http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Chile , Santiago Region en-us Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:15:18 BST Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:15:18 BST hola so were feeling very proud of ourselves. we did the tourist thing and hopped on a double decker bus and did a 6 hour tour of santiago. we were able to jump off and get back on again at any stage so we hung out at a couple cafes went to a gallery and generally strolled around. were even ordering food off a menu in spanish santago has a popn of round 6.5 million but you wouldnt know i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-314382.html Goh vandaag zouden we eigenlijk naar Valparaiso gaan maar helaas... Ze hebben ons van 9 uur tot half 11 laten wachten Silvia heeft toen wel een vriendje gemaakt en toen zijn we zelf maar op pad gegaan. Met de 'tourinstructies' van onze receptioniste nog bedankt hiervoor want we hebben een hele leuke dag gehadOK wat hebben we vandaag dan wel gedaanWe zijn met de Funicular omhoog gegaan op http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-314072.html Het is eindelijk zoverOnze 5 weekse rondreis Chili en hier is onze eerste dagGisteravond 17 augustus 2008 rond half 8 vertrokken voor deze 'wereld'reis door Chili. We zijn via een tussenstop op Bogota rond 4 uur in de ochtend geland op Santiago International. De vliegreis is voorspoedig verlopen en beide vluchten hadden we 3 stoelen voor ons 2en. Dat reist een stuk lekkerderVandaag maanda http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-313704.html After we eventually left Lima on the correct day we arrived in Santiago about 2am. I had got so used to Peruvian money that it was really confusing trying to sort out how much a taxi from the airport to our hostel was. We spoke to a couple of taxi drivers well we tried as much as we could as we don't speak very much spanish at all but managed to get to the hostel It was a bit of a shock getting http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-313326.html Nach einem ziemlich coolen Tag in der Atacama Wueste heisst es auch schon wieder Abschied nehmen auf uns wartet eine lange Busfahrt nach Santiago die Hauptstadt Chiles. Doch mit einer Flasche Rotwein die wir im Bus gemeinsam trinken um noch einmal auf unsere Reise in Chile anzustossen ist auch das gar nicht schlimm auch wenn wir uns auf der Fahrt vier Mal den gleichen Film anschauen muess http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-313323.html Unsere letzte Etappe fuehrte uns von Arica im Norden Chiles weiter in Richtung Sueden in die trockenste Wueste der Welt die Atacama Wueste. Dort angekommen legten wir uns ein recht volles Programm fuer die naechsten Tage zurecht was uns noch am Ankunftsnachmittag in das Valle de la Luna fuehrte.Dieses Tal besteht im Wesentlichen aus Salz und erinnert stark an eine Mondlandschaft ohne Pflanzen http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-313309.html Flew in last night to Santiago Chile from Caracas...such a difference. Huge city and a little chilly pardon the pun. Its in the low 50s and everyone is dressed like winter in New York.After getting in from the airport we had the official taxi service more reliable and economical take us to a hotel near the center. It was 6 in the morning here. redeye wasted us. So we slept until about 11 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-310975.html We went to Lagunillas for the day for a bit of snowboarding. Old school set up hence cheaper prices and less people so all good. Was the first time that I had been snowboarding on a mountain a few times indoors since I snapped my ACL back in the day. My knee held up pretty well but I was very restrained in what I did and it did semi collapse once. This stint in the snow was my first time in pow http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Valle-Nevado/blog-309044.html Also ist's doch was geworden mit dem Boarden.Es war so.Aufgestanden bin ich um 630 da wir um 700 weg wollten. So frh weil angeblich viel los sein wrde...letztes freie Wochenende vor Schul und Unibeginn am Vortag geschneit Sonne.Abgeholt wurde ich im Endeffekt um 730 um zur Station zu fahren von wo aus Busse in alle Regionen weggingen. Dort standen ca. 1.000.000... Leute ziellos in der Geg http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Valle-Nevado/blog-308825.html I haven't been updating every day so sorry forgive me Today was the first day of classes WOW. The system here is so disorganized and dysfunctional. The Tufts version of SIS here is insane and doesnt ever get updated there are multiple campuses too many foreigners and ahh So first I woke up met the others but we parted and I went to the law school first. So undergrads take law it's their http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/blog-308780.html We arrived really early in the morning in Santiago we were really confused by the currency it felt like we had thousands of pounds and thought we were getting ripped off byt thetaxi driver but turns out we werentWe struggled a bit with the language as not many people spoke English and we really didnt speak Spanish apart from a few words But we managed through emails to get booked for a tour of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-308089.html Hola We left Bolivia and it was a real contrast arriving in Northern Argentina. From the mud brick buildings and unpaved roads of Bolivia it was back on the tar for an easy drive down through Northern Argy to the city of Salta. Everyone on the truck couldn't get over the contrast and we really felt like we had just been transported back to Europe. Salta was great the central square was buzzin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-307999.html Farellones Again...So we had to come back up to the ski resort to collect our boards and snow gear. Turns out we timed it perfectly arriving the day that a big snow storm came and riding in perfect sunny fresh powder conditions the next day. The best riding day of the season couldnrsquot have got much better than that. Though luck from me ran out quickly when we were riding home our usual slop http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Valle-Nevado/blog-307961.html Tonight we leave on a wonderful adventure. Classes are over so two other girls from the program and I are taking a week and a little bit to explore the country south of Santiago. We're taking an overnight bus to Pucn a small tourist town near Lago Villarica and Volcn Villarica about 10 hours southwest of Santiago I'm not sure how many miles or kilometers. We don't have a definite plan. It's g http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Nunoa/blog-307694.html Liiiebe Leute gro und klein... Dies soll mein erster Eintrag seinSo es ist soweit liebe Neugierigen Wartenden Stressenden oder auf nichtszutun Habenden... die Grostadtmrchen beginnen...Seit ber einer Woche bin ich jetzt schon auf der anderen Seite der Kugel in Santiago de CHILE mit ca.5.Mio Einwohnernein kleiner Unterschied zu Eisendorf aber ich muss sagen soweit sogut http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-307097.html The location is not actually quite right but not all places are listed we actually stayed in Farellones but we did ski in Valle Nevado a couple of days...So it was pretty cold the morning we arrived at the ski shop around 7.15am to catch a minibus up into the mountains. While waiting for them to start selling tickets the shop next door caught Hughs eye and he discovered that their transfers http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Valle-Nevado/blog-306727.html SORRY FOR THE LAG TIME IN UPDATES... BUT I HAVE INTERNET ON MY LAPTOP NOW SO I'LL TRY TO GET THE BLOG CAUGHT UPAfter some of the students were sent off with their families and a few more were put on busses those of us who remained went to lunch at a chinese restaurant around the corner. After that we went back to the YFU Chile headquarters and I think a few more were sent off to busses at that http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/blog-305708.html Irsquom sorry that itrsquos been so long since I updated. I canrsquot even remember the last thing I said. Irsquove been busy but you probably wouldnrsquot know it based on what I recount here. Keep in mind that the average commute to any given place is between 30 and 45 minutes depending on time of day and how I combine Micro buses and Metro subway. And Irsquove also had homewor http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Nunoa/blog-303774.html We planned to leave Santiago on day 3 and head North to San Pedro but we didn039t book our bus in time and ended up having to stay an extra night and take the night bus the following day. Making the most of our extra time in the region we tagged along with Alex from the hostel to a vinyard on the outskirts of the city we learned about the different grapes the fermentation process the ageing http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-302885.html HowdyWent to Chillan last week...bit of a disappointment to be honest but purely down to the snow conditions not the actual resort which was muy bonita I left El Colorado on Saturday while it was heavily snowing here and stayed the night in Santiago. The guy that i got a lift with lives in the hills and the building had an outdoor hot tub So some friends came round and we chilled there loo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Valle-Nevado/blog-302422.html The bus from Mendoza headed off into blue skies meaning that there was no fresh snow on the pass into Chile. The road takes a beautiful route through vineyards before it starts to climb towards the distant snow capped mountains. After more stunning views and passing a couple of small ski resorts we finally arrived at the border crossing. Despite driving past a huge queue of lorries waiting to pass http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-302000.html Maybe itrsquoll be too boring to describe the plane trip here but Irsquoll describe what Chile is like to me now. We can see snow capped mountains from here Itrsquos beautiful. But I have no clue what mountains they are if they are the Andes or what. We are in the alamada in santiago. Itrsquos cold freezing if I werenrsquot still so hot and sweaty from moving suitcases up and down the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-300261.html I am in Santiago Chile. I have never before been to Santiago Chile. I feel faintly nervous but not actually excited. That's a strange thing surely Perhaps because all I have done so far is endure the 30something hour transit from PerthSydneyAucklandSantiago check into the hostel crash sleep fitfully due to my body thinking it is the middle of the day wake up this morning and bum aroun http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-299739.html Testicles testicles 1 2.1.2. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-299719.html Hola amigosAfter our whistle stop tour of Sydney we landed in Santiago 2hours after we left Sydney. It felt like we were on the plane for around 16 hours though. Weird. After checking in at our hostel in Santiago we played a few games of pool and then I fell asleep for 16 hours while Rich went exploring the city. The next day I awoke feeling reenergised and ready to see the sights of Santiag http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-299700.html Im am here and am sooooo happy to have internet. I dont have any pics yet that will have to waite unti i have a computor i can use more than 10 min. I just wanted to let you all know i am safe and happy. I will buy a telefono celular so i will send the nuber when i can. Santiago is soooo huge but i have already learned the metro system. I have class mon thru friday.my host family will pick me http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Providencia/blog-298566.html Tuesday in Santiago there were a large number of people protesting mainly education. It started as a peaceful march but then according to my friend who was nearby someone threw a rock and all hell broke loose. The march was never oked by the government so the police were more or less just waiting for something to happen. Sewage water was sprayed and tear gas released. I just missed most of i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Nunoa/blog-298215.html We have finally made it to the mountains to do some skiing and snowboarding but the trip there was rather long and interesting. After surfing last week we had some down time the day after because we could not catch a bus until Thursday night when we had hoped to leave Thursday morning. That bus ride from Iquique was going to be rather interesting. It was a 26 hour bus ride straight through. W http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-298174.html This past month has been all over the place. I was trying to figure out what was going on with my classesmdashone was on strike for a week and then lecturesreadings resumed for the last couple weeks of the semester. My Linguistics class never did go off strike. The campus itself stopped being occupied by the students a couple weeks ago but the students continued striking and not having clas http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/blog-297652.html