1 (Monday): Walking down the streets of Santiago, I was immediately embraced with South American charm. My new friend Jorge was kind enough to take me on a five and a half hour walking tour starting at 10 and making our way til 3:30, wth lunch and a stop for icecream inbetween. We started out in the BellaVista Barrio. Jorge showed me where he grew up and then we walked down the central park, which was very well manicured. As we walked Jorge explained the wide range of European influence. Obviously, the Spanish have played a large role but so [View Full Entry]

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Nachdem ich erfahren hatte, dass mein kleines Haustierchen nachtaktiv ist, war mein Plan für's Wochenende klar und meiner Meinung aucheindeutig besser als die empfohlene Alternative (Spray sprühen) --denn wer will schon ein giftiges Spinnchen nochmal aufscheuchen, nachdem man schonmal sein Haus (und vllt.auch seine Kinder...wer weiß..?) zerstört hat.. Viel kluger empfand ich den Plan, jeden Tag erst so "früh" wieder heimzukommen, dass Spinnchen schon schlafen geht und mich nicht mehr beißen will.... :) Gemacht, getan. Leider war es unter Tags dann aber soo schön (----WIR HABEN DIE 30-GR [View Full Entry]

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Well, so much for the train! It wouldn't take us where we wanted to go so we get to take the bus tonight at 2330 for just shy of 12 hours...but we are going to a beautiful region with lots of mountains, lakes, and no smog! Oktoberfest was fantastically fun and today we went shopping to a small town full of potery! Antony wasn't happy about me making purchases as it won't be easy to get them home... Sorry for no pictures, but not sure how to download them. Will get some advice from a friend and hope for the best! [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone its been a week since I last blogged so what has happened you asked.... I think I had my first scam some dude in the street asked me for money because pinochet had done something to the education system it was my understanding that pinochet had been disposed off, but you know guys in streets can be pretty persuasive..but seeing as I lost only like a dollar, I would like to think of it as a cheap life experiance...I cottoned onto the scam shortly after he told me his father worked in the capital of nz after i told [View Full Entry]

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