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Trying something a little different this time - unable to find a really good backpacker's South American guidebook, I decided to try a Moon travel guide. The maps suck, but the information appears to be good, if a little poorly organized. As for the book of poetry, reading material is a requirement for the long bus rides. I'm not a poetry buff, but during the planning phase of this trip I found out that Pablo Neruda is Chile's most famous poet, and one held in high esteem throughout the world. I figured it'll be nice to read some of his works since many popular tourist sites in Chile are either museums dedicated to him, or former residences of his. Plus, the kicker was when a reference was made to his work on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother". If the show that somehow managed to make Neil Patrick Harris cool again mentioned Pablo Neruda's works, they must be worth checking out!