From now on there will be two contributors to this blog... Asta has arrived a bit jet lagged, tired and bruised (after a car crash... ) on Saturday morning and since from now on we will be traveling both of us together - we will be writing this blog together After almost a week in san Pedro de Atacama (SPdA), where I've done a lot of relaxing (my cough is almost gone :-) ) and couple of excursions, on 29th it was time for me to move direction South. The bus from SPdA took 24 hours to arrive in Santiago... Comparing [View Full Entry]

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Alright so here goes...knowing me I will write this entry and no others.....so I guess I better make it a good one... Dunedin-Auckland So my departure with my family was quite rushed because air new zealand needs you on the plane a lifetime before you need to actually be there, and the samoan family seemed to think that rule didn´t apply to them so they exasperated the process even longer as we had to wait for one person. On the way to Auckland, sat by a nice old lady called gwen, we played air new zealand trivia...and just had a good [View Full Entry]

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I decided only to devote one day in Santiago. I spent a month there last year learning Spanish. I am satisfied of what I had already seen there on that trip. This time, Santiago would only be used as a base at the very beginning and the very end of my trip. It is likely I will be going through the bus terminal to changes buses for elsewhere during the trip. Cerro San Cristobel I began the day exploring the park. Last year, I rode up on the funicular and saw the Virgen de lmmaculada. This time, I wanted a ride [View Full Entry]

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Hey ihr Lieben! Seit gestern sind wir in Santiago! Die Stadt gefaellt uns weniger... sie ist viel kleiner als Buenos Aires und nicht so hipp. Noch dazu kommt, dass ja heute fast alles zu hat, weil auch hier der 1.11. - und damit Feiertag - ist. gestern haben wir nach einen wunderbar angenehmen Flug mit der LAN das Zentrum der Stadt erkundet und guten Fisch bzw. Fischsuppe gegessen! ... alles ist super billig. So haben wir uns mit Nudeln und Reis und vor allem viel chilenischen Wein fuer die teurer Osterinseln schon ausgestattet. Denn dort gibt es nicht 2-3 Mal Essen [View Full Entry]

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My flight to Santiago via Paris was pretty uneventful and, of course, long!! 13 hours+!!! Met a friendly chap on my Manchester to Paris flight who was going to Argentina (his wife was Argentine). We exchanged travel plans and he gave me some trips travelling through Argentina. He also correct my pronunctations such as BAR-LI-OCHE. There were also a large group of rugby players who were touring in Santiago and Vina Del Mar. On my way to the hotel, I purchased my ticket for Puerto Varas. For a cama seat, it works out only 25 GBP! Those prices, I won´t pay [View Full Entry]

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The variety is endless.........you can be in the mountains skiing in the morning and getting sozzled wine tasting mid afternoon.........NICE [View Full Entry]

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Am 24. Oktober war es soweit - nach ganzen 5 Jahren konnten Eva und ich am Flughafen von Santiago unser Wiedersehen feiern!!!!! Was fuer eine Freude, als Eva und Diego uns vom Flieger aus Calama abholten. Vor uns lag ein gemeinsames Wochenende. Wir waren gluecklich, bei den Beiden in der schoenen Wohnung in Providencia wohnen zu koennen. Wir genossen erst mal ein super Mittagessen mit einem Glaessle Wein. Dann gingen wir auf den Cerro San Cristobal (La Virgen) und ich genoss eine klare Sicht ueber die Stadt, wie ich sie vor 13 Jahren in Santiago nie erlebt habe. Ja, es gibt [View Full Entry]

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Hi folks, back now in NZ but here are some photos of the last few days. I have included the photo where my GPS dissapeared, looking at the photo now I dont know why I bothered! Terry and Sheena were given the responsibility to sort out the tour for the last day, the plane did not leave till midnight so we had a full day. They did a bloody good job and organised both a trek and a lift to the airport. We were picked up at 6:45 and driven to the andes for a little walk - 5 hours. It [View Full Entry]

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Well, I had my first adventures in Chile, I have to say it was quite amusing. Or I should say, misadventures. But are there any other kind? Sometimes you go looking for trouble. Sometimes it just finds you. I was passing a fairly lonely time, and as one of my friends told me, you just have to embrace the loneliness, so, I did, and it was going pretty well. I was enjoying myself walking around the city alone. When you get to a new country, you have a moment that's like, wow, I'm in a new country. That moment was lasting [View Full Entry]

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Well my week is almost over and I really have mixed emotions. I am SOOO done with this hostel it´s not funny, which is making me get excited about the fact that I only have a couple more days, BUT I am really sad that this is the last week of the orphange. Being at the orphanage just feels right and it´s great to be with the kids but hostel life is driving me crazy. Some people are just so inconsiderate I want to hit them......but of course I dont. I lie there and mutter under my breadth not saying a [View Full Entry]

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