On my way to Villarica

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Hola! Yes I actually got on the plane and made it to Santiago. Santiago is not for the faint-hearted, and I probably wouldn´t recommend it as a first stop for the amateur traveller. It´s noisy, polluted and ful of both conmen and stray dogs (the dogs are slightly less dangerous). There´s really only so much you can do in Santiago - I was there for four days, and that was enough. Sites visited: (i)Cerro Santa Lucia - a big hill in the centre of town with a rabbit warren of narrow paths and even narrower flights of slippery stone stairs. There are a few good photo opportunities; on a clear day (not often) you can actually see the Andes mountian range, complete with snow year-round. (ii) Mercado Central, or town market - is extremely busy, but the best chance to see how the locals live and eat (try the conger eel, it´s oily but very filling). (iii) Prque Metropolitano - home of Santiago´s zoo and Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens are a little different to what you get in Australia, a lot less of the sweeping lawns and a lot more lizards (which are bright green, blue and yellow -very striking).
Started learning up on all of Chile´s native trees, including many Nothofagus species, Caesalpinia, Embothrium and so on. NOTE- Santiago also contains heaps of Eucalypts, Wattles and She Oaks.

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Photos

let sleeping dogs lie
Santiago´s streets are overflowing with stray dogs of all breeds. Warning: they will bite!

Pittosporum tobira
beautifully scented shrub used widely as a hedging plant or trained as a small tree. In full flower in October

Cerro Santa Lucia
Cerro Santa Lucia is great for people looking to get fit in a hurry - the paths are nearly vertical. This is a section of the castle on the hill

someone important
I have no idea who this is, only that he´s on Cerro Santa Lucia

stairway to heaven
Actually it´s just a stairway from the indigenous artisan market to the base of Cerro Santa Lucia. Very Spanish!

can you see the mountains?
This is Santiago on a clear day. The vague white line is the snowline of the nearbay Andes